Fooled by a Smile: Dolphin Venues
Undercover assignment for World Animal Protection
Tourists are fooled by a smile. Venues use the dolphin's jawline to sell the idea dolphins are happy in their tanks, and mask this as educational entertainment and conservation efforts. But in reality, these venues are just cruel spaces that profit from animal suffering. Using food as a training method, dolphins are kept hungry a big part of their days. Separated from their mothers at an early age and under stress produced by constant interaction with humans. You can commonly find dolphins with rake marks because they are kept in groups they didn't choose to live with. Dolphins lose their skin constantly, as they don't have deep pools to escape the heat and sun. Is this truly the kind of relationship we want to have with wild animals? Documented on assignment for World Animal Protection, venues in the US, and Mexico.
