There are no captive cetaceans in the UK – but it’s not illegal to keep them. Marine Connection has launched a petition to change that
It has been 30 years since the last dolphinarium was closed in the UK, however, while this news is to be rightfully celebrated, it is not well known that there is no outright ban on the keeping of captive cetaceans in the UK.
Now, campaign group Marine Connection, supported by celebrities such as actress Joanna Lumley and rock musician Bryan Adams, has raised a petition on the UK government’s website to institute a permanent end to the possibility of keeping marine mammals such as dolphins, orcas and beluga whales in captivity.
The government is bound to respond once the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, and it must be considered for debate in Parliament should the total top 100,000 or more.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, there were around 30 dolphinariums and travelling dolphin shows in the UK – and five orcas were held at Windsor Safari Park between 1970 and 1985. An increasing awareness of cetacean intelligence and the poor conditions in which the animals were kept meant they gradually lost public support, however, and by the early 1990s, only four captive cetacean facilities remained.
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Although legislation to greatly improve welfare standards was brought into effect by the government of the time, campaigning by Marine Connection, founded by Margaux Dodds and Liz Sandeman, saw the last dolphin leave the UK, bound for a Swedish Zoo, in 1993.
‘People are often mistaken in believing that the UK has banned the display of captive cetaceans, but this is not the case,’ said Dodds. ‘It is not currently illegal to display dolphins here.’
‘We remain vigilant for any rumoured interest in this area and will continue working towards a ban being implemented to ensure that the industry which trades in the capture, confinement, and display of dolphins and whales for profit never again darkens UK shores.’
‘However, the UK is still at risk of playing host to captive dolphins and whales through lack of clear legislation and this cannot remain unchallenged.’
UK government petitions run for 6 months, with the newly-launched campaign’s deadline set as 21 May, 2024. Visit the Marine Connection website for more information and to sign the petition.
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