Since I used to live in Anguilla, I’m still subscribed to an email news list that gives me updates of what’s going on around the island. I seriously just wanted to cry over the weekend after I read the latest email and saw what the Dolphin Discovery in Anguilla (aka Dolphin Fantaseas) was doing to their dolphins. A local man is so concerned that he put together a page full of pictures and says:
The Dolphin Discovery facility at
Meads Bay is closed down. It appears to have been abandoned by the previous management. There seems to be only a handyman present on the site during the day. He tries valiantly and without management guidance to keep up with basic maintenance. The dolphins are left to swim in their own waste. The water has become badly polluted. It is now in what must be a dangerous state for the health of the dolphins and anyone else, for that matter, venturing into the water.
Yes there are more atrocious things going on in the world than these little guys getting abused, but this is something that could easily be fixed. Unfortunately, it’s the tourists that are driving the market for a dolphin encounter in Anguilla and the local government doesn’t seem to be doing anything because it’s such a draw for tourists. I would love to swim with dolphins too, but I’d feel to guilty.
Other than posting to message boards, writing to travel magazines, newspapers, and Peta, (and creating as many keyword links to Don Mitchell’s site) there doesn’t seem much else that can be done from where I am. Unless someone knows a celebrity that would talk about it – because no one listens to anyone else these days.