Protesters call for release of Dolphinaris dolphins after 3rd dolphin dies in 2 years
Pamela Ren Larson
Update: This story has been updated to reflect the correct age of Khloe the dolphin. A statement posted to Dolphinaris Arizona's website and social media channels had stated that Khloe was 11 years old, but records reviewed by the Republic show she was born in April 2008.
Twenty protesters gathered Tuesday near the Dolphinaris Arizona attraction following the death of a dolphin on Sunday.
The protesters were calling for the five remaining dolphins to be released from the attraction and for Dolphinaris to make public information about all remaining dolphins' health.
Khloe, a 10-year-old bottlenose dolphin, is the third dolphin to die at the Scottsdale-area attraction in the past 16 months.
Dolphinaris Arizona opened in October 2016 as part of the OdySea In The Desert. The facility, which offers visitors the ability to interact with dolphins, had been protested before ground was broken.
According to a Monday statement by the general manager, Khloe had a chronic illness caused by the Sarcocystis parasite, which causes central nervous system and muscle disease. It has been managed with veterinary care for about six years.
"The mortality rate of Sarcocystis is very high, and very little is known by the veterinarian community about the disease process in dolphins, which can also affect dolphins living in the ocean," the statement said.
An animal necropsy will be conducted on Khloe, and results will be available in three to eight weeks, said Jen Smith, a Dolphinaris Arizona spokeswoman.
Protesters: Too many dolphin deaths
The protesters gathered at the intersection of North Pima and East Via de Ventura Avenues in Scottsdale, holding signs that read, "Confined For Your Amusement Dolphin Captivity Is Abuse," "Captivity Kills Don't Buy A Ticket," and "Cruelty is Not Entertainment."
"The reason that we’re doing the protest at Dolphinaris Arizona is there were three dolphins that have passed within the last two years," said Patricia Cady, a co-founder of Dolphin Free AZ. "Even within the industry — that we do not support — it is an anomaly."
Cady said Khloe was born in captivity, and was previously at a Six Flags facility in California before being moved to Dolphinaris Arizona.
Dolphin Free AZ is asking for the remaining dolphins to be released to a seaside sanctuary where they will not be "exploited" by humans, or rehabilitated and released to the wild if they are eligible for rehabilitation.
"They're either taking extremely inadequate care of these dolphins, or they're buying sick dolphins and they're making them perform, and that's terrible," said Olivia Robertson, a Gilbert resident who was protesting.
Dolphinaris Arizona is not considering release.
"The condition that Khloe had, she's had for the last six years, it’s something that she’s received excellent veterinary care and her life has actually been extended," Smith said. "(Release) isn’t something that Dolphinaris is considering."
Smith said there are currently no sea sanctuaries approved by the government meeting the Marine Mammal Protection Act requirements that would be legal for Dolphinaris Arizona to send its dolphins to.
Several protesters said that they had been involved since before Dolphinaris Arizona broke ground.
Jeanette McCourt, a Gilbert resident, has been involved in multiple protests. She said that she previously swam with dolphins, not realizing the impact on the animals.
"You don't need to come to some cement pool to watch dolphins that are injured, blind or sick perform," McCourt said.
Since its opening, the facility has been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service four times. Each of the four inspection documents say that no non-compliant items were identified during the inspection.
"Just as with humans and animals in the wild, dolphins are not free of diseases," Smith said by email. "Marine mammal veterinarians collaborate globally through literature conferences and scientific research to ensure we are consistently striving to provide the absolute best practices to keep these animals healthy."
Other dolphins were young
Bottlenose dolphins have a lifespan that can exceed 40 years, with some living upward of 60 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All three dolphins that have died at Dolphinaris Arizona were under 15. The two previous to this one were:
- Bodie, 7-year-old bottlenose dolphin, died Sept. 23, 2017, from a rare muscle disease, according to facility officials. Later that year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report to activist Laurice Dee that said Bodie died of a fungal infection, prompting 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 died May 22, 2018, of an acute bacterial infection that officials said “spread quickly throughout her body.”
The Republic requested complaint records from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which monitors animal care, and the inventory of all eligible marine mammals held in captivity from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine mammal inventory.
Reach the reporter at Pamela.Larson@azcentral.com. Follow her on Twitter: @PamReporting.
Reporter Anne Ryman contributed to this article.
READ MORE: