Comment NOW and Say NO to Dolphin Transfer

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED

Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida has applied for a permit to import up to five adult bottlenose dolphins from Attica Zoological Park in Athens, Greece for public display purposes. The application, submitted last month to NOAA Fisheries, is now open to public comments up until March 20, 2025. We urge everyone to immediately voice your opposition to this transfer and submit a comment by clicking on this link.

Why we oppose this transfer:

Explains Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project: “Clearwater Marine Aquarium is NOT a dolphin sanctuary, other than in name. It’s a huge concrete building with concrete and glass holding tanks inside the belly of the facility. Flying the dolphins across the ocean is potentially dangerous for the mammals, and upon their arrival to Clearwater, they will be placed in yet another concrete tank — a life sentence inside of a building.”

He continues: “A much more humane alternative would be to take the dolphins directly to the Greek islands of Lipsi, Crete or to San Paolo Island in southern Italy where they can live out the rest of their lives in peace and dignity. The Umah Lumba Rehabilitation, Release and Retirement Center in West Bali, Indonesia is a prototype for the creation of additional dolphin sanctuaries in other parts of the world, and in fact, plans are already underway to build two dolphin retirement facilities there (one in Lipsi, and the other in Crete). Lipsi is farther along and could accommodate the Attica Zoo five on short notice if the Greek government would cooperate.”

Helene and Ric O’Barry say NO to the Attica dolphin show!

Background:

Dolphin Project, for several years, has campaigned and protested at the gates of the Attica Zoo against their use of captive dolphins. In 2018, our team visited the facility to evaluate the dolphins’ living conditions. We found several dolphins confined in small tanks with no access to shade. Athens is scorching hot in the summertime, with the zoo located outside of the city where headline-making wildfires exacerbate the problem. Even though Greece in 2012 implemented legislation that bans the use of animals in shows, the dolphins continued to perform several times a day. Later that year, the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy imposed a fine of 44,360 euros to Attica Zoo for not adhering to the law that bans the use of animals in shows, and on March 13th, 2020, the government authorities revoked the dolphinarium’s license to operate.

TAKE ACTION AND SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS NOW ➡️ Permit Application for the Import of 5 Bottlenose Dolphins (File No. 28233, Clearwater Marine Aquarium)

Sources used in this blog:

Activist seeks to halt dolphin importation from Greece to Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Related:

Dolphinarium’s License Revoked at Attica Zoo

Featured image: Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project demonstrates at Clearwater Marine Aquarium on January 7, 2025, opposing the proposed transfer of five captive dolphins from Attica Zoological Park in Athens, Greece to Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida. Credit: DolphinProject.com