A Revised Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans

 

In 2010 a small group of self-selected scientists and activists gathered in Helsinki, Finland to discuss the rights of cetaceans under international law. Their stated purpose was to formulate a declaration of rights and to garner international support for such a declaration. The conference, entitled "Cetacean Rights: Fostering Moral and Legal Change", produced a declaration signed by the 11 members of the 'Helsinki Group'.

While this declaration is well intended, certain elements in it do not represent the well-being of some cetaceans, especially those 'who have nowhere else to go'. 

Because the Dolphin Embassy project and the Cetacean Studies Institute have done extensive research on this expanding population around the world, and have come to recognise the very real importance of protecting their needs against short-sighted, albeit well-meaning, efforts by activist organisations, a revision of the Helsinki Declaration has been undertaken.

The revised declaration is presented here. Comments are welcome, and the revised declaration is open for further revision.

To see the original Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans, as produced by the Helsinki Group, you can see their site here.

Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises

Based on the principle of the equal treatment of all persons;
Recognizing that scientific research gives us deeper insights into the complexities of cetacean minds, societies and cultures;

Recognizing that increased human interaction with cetaceans has produced deeper insights into their biological, social, and psychological requirements;
Recognizing that cetaceans have participated in mutually beneficial relationships with humans and have demonstrated adaptive capacity such that they manifest fully complex lives in built environments;
Noting that the progressive development of international law manifests an entitlement to life and well-being for cetaceans;
We affirm that all cetaceans as persons have the right to life, liberty and well-being.

We conclude that:
1. Every individual cetacean has the right to life, safety, clean water, and a sonic environment that does no harm.

2. No cetacean shall be taken into captivity or be removed from their natural environment unless not doing so would endanger their survival. Any cetacean taken into human care shall be returned to their natural environment when feasible, determined on both biological and compassionate grounds. If not feasible it shall be provided an enriching environment that includes socialization with other cetaceans and with humans. Cetaceans  in human care shall have the right to bear offspring, recognising this as an important part of their social and biological nature. Any cetacean born in a human-managed environment has special status with a life-long responsibility for their care by humans.

3. No cetacean shall be subject to cruel treatment.

4. All cetaceans not in human care have the right to freedom of movement and residence within their natural environment.

5. No cetacean is the property of any State, corporation, human group or individual, but may become a ward of such entities if necessary to protect and safeguard their life and well-being. Cetaceans who have come into human care, by natural circumstances or circumstances that are irreversible, shall be provided all due care for the duration of their natural lives.

6. Cetaceans have the right to the protection of their natural environment.

7. Cetaceans have the right, equal to protections provided for human cultures, to not be subject to the disruption of their cultures.

8. The rights, freedoms, and norms set forth in this Declaration shall be protected under international and domestic law as well as an international framework under the administration of the United Nations in which these rights, freedoms, and norms can be fully realized.

9. No State, corporation, human group or individual shall engage in any activity that undermines these rights, freedoms and norms.

10. Nothing in this Declaration shall prevent a State from enacting stricter provisions for the protection of cetacean rights as long as the well-being of cetaceans is foremost in such provisions.

Originally agreed and signed, 22nd May 2010, Helsinki, Finland

Revised by the Cetacean Studies Institute, Dec. 2013-Oct. 2014, Queensland, Australia

It makes us wonder...

 

We recently received a letter from a movie producer who said he wants to make “the definitive dolphin movie”, asking us for information about Dolphin-Assisted Therapy, a topic which we have been studying for over twenty-five years. 

Dolphin-Assisted Therapy with a severely disabled child and two dolphins eager to interact.

As often happens, they found us through a search on the internet. And as also often happens, we gave them the information they were searching for despite their not offering to compensate us for the expertise, time, and effort we were asked to contribute. How odd it seems to us that some people who claim to know dolphins, who make a study of them, or do films about them, do not pay attention to some of the lessons to be learned from our relationships with them. Especially the lessons about cooperation, that generosity of spirit that ensures strong, healthy, and continuing bonds of trust and mutual support.

Cooperation among “dolphin people” sometimes seems to be as lacking as among any other segment of the human population. We wonder why.

Additionally, when we made an offer to be available as continuing consultants on their film project, they rejected it upon this basis:

“…unfortunately we've decided not to film any captive dolphins in the movie.  We're interested in their healing abilities but serveral of the people we've worked with on the film agreed to work together on the bases of only filming wild dolphins [sic]”

How sad. Our response included these thoughts…

“It is too bad you and your cohorts are so restrictive in your thinking. We love our interactions with free-ranging dolphins, but for therapy, a safe and controlled, and easily accessible environment is necessary. For that reason, we have paid a lot of attention to those dolphins living among humans, in constructed environments.

These dolphins are either rescued or have been born among humans. Those rescued would have been dead long ago if not rescued, rehabilitated, and promised a lifetime of care. None of them have been captured, and thus are not "captive".

Calamity, a rescued dolphin. She was rescued twice, rehabilitated and released once, only to be found again, entangled and badly injured by fishing gear. Unable to survive in the ocean, she has lived among humans for over 20 years.

For people who love dolphins and want to extend themselves in service to them, the dolphins who have stranded and become dependent upon humans are the ones they can serve. Dolphins who live among humans are unique, in that they offer us a direct means to begin to understand them, to learn from them, to offer our compassion to another highly developed social species. Note that we say ‘learn from’ and not ‘learn about’. The learning is based on relationships, consistent sharing of the same space and time, often in physical contact with each other.

We refer here to the "trainers" and vets and volunteers and others who live with and care for dolphins as their mission in life. Those who stand along a shore and view them from afar sometimes think of themselves as loving dolphins so much that they will not engage with them directly, fearful of disturbing their freedom. These people do not understand dolphins except as abstractions, the subjects of the research of others.

