Company Gives Details of Dolphinarium Proposal

Europa Point Marine Village Limited (EPMVL) has given further information on its proposal of a dolphinarium to be detailed in its Planning Application, the Gibraltar Chronicle wrote today, adding that EPMVL rejects all criticism of conservationists and locals.

According to the newspaper the plans entail among other features a "walk-through Aquarium Centre" and "a Swim with Dolphins and Sea Lion Interaction Facility". The paper wrote that EPMVL said the statements of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) regarding the suffering of dolphins in captivity are false, and that there was no proof that wild dolphins have a longer and happier life than dolphins in captivity. Yet, the company did not come up with any evidence for these claims. EPMVL was quoted saying "WDCS advertises itself on the Internet as engaging in commercial activity and which openly promotes boating holidays and boating trips. The suggestion by WDCS that Government will be admired by support for what amounts to their uncompetitive behaviour is a sham. The people of Gibraltar are not stupid."

Yet, all these boat trips take place in the wild. EPMVL has omitted the fact that free dolphins have the choice to either interact with the humans on board a safari boat or to ignore them. Once dolphins are forced to live in captivity, humans take over the control over their lives and decide in what activities the dolphins have to engage - at any time of the day.