Immediate Protection Needed for Indonesia’s Dolphins

Imagine taking free-range creatures of the sea and keeping them in “floating prisons” – all so tourists can pay large amounts of money to swim with them. This sort of abuse is alive and well at Dolphin Lodge Bali, where dolphins are imprisoned in their own habitat, for the sake of “entertainment.”

“Make your holiday in Bali more fun and memorable, playing with our cute and friendly dolphins.” ~ Dolphin Lodge Bali

Sea pens hold dolphins captive – all for the purposes of “entertainment.” Credit: Dolphin Lodge Bali

After taking the brunt of several local protests, the facility, originally located just south of Bali on Seragan Island, relocated to Sanur on Bali’s eastern coast. Here, the mammals are surrounded by continuous boat traffic, exposed to noise pollution and sewage entering their waters.

Despite being told to stay away, Dolphin Project’s Indonesia team recently took water samples from the area. Not surprising, the one litre of water collected tested high for metals.

There is nothing entertaining about forcing dolphins to interact with paying patrons.

Dolphins do not swim with people, “kiss” people or tow people through the water because they like to — they do it because they have to. None of these are natural behaviors, and every captive dolphin is trained to correctly perform these behaviors because if they do not, they will not eat. This is the fact of every captive dolphin encounter.

Even the best captive facilities cannot compare to the open ocean; most captive dolphins reside in shallow, crowded tanks with inadequate room for diving beneath the surface or avoiding aggression. Others encounter garbage or other pollutants that get trapped in their pens. Stress, illness, and aggression are frequently seen in captive dolphins. A photo opportunity makes a brief memory for the visitor, but confinement for the dolphin is a lifetime of suffering.

Indonesia’s abusive treatment of dolphins needs to end! Credit: DolphinProject.com

Our team has held dozens of meetings throughout the past few years with various governmental offices, all which have the power to end Indonesia’s abusive treatment of dolphins. From the barbaric traveling circuses to swim-with-dolphins programs, the mammals are routinely exploited so profits can be made.

Your Help is Needed

Dolphin Lodge Bali is in the process of renewing their permits. Please contact the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and ask them to STOP the exploitation of dolphins in Bali and not renew Dolphin Lodge’s permits. As one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world, Bali needs to set an example and allow dolphins their birthright to swim wild and free.

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Twitter: @bksdabali1

Please email the following Bali tour operators and ask that they stop promoting swim-with-dolphins programs:

balitopwedding.com – [email protected]
jabotabali.com – [email protected]
Royaltravel / Thailand – [email protected]
liuda-travel.com – [email protected]
balisuci.com – [email protected]
Pt. Rekreasi Pratama Travel – [email protected]