Dolphins Go Wild in Project to Free Captive Marine Mammals

[Omaha Steve]

The rewilding of two dolphins shows how animals kept at aquariums could roam free again.




Rewilded dolphins Misha and Tom. (Photo: YouTube)

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/06/03/dolphins-returned-wild-offer-way-free-captive-whales?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-06-03

June 03, 2015 By David Kirby

David Kirby has been a professional journalist for 25 years. His third book, Death at Seaworld, was published in 2012.

A new report on the successful rehabilitation and release of wild-caught dolphins could well become the how-to manual for other efforts to “rewild” marine mammals at aquariums around the world.

The paper documents in step-by-step detail the Born Free Foundation’s two-year project in which it rescued two dolphins from a squalid facility in Turkey, prepared them for life in the sea, and monitored them after their release.

“This report sets a new precedent that it is possible to rehabilitate and release former captive dolphins and ensure their survival in the wild,” Daniel Turner, programs manager for captive wild animals/policy at Born Free, said in an email.

He said the results demonstrate that even captive-bred animals can be retired from theme parks and retrained to live in enclosed coastal sanctuaries. “The example of Misha and Tom ensures a viable solution for the more than 300 captive cetaceans in Europe and the more than 2,500 animals worldwide,” Turner said.

FULL story at link.

[BrotherIvan]

1. I hope there is a way to follow India's lead and set them free

India has officially recognized dolphins as non-human persons, whose rights to life and liberty must be respected. Dolphin parks that were being built across the country will instead be shut down.

India's Ministry of Environment and Forests has advised state governments to ban dolphinariums and other commercial entertainment that involves the capture and confinement of cetacean species such as orcas and bottlenose dolphins. In a statement, the government said research had clearly established cetaceans are highly intelligent and sensitive, and that dolphins "should be seen as 'non-human persons' and as such should have their own specific rights."

http://www.dw.de/dolphins-gain-unprecedented-protection-in-india/a-16834519

Wouldn't that be something. Sad to say, I was one of those kids who watched dolphins and orcas in wonder at Sea World growing up. It is what gave me the interest to become a scuba diver. I did not know the suffering these poor creatures went through to perform and feel guilty about it. They are amazing creatures and we should strop imprisoning them.