Help to close the Dolphin Tank at Manati Park Bavaro Petition

Help to close the Dolphin Tank at Manati Park Bavaro. Sign the online petition to close this horrible park and stop the cruelty to Dolphins.

Photo copyright by Helene O'Barry

I have received this fact from Mrs. Eva Schandl and I would now like to call here to a protest to free about the dolphins from this terrible captivity.

Mrs. Eva Schandl is from Vienna and has worked since four years on it to close a terrifying Dolphin Tank into the Dominican republic. After the lawful mills grind extremely slowly against the corruption in the Dominican republic, the most upper goal is to be reached preferably many people with this enlightenment at the moment.

Starting back in 1999 the Dolphin tank at Manati Park Bavaro was investigated by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, who claimed that the living conditions of these dolphins are not acceptable. The issue of May 21st of Time Magazine stated Manati Park as:".. one of the world's most controversial facilities.." "Worse, critics charge that several dolphins have died prematurely at Manati because of toxic waters." According to CITES documentation only five of the original imported and captured eight dolphins are still there now. Almost 3.000 protest signatures have been handed over but the dolphin tank is still open, the owner even wants to add five additional dolphins to the tank next year.

At a further investigation from the World Society for the Protection of Animals beginning 2001 the responsible consultant pointed out: "It seems that these dolphins work harder and longer than all the dolphins I have ever seen before and since 40 years I am involved in that. They are mistreated and overworked and they life in a very small and confined area."

We - the Undersigned - would therefore urgently ask you to do all in your power to convince the responsible authorities, that this mistreatment has to be stopped immediately and Manati Park is no longer making money out of the suffering of animals. We ask that the remaining dolphins are returned to the areas from which they were captured or rehabilitated in a natural environment.

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Dolphins and porpoises suffer in too small basins!

A report from Mrs. Eva Schandl, December 2002
During my vacation in the Dominican Republic in January 2001 I went to a zoo, where swim offered with dolphins was with the name Manati park Bavaro. Colored pictures on the advertising placards and leaflets conveyed the impression that Manati park is a lagoon in the open sea. Because I am a tall dolphin fool, of course these pictures have me dressedly.

Bad awakening:
Waking up came very quickly, though, when the bus went to the inland region and dropped us in a little zoo where I was looking for a lagoon or at least a giant lake or similar desperately. When I then arrived in the corner of the park where swimming with the dolphins was offered, the heart stopped for me. Almost the blow hit me when I had to state that five dolphins are "kept" in two little concrete basins where they make the same movements mainly for taking a photograph the whole day. However, I sat there a couple of hours and hoped that this torture stops, any gate opens up behind the sealing off and a lagoon appears behind this it wasn't for it unfortunately so. The little chlorine basin in which three dolphins lay at the surface everything there is motionlessly be seen could, can in the another two still tinier.

Show of dolphins below the blazing sun!
The procedure per paying visitor group is the same always and again and again. Despite scorching at noon heat one lets two put Delphine on the mat from the pelvis and braise in the sun for photos there for several minutes. After this a tourist to the dolphins may — , into the water photo on the pelvis edge the dolphin drags the tourist three meters by the water — photo and following may the whole group into the water and the three dolphins which anyway almost no longer much move are, if the tourists catch a fin or the body, grasped and stroked. The whole lasts to the next group of drankommt approx. 15 minutes.

