Hobbies And Interests
Early History
Stranded dolphins were collected and taken to aquariums until their imminent deaths, in the 1870s. In the late 1930s, a Hollywood film company, Marine Studios, built a seawater tank in Florida in which to film dolphins for movies. Dolphins were trained at this facility and the program's success led to the development of oceanariums across the world during the 1940s and 1950s.
1960 to the Present
After the 1963 "Flipper" movie, the keeping of dolphins in captivity for entertainment purposes increased considerably. The first dolphin was exported to Europe in 1966. Due to lack of legislation, numerous dolphinariums were soon constructed worldwide, a number of which were inadequate for keeping dolphins correctly. The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, which originated in the United States, forced a number of dolphinariums worldwide to close. In 1985, Australia banned the display of dolphins and other cetaceans in 1985. The last dolphinarium in the United Kingdom closed in 1993. Hungary closed its last dolphinarium in 1992 and prohibited future dolphin imports into its country. Chile and Costa Rica prohibited the keeping of dolphins in 2005. Dolphinariums still exist in the United States, Mexico and Japan.
Acquiring Dolphins
According to Dr. Paul Boyle, Senior Vice President of Conservation and Education for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, oceanariums in North America are largely able to supply the dolphins they require from captive breeding programs in the United States. Dolphins are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and may not be collected in North American waters or those controlled by the nations of North America. The National Marine Fisheries Service requires that a facility requesting permits to collect wild dolphins demonstrate scientifically that the removal of the required animals will not have a negative impact on the wild population.
Reasons for Keeping Dolphins
Most people will never see a dolphin in the wild. According to Dr. Paul Boyle, 175 million people visit AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums in North America annually. These people have the opportunity to not only to see and be amazed by living dolphins, but to hear a conservation message about our environment and the importance of protecting it and the wild creatures that it supports. Captive-born dolphins may also one day be candidates for release into wild groups, to help sustain dolphin population numbers.