Do you, or your people, see humans who live in facilities for long-term care as less than deserving of the care we give to other humans? Would you have them turned out onto the streets when they are able to walk if they continue to have other needs? Would you be willing to go into a long-term care facility and euthanise the patients? This is the position of those who see the dolphins under human care, after being rescued, as captive and unworthy of their loving attentions. In England, this is the law, to euthanise any dolphin who might survive only if it is cared for by humans. This law was brought into force by those that made ‘dolphinariums’ illegal. There is no place for them to live if they survive the beach but cannot go back to the ocean.

We have discussed these issues many times over the years with the likes of Ric O'Barry and others, who see all dolphins under human care as unworthy of this kind of love and care, who should be force-fed contraceptives to prevent their having offspring, and this kept up until they die. This, of course, ignores the continuing movement into human care around the world of dolphins whose plight calls upon human compassion to care for them. They will always be arriving on the shore, in need of human compassion. The goal of preventing procreation also ignores the social needs of the dolphins, to bear and care for their offspring.

One of Calamity's offspring, young Bella.

If you want to do a film that includes the whole story of our deep connection to dolphins, how can you ignore those whose sea-born freedom, their destiny, has been given into the hands of humans?

Will you also ignore the stranding organisations who pour tens of thousands of human hours and untold hundreds of thousands of dollars into caring for dolphins, some of whom will have to be given care for whatever lifetime they succeed in having? Have they created "captured" dolphins?

What are the spiritual implications of the life of a dolphin born among humans? It does not belong in the sea, and it does great service as a bridge between lives. It experiences an extraordinary life, learning, playing, sharing, singing it's musical language with other dolphins and among among humans. Is its life without meaning, or ‘inauthentic’ in some way?

 

This young woman was blinded in an auto accident eleven months before this picture was taken. The opportunity to swim with Bella was her 21st birthday gift. For both Bella and this young woman, this moment was a meaningful moment.

We have become friends (since her birth) with an extraordinary dolphin named Bella. She was born of a rescued father and a rescued mother. Her life is one of continuing exploration, delight in discovery, playful games, close physical contact with humans, and she serves as an excellent Ambassador between her species and ours. Is she to be ignored, force-fed contraceptives, and made to not experience the joys and lessons of motherhood?

What is freedom, in your view? Is it a condition only of the body or of the body and the spirit? Do you know any ‘free’ people who live in small flats in cities? We bet you do. How about humans who are trapped and constrained in their lives, who live in remote settings far from a city? It is a projection of humans that dolphins who live among humans are not ‘free’. They are at liberty, to experience life as best they can in the circumstances that destiny has wrought for them. While movement across great distance is not possible for them, the freedom to live, to learn, to express, and to experience relationships is no less than anywhere else.

Buck meets Tenzin, the Dalai Lama's translator.

One of the dolphins we have come to know, Buck, is 43 years old, and has lived among humans for 42 years. He is well adjusted, healthy, happy, friendly, and a beautiful example of a dolphin who is totally trustworthy, calm among people, able to do much to educate and inspire humans....and he has had unusually caring and non-harsh interactions with humans since his rescue at age 1. No strict operant conditioning, only a cooperative and fully interactive "training system" has ever been used with him.

The lesson here is that dolphins can, and will, do very well among us if we do not ask of them what would stress humans just as much. Inappropriate training systems, by people who have yet to grasp the full nature of the dolphin, has given us the impression that some dolphins are not able to thrive being among us. This is really a non-issue, based on limited understanding. It is a human issue, not a dolphin one.

I am saddened to think that you may take your opportunity to do "the definitive film on dolphins" and not be willing to look at the whole picture. If you do as you suggest, you will do no more than all the others who have done the same, ignoring the very important story of the deeper, closer, more personal and intimate relationships where we care for those whose destiny has brought them to live among us.

If Dolphin-Assisted Therapy is interesting to you, you will not be able to tell the whole story without filming dolphins under human care, where humans and dolphins benefit by working and playing together.”

A profoundly autistic child who had never looked a human in the eye, nor spoken a word. After two weeks of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy, we witnessed her speaking, looking with interest into the eyes of others...a changed life.

 We have to wonder, sometimes, how deeply the thoughts of those who 'love dolphins' have gone. Caring for them, in all of the many circumstances they find themselves in, requires a many-faceted response.

Thoughtfully,
The Ambassador

Research at the Curacao Dolphin Therapy Center

The lagoons in the upper right, surrounded by walls, are where the CDTC conducts its therapy program. With wave-washed enclosures, fish freely swimming among the dolphins, and dolphins who only do therapy, added to an excellent application of widely-accepted therapeutic techniques, the CDTC stands out as one of the best in the world.

My Research at the Curacao Dolphin Therapy Center

I arrived on Curacao in late June of 2011 to begin two weeks of research. It was a wonderful experience, and has added immeasurably to my efforts to bring clarity to the understanding of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT).

As a long-time researcher on the topic of DAT (I delivered the keynote address at the 2^nd International Symposium on Dolphin Assisted Therapy and Research, in Cancun, 1996), I have paid close attention to the developments of this important form of therapy. When I began my PhD research in 2010, as a Geographer studying how animals and humans share the world, my thesis topic was easy to choose: it focuses on how DAT is understood. My research aims to contribute to what often are contested ideas about what it is, how it is done, how it ought to be done, and whether it ought to be done at all. Critics of DAT have made exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims, while some DAT programs have also made claims with no basis in fact. Research into DAT has been kept to a minimum, as the critics marshal  ‘experts’ to produce unbalanced reviews of any research done. Facilities for DAT have been driven from places where they are close to large populations of potential patients, by fierce animal protectionist campaigns, while dolphin facilities continue to be established where few regulations over their performance exists. It is to the debates over the realities of DAT that my research aims to contribute, by closely examining the various positions that support and oppose DAT.

