Hundreds of protesters gather to call for change at Dolphinaris
After the fourth dolphin died at Dolphinaris Arizona in the past 16 months, more than 200 people gathered Saturday morning to protest the attraction and push for change.
Leslie Acevedo, from Las Vegas, said when she saw online that four dolphins had died she had to come down to support the protest.
"Dolphins are sentient beings. They shouldn't be interacting with people. They should be swimming for hundreds of miles free in the ocean. This is just wrong," Acevedo said.
For two hours, protesters lined the intersection at East Via de Ventura and North Pima Road in Scottsdale, calling for the remaining dolphins to be released and for Dolphinaris to be investigated and shut down.
Awareness was key, Acevedo said, because if people were aware, they would make different choices. She wanted to see that awareness spread to children.
READ MORE: Dolphin was on loan to Dolphinaris at time of death
Saturday was 10-year-old Katherine Seay's first protest, and she said it will definitely not be her last.
"I'm trying to shut down Dolphinaris and give animals more rights than they have now. They're not just things to be toyed with," Seay said. "Don't put dolphins in the desert! It's just not right."
End of dolphin-loan agreement
Dolphinaris opened in 2016 on the Salt River Reservation with eight dolphins, half of which have died in that time. Four dolphins remain at the facility, according to the facility's spokeswoman Jen Smith.
Kai, a 22-year-old dolphin, died Thursday morning after his condition began deteriorating and he had difficulty swimming, eating and breathing, according to a statement from Dolphinaris.
Federal officials confirmed Friday that they are investigating Kai's death.
Kai was on loan from Hawaii-based Dolphin Quest to participate in education and experiential learning programs for the public.
"The Dolphin Quest team is heartbroken over the loss of our beloved Kai," the statement read.
Dolphin Quest said it is looking at all options, including the removal of its two remaining dolphins, Liko and Noelani, from the facility.
"The safety and health of our animals is our top priority," said Dr. Rae Stone, co-founder of Dolphin Quest. "In spite of their best efforts, the animal-health concerns have not been resolved at Dolphinaris."
Dolphin Quest said it has a senior marine-mammal specialist on site at Dolphinaris who is closely monitoring the dolphins. Liko and Noelani are alert and in good condition at this time, according to the statement.
READ MORE: Feds assess 'next course of action' after fourth dolphin dies
Dolphin Quest said it has contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is working with them on next steps.
The other three dolphin deaths, all of which have caused controversy, include:
- Khloe, an 11-year-old bottlenose dolphin, who died due to a chronic illness Dec. 30, 2018, according to Dolphinaris AZ.
- Bodie, a 7-year-old bottlenose dolphin, who died of a fungal infection Sept. 23, 2017. Dolphinaris originally reported the cause of his death as a rare muscle disease, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report to local activist Laurice Dee, who has opposed the facility, that said Bodie died of a fungal infection. That prompted activists to speculate if desert conditions are appropriate for dolphins. Dolphinaris Arizona spokeswoman Jen Smith told The Arizona Republic in June 2018 that the “muscle disease was secondary to a fungal infection.”
- Alia, a 10-year-old bottlenose dolphin, who died May 22, 2018, of an acute bacterial infection that officials said “spread quickly throughout her body.”
Captive in the desert
Stacy Kennon also brought her two young sons to the protest, saying that when she was a kid she went to Sea World where she saw dolphins for the first time.
"I bawled when I saw them. It was awful, and I wanted them to be able to go home. In this day and age, we have virtual reality and holograms. You can get the same experience without harming the actual animals," Kennon said.
A statement about dolphin health on Dolphinaris' official website says:
"We take dolphin health very seriously. That’s why we hire the best veterinarians in the industry. We monitor the health of the dolphins daily, including diet, weight, activity, and many other metrics. At Dolphinaris Arizona, we don’t just meet standards, we strive to exceed them."
But Acevedo believes contamination played a part into not only Kai's death but the others.
"When dolphins are swimming in the ocean, they aren't interacting with the same bacteria as they do when they're put in a pool with four or five children. It's unnatural."
Kennon agreed with Acevedo, citing strange bacteria as a possible factor into the deaths.
"I believe that the humans are transferring diseases to the dolphins back and forth. Dolphinaris says they monitor their health daily, but there's no way they can keep up with all the different bacteria," Kennon said.
Karen Michael, a board member of Animal Defense League of Arizona, said that the group warned Dolphinaris when they first broke ground that there were soil-born fungi that could be very detrimental to the dolphins' health.
"Dolphinaris has put profit over ethics in keeping these dolphins in the desert. Their priorities are clearly not the animals," Michael said.
Calls for an independent investigation
Patrica Cady, a co-founder of Dolphin Free AZ who partnered with the Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project, said that her group also tried to warn Dolphinaris while it was still in the midst of construction.
"We first started protesting prior to Dolphinaris even coming to the desert," Cady said. "First people laughed, then they joined. Initially, people thought we were just off-track, but since dolphins have been dying so rapidly at Dolphinaris, they're now listening."
Dolphinaris AZ said in an official statement that it had hired an external pathologist to conduct a necropsy to determine what caused Kai's sudden health struggles.
But both Cady and Michael want the operation to be investigated by an independent veterinarian.
"There needs to be an independent investigation into Dolphinaris, and until that has happened they should halt their business," Michael said. "Bodie, Alia and Khloe died, and now Kai. Dolphinaris has shown a complete lack of transparency."
READ MORE: Fourth dolphin dies at Dolphinaris Arizona
The Animal Welfare Institute called on the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to conduct a full investigation into Dolphinaris AZ, according to AWI's statement posted Friday.
AWI also requested for an external team to look into the conditions at Dolphinaris, after being concerned about risks to dolphins posed by valley fever and other aerosolized pathogens that are present in a desert environment.
The Arizona Republic has requested complaint records from the Health Inspection Service and the inventory of all eligible marine mammals held in captivity from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine-mammal inventory.
Advocating for change
On Saturday, protesters held signs urging others to not support businesses like Dolphinaris.
"I hope people won't buy tickets to things like Dolphinaris or Sea World. I hope their way of thinking changes when they realize how harmful those places actually are," Acevedo said. "Everyone's getting paid off, and it's all about greed. Places like this need to be shut down. Cages are wrong and animals should live in their natural habitat."
Cady agreed, wanting people to actively think about where their tourist money was going.
"When I see Dolphinaris advertising their dolphin experiences, and knowing four dolphins have died there in a year and a half, it's a dolphin experiment. Not an experience," Cady said.
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman released a statement regarding Kai's death:
"Dolphinaris Arizona's deadly dolphin prison is out of touch with public sentiment — and there's no excuse for keeping it open. PETA urges Dolphinaris to send surviving dolphins to seaside sanctuaries, where they would never again be forced to haul tourists on their backs in the sweltering Arizona desert."
