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Date Published: 15/09/2022

ARCHIVED - Teenager launches bid to ban dolphins in captivity in Valencia and the rest of Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

A petition set up by the 15-year-old girl has gathered more than 130,000 signatures

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Teenager launches bid to ban dolphins in captivity in Valencia and the rest of Spain

A 15-year-old girl determined to end the captivity of dolphins in Valencia and the rest of Spain has launched a petition calling on the Spanish Government to eradicate the practice and shut down dolphinariums.

And 136,000 people are backing the petition set up by Olivia Mandle on Change.org and addressed to Spain's President, Pedro Sánchez.

There are 11 parks and aquariums in Spain – the highest number of any country in the EU – and Oceanografi Valencia is probably the biggest place in Europe where dolphins are kept captive.

"Our country has the highest number of captive cetaceans, something that we should not be proud of," states Olivia, adding: "I dream that in our country, there will be no dolphin parks (or dolphinariums) where these animals continue to be used for the benefit of a corporation. Whatever their objective may be, it is not normal to lock these animals in small pools day and night for the rest of their lives."

Dolphins need a lot of space and in the wild they can swim up to 80 miles a day. But in captivity, on average, they have around 200,000 times less space, according to World Animal Protection. This leads to boredom, aggression and even self-harm.

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In the petition, Olivia refers to Barcelona, which in 2018, declared itself a cetacean-free city, and three dolphins previously held at the city's zoo were transferred. However just a few weeks ago, although Blau, Tumay and Nuik are "no longer being exploited in our country", they are now being oppressed in Greece at the Attica Zoological Park in Athens, warns Olivia, who is urging the government, "now is the moment to act... it is not normal to lock these animals in small pools day and night for the rest of their lives".

The teen is calling for Spain to set an example and ban the captivity of dolphins once and for all, as has been done in countries such as Brazil, Norway, Chile and India.

Olivia actually set up the petition two years ago, and in 2020, the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program hailed her a 'mini-heroine'. The young activist set up the dolphinarium petition when she was 13, but it is still gaining significant traction.

In the petition, the young activist adds: "The mistake that has been made in Barcelona and the suffering of these dolphins could have been avoided: what has been done is to move a 'problem' from one zoo to another when they could have brought these animals to a marine sanctuary, they chose so that these cetaceans continue to live in captivity.

"These dolphins do not deserve such a life, they deserve to go to a marine sanctuary where they can be helped to regain their instincts, recover actions such as searching for food, etc. They, like any animal in captivity, deserve to get as close as possible to freedom, which of course, they will never totally or completely have, but at least, they deserve a good end of life."

Olivia's views, shared by tens of thousands of people, are likely to cause quite a stir on the Costa Blanca as Oceanografic in Valencia is the city's biggest tourist attraction, together with the City of Arts and Sciences, so it's doubtful any decision to ban the captivity of dolphins in Spain would get much support, if any, from the local or regional government.

If you would like to support Olivia in her mission to eradicate dolphins in captivity in Spain, the petition can be found at Change.org

Now read: Dog dies in scorching car in Spain while owners have lunch

Image: Change.org

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