My research project is located in the social sciences. It does not evaluate the effectiveness of DAT, nor does it critically engage with the many different styles of DAT. It does aim to develop a way of understanding the differences in DAT programs, and to understand the many ways that DAT impacts the social experience of the people involved. To this end, I negotiated with the Curacao Dolphin Therapy Center (CDTC) for a two-week visit, to interview the therapists, the trainers, and the families who had brought their children for therapy. My research seeks to understand how DAT affects the lives of those involved, so my interview questions were about the life experiences, the challenges faced, the best and worst parts of the experience of being involved in DAT.

As I was searching for a place to do my research, I found an unexpected resistance among programs I had expected to be supportive. In Florida, several programs that had indicated a willingness to cooperate with my research chose to deny me access. When I approached CDTC, Marco, the Head Therapist and onsite manager was very receptive, encouraging me to make clear to him just what I needed, but with an enthusiasm for my work that was heartwarming. I did not know that he was familiar with a book I had written about the relations between dolphins and humans, and DAT. I was unaware that he used part of my book when teaching his staff! We managed to arrange for a visit that coincided with the end of one series of sessions and the beginning of a new series, so that I might access as many families as possible.

In the end, I managed to conduct interviews with 13 families, 4 trainers, and 8 therapists, an exceptional number of excellent interviews.

Marco was a wonderful host for my work. He arranged for translation when I needed it; he helped me find good (and quiet) accommodations; he enthusiastically promoted my request for interviews to the families and staff; and he went out of his way to help me have a very successful research experience.

A typical session, with an intern (on the left, just out of sight) and a trainer on the floating platform, a patient supported by a therapist, and one of the wonderful dolphins at CDTC.

I came away from Curacao feeling that I had found, by good fortune, the most advanced DAT program anywhere. The standards to which it works, the quality of the staff and its training, the way in which the therapy is delivered (with one-hour sessions in the water, as a special factor), the physical environment, and the very excellent care of the dolphins (Rudolf is a key asset to the program with his wealth of experience), make CDTC stand out as the best facility I have ever seen. I now recommend it to any one who requests my opinion, which is not infrequently!

Thank you Marco, Ms Kirsten Kuhnert (whom I interviewed in Florida prior to my visit to Curacao), and the staff of the CDTC, for a rewarding experience. My thanks to the families also, who took time away from their powerful experiences to talk with an Australian researcher.

Sincerely,

C. Scott Taylor, BSocSc (Hon)

Exec. Dir. Cetacean Studies Institute

Queensland, Australia

PhD candidate, University of the Sunshine Coast

Investigation into allegations in "The Cove"

We highly recommend looking into this investigation.

Someone, so far unknown to us, has taken it upon themselves to investigate allegations made in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" about dolphins being sold from the slaughter site to dolphin facilities "all over the world".  It struck us, when we watched The Cove, that it was a continuation of the mis-representation of facts that Ric O'Barry has indulged in for many years. These two short videos only begin the deeper investigation into O'Barry's manipulation of facts. 

See them here:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tbwUEQo4Yo 
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KllJxpznagY 


You may note that the author of the videos says:

"Note to all: As the producer of this video, allow me to state quite clearly this work is mine alone and has not been commissioned by or for Sea World, or for any other aquarium for that matter. Their parks were specifically referenced in this video only because they were featured prevalently in The Cove. 

This video is not intended to be "pro" or "anti" captivity, just to keep to facts of a volatile issue - and one that needs to be solved with honesty."

We look forward to the movement toward more honesty in this issue. We support the move toward a diplomatic solution of the Japanese slaughter, including a much better attitude of respect toward the Japanese people, their culture, and dignity. It is not acceptable to us to characterise Japanese people as dolphin killers as a generalisation and the stated intentions of the producers of The Cove to increase anger toward the Japanese people. This is counter-productive and can only add to the very complex challenges this presents to both Japan and other nations. 

Warm regards, 
Scott 
Dolphin Embassy, Ambassador

More direct science against any resumption of whaling

In September of 2007 I wrote an entry (see it here) about the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean. Entitled "The Oxygen Farmers" it focused on the oxygen production that occurs in the Southern Ocean, and how it is the largest source of oxygen for our planet. Ever since the industrial whaling of the last century, the removal of the whales has added to the reduced efficiency of the Southern Oceans to produce oxygen.

Now, scientists have shown one more important part of this cycle, and why it is crucial that no commercial, or any other kind of whaling, should be allowed.

ABC news in Australia released a report today (see it here) telling us how Whale Poo is a critically important part of the life cycle in the oceans. As one of the elements in the life cycles in the oceans, the waste products from whale diets feeds algae, which in turn feeds the phytoplankton, which feeds the krill, eaten by the whales. It is the phytoplankton that creates the oxygen we breathe.

According to Japanese whaling interests, backed up by all other whaling nations, it is claimed that there is no environmental or ecological reason to stop whaling. Their claim is that the effort to end whaling is akin to "dietary imperialism" based entirely on cultural choices of what is OK to eat, and what is not OK to eat. They would have all whaling seen as purely choices of dietary preference, with no ecological consequences. To claim otherwise is only an emotional appeal based on bias, and is ecologically unwise.


Even the Australian ecologist, the highly acclaimed Tim Flannery, suggests that the imbalance in the oceans, the failing fish stocks and the ill health of many part of the world oceans, is due to unbalanced harvesting of living resources. Yes, Tim Flannery is in favour of increased whaling.

It has been my contention that the oxygen cycle is, obviously, affected by the reduction of whales in the southern Ocean. The reduction of most species has left open the ecological niches they formerly occupied, and these niches have been filling up with the increase in the population of the smallest filter-feeding whale, the Minke. It is the Minke whale that the Japanese have been removing in the hundreds each year, and the ones they must stop killing.

