Swimming with dolphins is a popular and profitable activity in the Caribbean. Tourists on cruise ships leave their vessels to go swimming with the resident dolphins. While it seems like harmless fun, it’s not. The dolphins often pay dearly for people’s amusement.
According to one report, a dolphin’s enclosure would be less then one percent of their natural habitat range. They are also far too shallow. Dolphins frequently dive 60 feet; an enclosure might be 10 feet deep.
9. Transporting dolphins traumatizes them
Dolphins being transported Photo: China Daily / takepart.com
There are two ways to transport an animal that lives in water: wet transit, which involves a tank, and dry transit, in which the animal is kept in a padded sling, and humans keep it cool and wet. Wet transit is used for smaller sea mammals, while dry transit is used for the larger ones. Sometimes, dolphins will actually be transported by plane. Regardless of the method, transporting dolphins or other cetaceans is so traumatic that many animals die while being transported.