Dolphin Project

Four beluga whales are dead at Shedd Aquarium in less than one month. Three had only recently been transferred from Marineland Canada. The fourth, Beethoven, had spent decades in captivity at Shedd.

At the time of writing, the causes of all four deaths have not been announced. With seven of the transferred belugas still at Shedd, the public deserves answers about what these whales experienced before, during and after their moves.

👉 Read the full blog: “Multiple Beluga Deaths at Shedd Aquarium” 🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/multiple-beluga-deaths-at-shedd-aquarium/

If you’ve seen what happens in Taiji, and what the captive dolphin industry does to wild dolphins, there is something you can do.

Don’t buy the ticket.

Dolphins are not entertainment.
They are not props.

Take the pledge. Help end the demand. 🐬
Click 🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/take-action/take-the-pledge-not-to-buy-a-ticket-to-a-dolphin-show/ to help stop captivity.

Not every dolphin driven into Taiji’s Cove is killed. Some are chosen alive because the captive dolphin industry has created a market for them.
That is why captivity cannot be separated from the hunts. Every ticket to a dolphin show, swim program or captive encounter helps sustain an industry where a wild dolphin can be worth more alive in a tank than free in the ocean.
If we want to stop the hunts, we have to stop creating the demand.

👉 Read the full blog: “Captivity Gives the Hunts a Price Tag”
🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/beyond-the-cove-how-captivity-sustains-the-hunts/

Cecil spent 42 years in captivity, transferred between dolphinariums in the United States and Europe. Now he is dead.
Nine dolphins remain at Kolmården, where a bacterium that can cause difficult to heal skin lesions has been found in the water. The zoo says it still does not know what will happen to them.
After decades of performances, breeding and confinement, these dolphins deserve more than another year of uncertainty.

👉 Read the full blog: “Another Dolphin Is Dead. What Happens to the Nine Left Behind?”
🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/kolmarden-zoo-another-dolphin-dies/

Another pod was driven into Taiji’s Cove. Another four bottlenose dolphins were chosen for captivity.
They join 21 dolphins captured just days earlier, bringing the season total to 25.
Dolphins should never be taken from their families and their ocean to become entertainment. Every ticket we refuse helps weaken the demand that keeps this trade alive.
👉 Read the full blog: “Another Taiji Drive. Four More Dolphins Taken Captive.”
🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/25-dolphins-taken-captive-as-taiji-hunts-begin/

First, 21 bottlenose dolphins were taken captive. Then another pod was driven into Taiji’s Cove, and four more were selected.
That is 25 wild dolphins taken for captivity in the opening days of the season.
Behind every captive dolphin attraction is an industry that places a price on freedom. We have to stop creating the demand.

👉 Read the full blog: “25 Dolphins Have Already Lost Their Freedom in Taiji”
🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/25-dolphins-taken-captive-as-taiji-hunts-begin/

When dolphins are driven into Taiji’s Cove, captivity can be one of the outcomes.
Young dolphins may be selected alive, torn from their families and ultimately confined for shows and human interaction. The captive industry gives live capture economic value. If we want the hunts to end, we cannot ignore the attractions that help create the demand.
👉 Read the full blog: “The Cove and the Tank Are Part of the Same Industry”
(🔗 link in bio)

Cecil is dead at 42.
More than 60 dolphins have reportedly died at Kolmården since its dolphinarium opened in 1969. Now Mycobacterium marinum has been discovered in the water, and the zoo believes all nine remaining dolphins may be affected to some degree.
They were promised an end to this chapter of captivity in 2022. Four years later, they are still waiting for a future beyond these walls.

👉 Read the full blog: “More Than 60 Dolphins Dead. Nine Still Trapped Inside.”
🔗https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/kolmarden-zoo-another-dolphin-dies/

The Taiji hunting season has barely begun, and already 25 bottlenose dolphins have been taken from the wild for captivity.
Twenty one were captured after the season’s first drive. Days later, another pod of 30 to 40 dolphins was forced into the Cove. Four were selected for captivity while the others were released.
This is where the captive dolphin industry begins. Not with a show, but with dolphins losing their freedom.

👉 Read the full blog: “25 Dolphins Taken Captive as Taiji Hunts Begin”
🔗 https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/25-dolphins-taken-captive-as-taiji-hunts-begin/

Another dolphin has died at Kolmården Zoo.
Cecil was 42 years old. His death adds to a disturbing history at a facility where more than 60 dolphins have reportedly died since the dolphinarium opened in 1969.
Now, nine dolphins remain while Mycobacterium marinum, a bacterium capable of causing painful and difficult to heal skin lesions, has been found in the water they are forced to live in.
Kolmården announced four years ago that its dolphinarium would close. The dolphins are still there.

👉 Read the full blog: “Kolmården Zoo: Another Dolphin Dies” https://www.dolphinproject.org/blog/kolmarden-zoo-another-dolphin-dies/