The arguments mount, stronger and stronger, for a total end to whaling. This is another piece of that argument.

The Ambassador

A contribution to the science of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy

A few days ago we were finally able to send off a packet in the mail that we had long hoped to send. After a year and a half of work, we finished our latest research paper and submitted it to a respected, peer-reviewed journal in England. We look forward to seeing it published.

Entitled: Swimming with dolphins:measuring mood change and the durability of change, it is a carefully done study of the mood state of our guests before and after swimming with dolphins. We also look at how the emotional response to our wellness program and the dolphin experience has affected their lives over time.

Each guest filled out a simple form three times. Once before any dolphin contact, once after the second dolphin swim, and at a date later on. We have our guests fill out the same questionnaire used pre-swim and post-swim at a later date to see how the mood state that they have from the dolphin experience has lasted. Each guest is assigned a random number that determines when their final, third questionnaire is sent to them, so that we can see how their mood state is at 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 weeks post-swim.

By using a well-recognised psychological "testing instrument" (the Positive And Negative Affect Survey, PANAS-X), we have been able to take advantage of many years of research into moods and their changes. Using statistical analysis, we have been able to look closely at many aspects of mood change, energy levels, positive and negative feelings...and the results are very interesting.

Until the paper is published, we are not able to share our findings. We can say that we have finally found a way to substantiate what many people have experienced, which is to say that dolphins have a wonderful effect on our emotions, and the effect does last. The amazing parts are in the details. Stay tuned...

There has been little research done over the years into how Dolphin-Assisted Therapy works and what effects one can expect.
We are proud to have begun making a contribution to this neglected field.

DAT is a health-promoting and successful form of therapy when done in a careful and realistic way. There are many forms of DAT, from clinical-style programs with multiple sessions, to programs such as ours, that allow each person to seek their own well-being in a supportive environment among dolphins. The field of DAT is getting closer to becoming a fully defined style of therapy, and we are delighted to be adding to the strength of it.

We have had so many guests who have had life-changing moments during their dolphin encounters, we know there is something to this, something that enables change. We call it a movement toward Wellness.
Following on from our recent project, we have been gathering data from our latest swim season to do a more in-depth research project, using the same instrument, and adding gender and age to the mix of factors. Our first paper was based on surveys of 53 people, with 37 returning the final questionnaire. Our next paper will be based on around 100 people, and we are anticipating at least 75 returning the final questionnaire. This will be a much larger sample, further strengthening our research.

DAT deserves to be solidly supported by research. Research should be done well, so that the "ineffable" experience we have when around dolphins can be understood. Toward this goal, we have made some progress.

We are very proud to be working on these research projects with our Research Fellow at the Cetacean Studies Institute, psychologist Hunter Handley. His good humour, steady hand, and excellent analysis has made this project come to life. Of course, we can not overlook the data gathering and processing and mailing work done by Amanda and me. Many thanks must also go to our guests who have been gracious enough to participate.

Scott 

Ambassadors

Dolphin stranding: Where can we put the dolphins who need to stay with us?

Research shows an alarming trend in the euthanasia of stranded dolphins. With the advent of powerful organizations whose purpose is to limit, or make entirely illegal, the display of cetaceans, the opportunity for a dolphin who strands and who requires long term care-- due to circumstances that make it inhumane to return it to the sea -- has nearly disappeared in Australia.

All too often, rangers working for government agencies appear at cetacean strandings with hypodermic syringes filled and ready. If a dolphin or small whale is thought unlikely to survive if returned to the water quickly, or who might require long-term care if rescued, it is killed on the spot.

How many have died due to having nowhere to be taken for rehabilitation? Figures are nearly impossible to find, due to governmental efforts to keep this data from the public.


The situation today: recent deaths

In known cases, officers have arrived on the scene of a stranding with syringes in hand, immediately killing the dolphin, before any realistic assessment of the condition of the dolphin has been done.

In Coffs Harbour, in 2006, a Risso’s Dolphin was found, stranded in the estuary. Local dolphin experts were in the process of getting the dolphin onto a stretcher to be carried to the Pet Porpoise Pool, one of only two facilities in Australia licensed to rehabilitate dolphins. Before they could get the dolphin onto a stretcher, a female ranger from the National Parks and Wildlife Service arrived, came down to see the dolphin, identified it as a Risso’s Dolphin (an offshore species rarely seen near land), and proceeded to inject it with a lethal dose of chemicals, killing it immediately.

The necropsy carried out the following day showed absolutely no pathology. This stranded dolphin was killed for no reason. It had no identifiable illness, disease, or parasites. Ironically, it was only meters away from one of the only rescue facilities capable of helping that lonely stranded dolphin.

If this Risso’s Dolphin had been given a fair go, it could have been helped to recover, and would have been taken to sea and released. If she had not be able to live in the ocean, she could have been given a lifetime of excellent care, living among humans as a sort of Ambassador for her kind.

The policy of NPWS is that “the best interests of the stranded cetaceans will be taken into consideration at all times”. While this is the established and published policy, in fact, the local district managers give verbal instructions to rangers to euthanise in nearly every case.

The window of opportunity for a dolphin to become an Ambassador has shut in Australia. How many people among the millions who love dolphins, who surf beside them, watch them from headlands and beaches, and who come to see them at either Sea World or the Pet Porpoise Pool, know that dolphins are being killed regularly by their government?

In a maddening case on the NSW coast, near the town of Cabarita, July 17th 2006, a very young Humpback Whale was found stranded in shallow water. Rescuers arrived and were ready to help her back into the surf when officials from NPWS decided to have her moved up onto the beach, above the high water mark, so that “assessments could be done”. Stated at the time, the reason was “to get blood samples and to see if her mother could be spotted nearby”.

