Cruel Conditions at Mediterraneo Marine Park

Recent drone footage exposes the cruel living conditions of the dolphins used as a tourist attraction at the Mediterraneo Marine Park in Malta. The footage shows a circular tank that is divided into three smaller sections, with three dolphins languishing in the tank’s murky-looking water. Even though temperatures in Malta soar to 30°C (86 degrees Fahrenheit) or more at this time of the year, the dolphins have no access to shade. Unlike dolphins in nature, they can’t seek cooler waters simply by diving, and dolphins in a tank spend far more time on the surface of the water than their wild counterparts, which can expose them to sun damage. The dolphins’ concrete confinement is completely barren and hopelessly shallow for marine mammals that are designed by nature to spend their days traveling, foraging, diving, and exploring an ocean world free from any human-made barriers. Despite the confinement’s apparent harshness, Mediterraneo Marine Park presents it to its paying customers as “Dolphin Lagoon.”

There is a second dolphin stadium at Mediterraneo Marine Park that functions as an amphitheater with bleachers around it for an audience. The dolphins that live there suffer just as much as the ones in the so-called Dolphin Lagoon. The only area of the theater that is equipped with any shade is the medical tank. While Mediterraneo Marine Park doesn’t seem to pay any attention to the dolphins’ constant exposure to the relentless sun, they have erected shade for the spectators, and they have done the same for tourists that gather at the Dolphin Lagoon.

The second dolphin stadium at Mediterraneo Marine Park is called “Dolphinarium.” It’s a concrete stadium with bleachers for an audience. Drone footage shows that only the small medical tank is equipped with some shade. The dolphins are trained to perform circus tricks for tourists, but Mediterraneo Marine Park still wants to be called a zoo. Credit: screen capture, drone video.

Mediterraneo Marine Park sells tickets to different types of captive dolphin interaction programs. On its website, the company advertises one of the schemes as “Dolphins Emotions Swim.” Two other versions of the enterprise are promoted as “Dolphin Shallow Experience” and “Dolphin Dry Experience.” Images posted on the company’s website show customers petting and touching the dolphins.

According to Cetabase.org, 11 dolphins have died at Mediterraneo Marine Park over the years. Four of them were originally captured in the Black Sea in Russia, and five were captured in Cuba. The remaining two were born at Mediterraneo Marine Park. The most talked-about deaths occurred in 2021 when three female dolphins died between August 25th and September 14th. An investigation by the Commissioner for Animal Welfare (CAW) concluded that “the most likely cause of death was lead poisoning,” which means the dolphins’ deaths were prolonged and painful.

The amusement park’s remaining five dolphins, all males, are named Sol, Nino, Cha, Rohan, and Luqa. Sol is the eldest. He was captured off the coast of Cuba more than two decades ago, and the others were born at the facility during 2010 and 2019. Rohan and Luqa, both sired by Sol, are the youngest.

The animal welfare organization Animal Liberation Malta and other local NGOs have been campaigning on behalf of Malta’s captive dolphins for years, participating in several Empty the Tanks events. Animal Liberation Malta encourages authorities to acknowledge that dolphin shows should fall under the criteria of a circus act. In other words, the amusement park’s zoo license should be revoked, they say. Mediterraneo Marine Park should stop using dolphins in interaction programs with tourists, and a dolphin import ban and a breeding ban must be put in place, so that Mediterraneo Marine Park cannot continue to produce dolphins that will spend their lives as performers. The organization hopes that the dolphins can ultimately be transferred to more natural and spacious surroundings where they will never again have to entertain crowds of tourists.

Malta banned the use of animals in circus performances in 2014, but Mediterraneo Marine Park has reportedly evaded the ban by using a loophole and labeling itself as a zoo. In 2022, the facility’s management defended its position in an opinion piece published in an online publication called MaltaToday.com. They said: “The animals at Mediterraneo Marine Park are not trained to perform tricks for entertainment. Our only aim with training is to guarantee animal welfare. In fact, our animals are encouraged to display their natural behaviours and engage in activities that are enriching and stimulating for them.” The statement is absurd. It is blatantly obvious that the dolphins at Mediterraneo Marine Park are trained with the purpose of attracting and entertaining paying audiences, and how are the dolphins supposed to engage in any natural behaviors in barren, minuscule tanks that bear no resemblance whatsoever to the vast ocean world they naturally belong to? There is absolutely nothing enriching to be found in those lifeless tanks. The dolphins are trapped in desolate concrete tombs 24/7, with nothing natural to explore, nothing meaningful to do, and nowhere to swim to.

Dolphin Project urges authorities in Malta to intervene and conduct an investigation into the living conditions of the dolphins held at Mediterraneo Marine Park. The dolphins urgently need shade. According to local observers, the dolphins are being used in circus-like performances, and Mediterraneo Marine Park should not be allowed to dodge legislation by cataloguing itself as a zoo. We encourage the relocation of the dolphins to more natural surroundings where they are not exploited as tourist attractions in petting programs and shows.

Featured image: Mediterraneo Marine Park in Malta, which calls itself “a premier tourist attraction,” has given this barren and shallow concrete confinement the ludicrous name “Dolphin Lagoon” and exploits the trapped dolphins in shows and a petting-program for tourists. The dolphins have no access to shade and cannot seek any protection from the relentless sun during the hot summer months. No dolphin should ever have to live under such inhumane conditions. We are calling for an immediate investigation into the dolphins’ living conditions and urge authorities in Malta to revoke the amusement park’s zoo license. Credit: screen capture, drone video.