Very soft laws
At home I decided again to look for help because it was absolutely difficult to understand for me how such a cruelty to animals is tolerated legally. When rummaging on the Internet I found out that the park stands under heavy criticism of tourists and protection of animals organizations already since 1999. I got this one finally also in May 2002 in contact with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and with Ric O'Barry of the world protection of animals organization, still an inspection of the park carried out. In the meantime I tried to mobilize what had to be mobilized and found numerous tourists who think as well as me. We have submitted lists of signatures with more than 6,000 protests to a Dominican protection of animals organization by now which fights for the dolphins very much in the Manati park. Infer around the tank one should think this must suffice and the dolphins in the care of experienced experts again in the sea auszuwildern. Unfortunately, this one isn't so, then despite laws in the Dominican Republic, for it, however, newspaper even the species particularly protect neck of a bottle dolphin (big bottle-nosed dolphins), this year in July 2002 Manati park has another eight dolphins in the National park Estonian (a nature reserve) captured wildly and this with a permission which has illegally assigned the Ministry of the Environment under violation of national laws itself as republic the local protection of animals organization informed me and as it also in innumerable press articles into the Dominican published was. Up till now is unclear, where taken Manati park these dolphins captured newly there has and whether these still live at all. In every case we know that already three of the animals stopped there since 1999 have died. The fight of the local protection of animals organization understandably enough is no-one also slighter since the Dominican Republic has also enough humanitarian problems anyway.

Stop the cruelty to Dolphins!
So it should mean much to tourists in my opinion in our responsibility not to support this cruelty to animals either. I don't have offer and advertise the park meanwhile led correspondence with innumerable tour operators and hotel chains last year, of which also numerous any more. Many tourists to whom these abuses aren't known are blinded by the colored leaflet pictures of the Manati park anyway furthermore which can be there seen on big advertising panels everywhere, though.

How you can help?
I think who really loves Delphine can to fulfill a personal wish only around his to have seen a dolphin from the proximity once approve by no means that one is a strain on these animals to death in chlorinated mini-basins ... If you follow this opinion, help with your signature on the regular petition for the liberation of the dolphins of the Manati park Bavaro. After I am instructed by organizations as a private person particularly in Europe at the fight with the tour operators and at the information passing on to as many tourists as possible on the help, I would like to mention Ecoterra particularly. This protection of animals organization doesn't shun the open confrontation the travel agency and hotel industry around the aim of achieving that the cruelty to animals isn't sold by the pink glasses of a colored excursion leaflet to uninformed customers as pleasure in the Manati park with the great ones either. I am grateful if you liked to support this work also financially, you find a link for this under "partner" on the Ecoterra site. Otherwise this makes only right things at a journey to the Dominican Republic and please goes to this park in no case. Many thanks for every support!

Please write a letter calling for the closure of the dolphin swim program at Manati Park. Please send your letter to Idelisa Bonnelly, the campaign organizer of the Dominican Republic. She needs support from abroad and will show the letters to the appropriate agencies. The address is:
Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi
Fundemar
Socrates Nolasco No. 6, Apt. 401
Residencial Carla Pamela
Naco. Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Fax. 001-809-227-1142
Email: fundemar [at] codetel.net [dot] do

Please send a copy of your letter to Eva Schandl at evarupert.schandl [at] aon [dot] at

You can find other information and details about the Manati park at:
WSPA Calls On Travel Industry to Pull Support for Captive Dolphin Program (World Society for the Protection of Animals)

Good news: Pepsi, Visa International and Nestle pull their logos from Manati Park:

Nestle, VISA International, and the Pepsi Cola Company — the three major companies that have been featured as sponsors on the Manati Park brochure — point out that they have never sponsored Manati Park, nor do they intend to. Upon reviewing photo documentation and reports about the plight of the dolphins at Manati Park all three companies have contacted the facility and demanded that their logos be removed from the Manati Park brochure immediately. Pepsi Cola has even requested that all of their signage be removed from the park. As a result Manati Park has had to reprint all their brochures and other written material, including large billboards and their website. We are asking that the hotels and tour operators, rather than support and encourage animal cruelty, follow the lead of Pepsi, Visa, and Nestle, and seek a cruelty-free form of entertainment for their customers.

Please sign now and urge closure of this horrible park!

Click Here for More Info
E-mail this petition to your friends.

DON'T MADE A VACATION INTO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!
DON'T MADE A VISIT TO MANATI PARK - THE PLACE OF THE DOLPHIN SLAVERY!

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