However, instead of allowing for the whale’s own natural ability to find her own mother, or to make her way out into the open ocean where other whales might be found to swim with and protect her, the officials chose to keep her stranded on the beach, far above where she had been. As the tide receded, she became well and truly stranded. She lay on her belly, crushing her own lungs and internal organs. She died a horrible, slow, lingering death before the anguished eyes of the rescuers.

The official report stated that this whale had no chance of being able to survive the open sea. In fact, this was an ill-informed opinion, not a verifiable certainty, and her life was ended by lethal injection only after many, many hours of terrible suffering.
(See www.surfersforcetaceans.com/sfc.html “Death of a baby whale” story for the sad details)


Eye of the Cabarita whale, in agony as she died on the beach.
July, 2006

Australia has nearly 60,000 kilometres of coastline. There are many thousands of kilometres of beaches where cetaceans can and do strand. With only two facilities -- within 250 kilometres of each other on the east coast -- licensed to hold dolphins or small whales for rehabilitation, where do the dolphins go who might be rescued, helped to regain their health over time, and either be put back in the ocean, or given a lifetime of care?

The answer is: there is no legal way for a dolphin to be helped, other than to kill it to put it out of its suffering.

The History of an ongoing tragedy

In a country that loves the ocean and the beaches, where it is said that 75% of the population lives within 100 k of the ocean, that enjoys a worldwide reputation as ocean lovers, and especially dolphin and whale lovers, how has this come to be?

The story as the Cetacean Studies Institute has pieced it together is this:
Following the historic Frost Report in 1978, which recommended that all Australian whaling cease immediately, based on a comprehensive study carried out under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, the general mood in Australia, especially among environmental organizations and animal welfare advocacy groups, was that all uses and potential abuses of cetaceans, including dolphins, must come under careful scrutiny.

Commendably, this was the result of dolphins having played a significant role in the research that led up to the report’s conclusions. Experts from Dr. John Lilly, to Roger Payne, to Karen Pryor, Hec Goodall (of Coffs Harbour and the Pet Porpoise Pool), Dr Bill Dawbin, Dr Peter Singer, and many others testified to the mental, emotional, and social sophistication of dolphins. Using dolphins as the only cetaceans about which much was known, it was projected that whales had many of the same qualities. On this basis, whaling was stopped.

The direct result of the campaign against whaling was another campaign, this time to close down the dolphinariums. Activists, empowered by their success in shutting down the whaling industry (although by the time of the Frost Report, only one whaling station continued to exist, as the whales had nearly been driven to extinction), organised to close the places where dolphins were under the care of humans.

Of the nine dolphin facilities in Australia at that time, only two now remain. A combination of economics, social pressure, and growing investigative powers being vested in various government agencies, began too have their effect: the facilities bowed to pressure and closed down, one by one.

Tragically, many of the dolphins who had been living among humans were now turned out to sea, and were either seen to die, or disappeared quickly, their fates unknown. What does one do with a dolphin if no one is willing to take it? Atlantis, a large marine animal facility in Western Australia, had nine dolphins when they decided to yield to public and government pressures, and close. They offered their dolphins to Underwater World in Perth, who accepted them and began a program to prepare them for a return to, or in some cases a first look at, the sea.

The story is well documented. Of the nine, three disappeared, with only one ever being seen again, despite having had a freeze brand upon its dorsal fin. Three others died, killed by sharks as witnessed by observers. The three remaining dolphins simply refused to leave, and returned repeatedly to the boat harbour, begging fish from boaters.

The three who were begging food were retaken into human care. In a mysterious incident, and to this day not publicly explained as to who did it, or how it was done, they were all poisoned and died. The community expressed its outrage, tears were shed, local authorities insisted that they would not rest until the culprits were found and punished, and the entire affair was eventually shoved back into the collective memory and ignored.

The Pet Porpoise Pool, an outstanding example

When Hec Goodall and some of his mates decided to build an animal rehabilitation centre in Coffs Harbour in the late 60s, it made sense to build it next to an estuary. Land was purchased, funds were raised, and building commenced. By Boxing Day of 1970, the Pet Porpoise Pool was open.

Not long after opening, a call came in, alerting the staff to a stranding event in the nearby Nambucca River. In an oyster lease, on a sandbar, were found four dolphins, badly sunburned, dehydrated, and suffering. Before they could all be rescued, two died. The other two were brought to the PPP and rehabilitation began. Based on Hec's and the Pickering brothers experience at the Jack Evans Porpoise Pool in Tweed Heads, they were able, somehow, to keep the dolphins alive.

The older one was a female and it was initially thought that she was the other one’s mother. Quickly they realised she was not – she was not lactating, and showed no maternal interest in the other, much younger rescuee. The young one was judged to be about one year old, and was named Buck, for the Nambucca River where he was found.

Both young Buck and the female recovered. However, both were badly damaged, and it had taken over a year to deem them healthy again. The female was not strong enough to go back to sea, and young Buck had, by then, entirely forgotten the ways of the wild. He had lived in very clean, disease-and-parasite-free water, had been fed five times a day, and had grown quite attached to his human family.

It was decided, by government officials, veterinarians, and the staff at the Pet Porpoise Pool, to keep both dolphins at the PPP. Thus began the amazing life of Buck. His female friend died of natural causes a few years later, but as of this date, Buck is still with us, at the age of 37, having spent 36 years among humans.

Buck is a delightfully friendly dolphin. He genuinely likes people, approaching all who come to the side of his pool, allowing caresses and seeking out those willing to play catch with a ball. He has, in a conservative estimate, befriended nearly a million people in his many years.

When Hec Goodall was told that he should begin making plans to close the Pet Porpoise Pool, he thought of Buck. Could he survive in an ocean he had not known since he was an infant? Could he, in good conscience, tell the public that, due to government regulations, he was going to condemn Buck to certain death? No, it was not going to happen.

Hec Goodall then began a 20-year campaign to get a permanent license to rehabilitate, or display if unable to be returned to the sea, any dolphin who should make it into his facility. It took a terrible toll on Hec, but he managed to do it. In October of 2004, the Pet Porpoise Pool was granted a permanent license to house dolphins.

Calamity, a female dolphin, was rescued in 1995, not once, but twice. Her tail wrapped with fishing gear, and badly wounded, she was found near the mouth of the Tweed River. Healed and grown strong again, she was returned to the sea. Several months later she was found again, this time with over 10 kilos of fishing line wrapped around her tail stock, so tightly her flukes were nearly severed. This time, once she was healthy again, it was clear that her weakened tail would not allow her to survive at sea.

Many dolphins have come and gone from the Pet Porpoise Pool. Many have been rehabilitated and returned to the ocean. Some have died, despite heroic efforts to help them live. At present (April 2008), there are four dolphins at the PPP, including Buck and Calamity, Buck’s son Zip, who is 19 years old, and young Bella, the energetic daughter of Buck and Calamity.


Buck, Calamity, Zip, and Bella

What are the chances for a dolphin who strands today, to be given a lifetime of excellent care, and a role as a teacher, ambassador, and example of compassionate care for Nature? Unless it happens close to Sea World on the Gold Coast, or near Coffs Harbour, and a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger can be prevented from killing it immediately, its chances are virtually nonexistent.

Based on the NPWS idea that the Australian public does not want to see dolphins under human care, an old idea left over from the days of the “End the Whaling” campaigns, rangers are told to exercise their authority to euthanise all dolphins who cannot be expected to survive a very short period of stabilisation. In practice, this means that all dolphins are put down if they cannot be refloated and released on the spot.

At present there are only a handful of citizens in Australia trained to act as official dolphin or whale stranding volunteers. The pitifully small numbers, with little equipment, virtually no sea-water pools designated to serve as holding pools, and no government support, can do next to nothing in the event of a stranding.

Where can the dolphins go?

The Cetacean Studies Institute has hopes that a national education campaign can be undertaken, aimed at several outcomes.

1) A change of legislation to govern the NPWS policies regarding stranded dolphins and small whales. Rules must be written that will allow for stranding teams to help dolphins and small whales to be taken into care if at all possible.
2) A national stranding network should be designed, publicised, and supported by government grants, with trained, well-equipped teams and designated salt-water pools listed.
3) Regional centres should be built to rehabilitate, return to the wild, or provide excellent lives for marine animals, at government expense.
4) Legislation should be passed to allow for more licenses for rehab and display facilities where dolphins can be given care, and whose talents can be researched.
5) Because dolphins living among humans live lives that are not as rich with challenges and opportunities to use their extraordinary abilities, and who need, and deserve, enrichment in their lives to keep them healthy, Dolphin-Assisted Therapy should be given support as a means to help dolphins, and as a real therapy, especially valuable for special-needs children, as well as a rejuvenating aspect of wellness programs.

As an independent research and education institute, we urge the Australian public to look closely at this situation, and write or talk to your local representative to initiate new legislation, enabling stranded dolphins and whales to be taken care of, and if necessary, given a meaningful -- and much longer -- life among humans.

They offer us so much. Isn't it time that we show them the compassion they deserve?

Scott Taylor
Ambassador

The Question of Tradition

Japan 'backs down on humpback hunt'
From correspondents in Tokyo
December 20, 2007 01:00am
Article from: Reuters


JAPAN has apparently agreed not to kill humpback whales during its current Antarctic hunt, the US ambassador to Tokyo said today, a move that could help ease criticism of its controversial whaling program.
Japan's whaling fleet set sail last month with plans to catch more than 1000 whales, including 50 humpbacks, which are popular among whale-watchers for their distinctive silhouettes and acrobatic leaps, before returning to port early next year.
Humpbacks were hunted to near extinction until the International Whaling Commission ordered their protection in 1966 and the planned hunt had sparked a loud outcry from activists.
"I think we had an agreement ... between the United States and Japan that humpback whales would not be harvested, I think, until maybe the International Whaling Conference in June,'' US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said.
Because of migration patterns, the delay would mean it would be "a while before they are at risk again,'' Mr Schieffer said.
Australia yesterday announced that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica and gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt the yearly hunt.
Separately, Greenpeace sent a ship yesterday to try to stop the Japanese fleet hunting whales.
Japan has long resisted pressure to stop what it calls scientific whaling, insisting that whaling is a cherished cultural tradition.
"Japan's whaling is being conducted in line with international treaties and for the purpose of scientific research. We would like to win the understanding of others,'' a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said in Tokyo.

~~~~~~

The "cherished cultural tradition" mentioned should be seen like the "cherished tradition" of early English (Saxon) people*, the people of Easter Island**, the native people of the California coast***, who were also dolphin and whale eaters. It proved unsustainable in each case, wreaking havoc on local ecologies. With the extremely high levels of toxic chemicals now found in the meat of dolphins and whales (they are at the top of the chain of "bio-accumulation" and concentrate the toxins in their blubber and the milk of nursing mothers, passing it on from generation to generation, each time gaining in concentrated killing power) the tradition of "cetaceans on the menu" is now deadly. It is time to end this "tradition".

Since the actual tradition of the Japanese whalers and dolphin hunters was to hunt and kill and eat the cetaceans from the waters around Japan (which still goes on in the tens of thousands each year, now), what does killing the whales of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary have to do with tradition?

It just doesn't make any sense.

The Ambassadors

~~~~~

* "Continuing study of the huge middle and late-Saxon vertebrate assemblage from Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, has shown that the inhabitants of this important settlement were consuming whale and dolphin meat. More than twenty fragments of these marine mammals have been recovered from only 10% of the material so far recorded. These animals may have been caught at sea or, more likely, in the nearby Humber estuary where they may have been stranded. It is possible that they represent trade with the nearby east coast fisheries, although the almost negligible quantities of marine fish from the site appear not to support this theory. More specific identification of the species of whale and dolphin will provide valuable information about the past distribution of cetaceans since all are rare or uncommon visitors to these waters today."

http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/archrev/rev96_7/enviro.htm

~~~~~

** "During the later centuries of the Mayan civilization, a new society was evolving on faraway Easter Island, some 166 square kilometers of land in the South Pacific roughly 3,200 kilometers west of South America and 2,200 kilometers from Pitcairn Island, the nearest habitation. Settled around ad 400, this civilization flourished on a volcanic island with rich soils and lush vegetation, including trees that grew 25 meters tall with trunks 2 meters in diameter. Archeological records indicate that the islanders ate mainly seafood, principally dolphins—a mammal that could only be caught by harpoon from large sea-going canoes. 

The Easter Island society flourished for several centuries, reaching an estimated population of 20,000. As its human numbers gradually increased, tree cutting exceeded the sustainable yield of forests. Eventually the large trees that were needed to build the sturdy canoes disappeared, depriving islanders of access to the dolphins and dramatically shrinking their food supply. The archeological record shows that at some point human bones became intermingled with the dolphin bones, suggesting a desperate society that had resorted to cannibalism. Today the island has fewer than 4,000 residents."
--Lester Brown

http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch01_ss4.htm

~~~~~~

*** "The Dolphin Hunters: A Specialized Prehistoric Maritime Adaptation in the Southern California Channel Islands and Baja California
Judith F. Porcasi, Harumi Fujita
American Antiquity, Vol. 65, No. 3 (Jul., 2000), pp. 543-566
doi:10.2307/2694535

Abstract
Synthesis of faunal collections from several archaeological sites on the three southernmost California Channel Islands and one in the Cape Region of Baja California reveals a distinctive maritime adaptation more heavily reliant on the capture of pelagic dolphins than on near-shore pinnipeds. Previous reports from other Southern California coastal sites suggest that dolphin hunting may have occurred there but to a lesser extent. While these findings may represent localized adaptations to special conditions on these islands and the Cape Region, they call for reassessment of the conventionally held concept that pinnipeds were invariably the primary mammalian food resource for coastal peoples. Evidence of the intensive use of small cetaceans is antithetical to the accepted models of maritime optimal foraging which assume that shore-based or near-shore marine mammals (i.e., pinnipeds) would be the highest-ranked prey because they were readily encountered and captured. While methods of dolphin hunting remain archaeologically invisible, several island cultures in which dolphin were intensively exploited by people using primitive watercraft and little or no weaponry are presented as possible analogs to a prehistoric Southern California dolphin-hunting technique. These findings also indicate that dolphin hunting was probably a cooperative endeavor among various members of the prehistoric community."

In defense of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has recently chosen to start a campaign against Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT). Using a recently published paper, they claim to have scientific evidence that DAT is ineffective.

There are a few problems with this…

As the founding Director of the Cetacean Studies Institute, founded in 1996, and long-time researcher into the effectiveness of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT), I feel compelled to comment.

The review of DAT research cited by WDCS written by Marino and Lilienfeld has many errors in it. Titled “Dolphin-Assisted Therapy: More Flawed Data and More Flawed Conclusions”, it is itself littered with flaws.

Without any clear definition of what Dolphin-Assisted Therapy is, the Marino-Lilienfeld paper makes unsupported accusations against well-developed and well-proven therapeutic programs of therapy that include dolphins. It does not adequately differentiate between real DAT programs and “swim-with-dolphins” programs.

The paper suggests, for instance, that any person swimming with dolphins is undertaking some kind of intentional therapy. It cites research having to do with injuries sustained by people in commercial swim programs, and it cites only one side of the debate about whether diseases can be transmitted between dolphins and humans as part of its basis for describing DAT as an “unsubstantiated intervention”.

Here is the final conclusion in this paper:

“At the very least, we believe that DAT practitioners should be required to inform parents and, when relevant, participants, of the absence of evidence for DAT’s enduring effects on psychological symptoms. Only then can consumers of DAT make adequately informed decisions regarding the costs and benefits of this unsubstantiated intervention.”

Yes, DAT is, so far, unsubstantiated by the research cited by Marino et al.. Does this mean that it is ineffective?

The main issue here is whether DAT has a positive and long-lasting effect on the lives of patients and their families. Instead of addressing this question, which would necessitate actual research, extensive interviews, arranging for standardized measuring instruments to be deployed to discover and document changes, and a host of other expensive and time consuming research, Marino and Lilienfeld have taken the safe arm-chair route. They have reviewed some of the very few research papers ever published to see if they can stand up to an extremely rigorous analysis of their scientific validity.

Reviewing the validity of research is not the same as doing research.

We could all benefit from a review of the available research and suggestions about how it can be performed better. If this had been their intent, Marino and Lilienfeld's review could have been truly useful. Instead, they selected papers to critique and pursued a predetermined mission to condemn DAT -- without doing any research themselves into the effectiveness of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy.

In our many years of studying DAT, visiting facilities, interviewing therapists, patients, family members, trainers, doctors, medical technicians, as well as filming dozens of sessions, collecting patient stories, and operating a small Wellness Program ourselves, we have seen many wonderful results.

Literally thousands of families have had their entire family history changed for the better through the effectiveness of good DAT programs.

To date no one has created an accurate definition of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy. However, just as the Supreme Court Justice said, “I know it when I see it”, one can visit some of the DAT programs around the world to see what it is. We recommend Island Dolphin Care, in Key Largo, Florida (www.islanddolphincare.org) as the most professional, effective, and long term program, under trained medical professionals, run as a non-profit organization, as the model for high standards.

The results -- improved lives -- are the means by which to evaluate DAT.

Our program (www.dolphintale.com) here in Australia works with rescued dolphins and their progeny. These dolphins would be dead, long ago, if they had not been rescued. Now, as dolphins living among humans, it is important that they have life experiences that are enriching, stimulating, and as safe as possible to help them maintain their health. We know that our interactions with these dolphins are a real benefit to them as well as a benefit to those people who swim among them.

DAT needs to be investigated more fully. Research needs to be done by competent, well-funded scientists, who have no bias or agenda to push. Until this is done, we will have ill-informed campaigns such as the WDCS campaign, and the misdirection of papers such as the one by Marino and Lilienfeld.

Scott Taylor
Ambassador

A "human-like" dolphin

Recently we were in Florida, visiting our friends at SpeakDolphin.com, where we were hosted to present an evening of Dolphin Embassy news and updates to a community of old friends, new friends, and a variety of local experts on dolphins and whales. We had a wonderful time sharing the news of our latest work, and viewing footage from several dolphin and whale researchers.

While in Florida, one focus was to catch up with the team we have been collaborating with on a special research project. This project was focused on a stranded dolphin, her conditions, and the birth of her calf.

Castaway was stranded on Castaway Beach in south Florida. She was a single stranding, an unusual event. When she was examined, it was discovered that she was unusual in other ways. She was pregnant, and she was deaf.

How a dolphin becomes deaf is not fully known. She may have suffered ear infections -- she had none at the time of her stranding -- she may have been born deaf. Most likely she was the survivor of infection. Her pregnant condition may have forced her to choose to head toward land, as her deafness probably left her feeling very vulnerable. But then, what do we know of the choice to head toward shore by a dolphin?

In any case, she presented both huge challenges and some special opportunities for research.

A team was formed to address her situation and she was transferred from the original stranding organisation's facility to a facility we have become familiar with, the excellent Marine Mammal Conservancy, on Key Largo.

Because of her situation, her questionable health, and the need to keep her isolated from other dolphins, we knew that her infant was going to be without an essential element in its development in the womb -- no sounds from other dolphins, or from Castaway herself. Castaway made some sounds, but similar to deaf humans, there was little dynamic range or variation to her sonic output. We decided to enrich her environment by providing supplemental dolphin sounds.

The first and easy part was to get recordings from Dolphins Plus, a few miles away, of their pregnant dolphin and the others who shared her pool. These recordings were played to Castaway -- and her growing fetus -- in two daily sessions. The next step was more difficult. We wanted some kind of live interaction for the new infant. We arranged to have a telephone link set up to provide a live and open phone line between the two facilities! This was widely reported in the national and international media.

We wondered: "How does a baby dolphin gain it's language?", "Where does the signature whistle originate, from the young calf, or from the mother?", "How will a mother communicate with her calf without sound?", "How will a deaf mom affect the calf in it's feeding?", and many more questions.

We decided to set up 24 hour video and sound recorders to watch the process.

Sadly, the calf was born only to perish five days later. There was nothing more that could have been done. To see the full story of Castaway and her son Wilson, visit www.marinemammalconservancy.com


Research continues with Castaway, but the opportunity to watch the process of language acquistion by a new calf will have to await another opportunity. Will Castaway become pregnant again? Time will tell.

When we visited, we were able to go to the MMC, see the amazing birthing pen that was built, and then go to Dolphins Plus, where Castaway now makes her home. We were invited to swim with her.

This was truly a highlight in our 25 years of dolphin interaction, and literally hundreds and hundreds of dolphin swim encounters. What an amazingly different dolphin she is.

Castaway can be, with all due respect, be thought of as a sort of "human-like" dolphin, in that she depends entirely, as we do, on her sight and touch in the water. She was more than friendly...she approached right away and began to caress us. She swam beside us, so close we had to backpedal to be able to take pictures. She gazed into our eyes, closely and steadily. Her gentleness -- she is a very large Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, at least 2.5 meters long -- and presence were startling in their power. We were deeply moved by her tender play and seeming fascination with these new people.

After so many months of having humans lift her, measure her, help her thru a difficult birth, the loss of her calf, and all the odd things we humans do when trying to care for dolphins in distress -- hydration, injections, massage, staring at them night and day -- after all that, she was so gentle and loving, so very close and curious about us.

Thank you, Castaway, for one of our most amazing encounters. We will continue to visit you, to spend time contemplating the destiny that brought you to the human world, and the role of Ambassador that you play.

The Ambassadors

On-going research

With our dolphin-swim program focused on enabling people to have unique levels of contact with dolphins, we have had an excellent opportunity to do research into the effects of dolphin contact. Working with Dr Hunter Handley, a local psychologist, we have done an extensive survey of the moods of our swimmers.

(For details, visit www.dolphintale.com)

Using a well-recognised psychological "instrument", called PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Survey), we have asked our swim participants to rate a list of words that designate emotional states, or feelings, on a scale from 1 to 5, either of low significance up to high significance. This survey is done before the dolphin swim, immediately after the second swim, and again at a randomly chosen date, some weeks post swim.

This enables us to get a reasonable look at the change in mood that occurs as a result of the dolphin encounter and its lasting effect.

We had 68 people in our program this past season, with 52 of them eligible for our research program. So far, 35 have responded. We are almost complete, and expect 4 more responses. This gives us a fairly large sample and the results are very interesting.

We will withhold reporting the final results for a while longer, until we have all the responses in hand. Our intention, working with Dr Handley, is to publish our results in a peer-reviewed journal. As a contribution to the field of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy research, this should be a significant paper. There have been few papers ever published in this promising field and we hope to improve that.

Stay tuned for more information, the results of our research, and a link to the eventual location of the published paper.

Thanks, Hunter, for all your hard work. It has been a pleasure working with you on this worthy project.

The Ambassadors