"Dolphinarium plans create major protest"

[Dolphin Angels]

The Kaymakam (meeting with Angels and Kaymakam has taken place) who is over both the Hisaronu and Fethiye Mayors has expressed his opposition to this. He and some senior members of his team wrote to Mayor Yilmaz and advised him not to do this before contracts were signed and money changed hands.

Allegedly since then the Mugla Vali who is the boss over all of them has been to Hisaronu and the Mayor has signed something to say he thought it was just for water activities.

Since then again allegedly a letter has been sent from Mugla Vali to the Russian saying he will not be granted a license; although he doesn't actually need a licence to open a Dolphinarium so I wouldn't get too excited about that.

In the meantime we/you have all been contacting local travel agents asking if they will be selling tickets - some have replied but most have simply not bothered.

You may remember that ibrahim Dilek personal assisstant to Aleksandr Kuznetsov who said the Dolphinarium would be built according to European Standards - this quote first reported in the Hurriyet is important - our campaign hinges on this.
 
So we have translated the European Standards to Turkiish and personally dropped them off at all the local decision makers including the Kaymakam and emailed them to all the Mugla Vali email addresses we could lay our hands on including the Mugla Vali Dr Ahmet Altiparmak, Mr Osman Kurt the elusive inspector who works for the relevant Ministry and manages to survive without an email address or a phone number and Arzu at 179 etc followed up by phone calls asking for these to handed to the relevant persons.

We have also sent the translated standards to the organisations in Turkey who are allegedly helping with this and who can send these standards to the key decision makers with a covering letter on headed paper which frankly would carry more weight.

We have also provided written documents showing the world wide opposition to this to the Mugla Vali, the Kaymakam, etc.

We still wait to hear or better still see something concrete (apart from the pool) in writing either way.

We carry on the work until that day.

[cheers]

quote:Originally posted by Dolphin Angels

Well last night we had planned to go to the pond - we'd been planning to go every day last week but things just kept getting in the way.

So anyway as fate would have it who was there - The Russian Owner of the Dolphins. And what else was going on the pool was being filled with water. We have photoagraphed it all and will add these later tonight for you to see.

We were approached by the Russian and a girl (who translated) and asked why we were taking photos of them, so not ones to miss this golden oopportunity we ended up having a very lengthy question and answer session.

Here is a record of the key points - sorry its so long

Dolphins

1. The first 2 Dolphins he owned in Kas died from pneumonia.

2. The current 2 Dolphins were taken from the wild when Turkey allowed itself to break the Cities agreement and 30 Dolphins were captured in the Mediterranean 5 years ago.

3. He said Dolphins don't hear - which is nonsense because sound/hearing is their primary sense

4. He said he loves Dolphins but didn't answer when asked why they weren't moved from Kas when the area was being dynamited which causes them a great deal of stress.

5. Initially he said they were for therapy but later when questioned about why bring them to a concrete pool in Hisaronu,he said because of the economic crisis they were not making enough money in Kas to take care of the Dolphins.

He added that many tourists come each year from this area to Kaş to swim with the Dolphins and it is difficult to get permission to rent or buy area in the sea.

6. He said he didn't know what that Dolphins do to heal the sick but they do

7. When questioned about transmittable diseases that can be passed to or from Dolphins to humans he said that sick people weren't allowed to swim with Dolphins and demonstrated by coughing to show these people would not be allowed to swim.

8. The Dolphins will be separated in the pool during the day but together at night, obviously two dolphins swimming in tight circles means two lots of customers! Also if the dolphins were together they might not concentrate on the customers!

9. He claimed that Dolphins live longer in captivity (despite all research and evidence to the contrary) as there is more control over conditions and pollutants.

10. He didn't explain when asked why the Dolphins were covered in marks consistent with teeth bites.

Note - previous applications to Fethiye have twice been rejected.

Pool area and pool water

1. He says the pool area is 1000m³ but includes the 2 shelf areas at either end. In actual fact it falls far short on the European Standards which are a minimum requirement. Actual figures on the shortfall will come in separate post.

2.Sea water is being brought and pumped into the pool
A muslin cloth s attached to the end of the pipe to filter the water as it's pumped into the pool.

3. Water samples will be taken from the pool but he was vague and didn't appear to know about where the samples would be tested.

4. He said shade for the pool will be put up but we could see no provision for this. Shade is required by the standards

5. No evidence of separate buildings for preparation of food etc as required by the standards.

6. A waterproof sealant has been painted on the concrete walls of the pool. He could not say if this had been proven to be free from toxins and safe for Dolphins.

7. Water is filtered every six hours and can be increased if necessary. The standards say it should not exceed four hours, Also, how will it be judged sufficient if there is not  adequate and professional testing?

8. There was no evidence of a generator in the event of power cuts.

9. Pool will have a system to control the temperature.

10 the standards clearly state that there should be protection from interference by the public. We could only see short wooden picket fencing presumably for the perimeter fence

11 The pool should be protected from flies and contaminants, four dolphins recently died in Alanya by ingesting leaves from neighbouring trees. It was obvious he had not considered this issue in realtion to the pool in Hisaronu,

Qualified personnel

1. There is no Vet for the Dolphins on site this is in complete disregard to the standards specification - the trainer is Mexican with no professional qualifications, and veterinary advice comes from an unidentified source via e-mail from Mexico.

2. Blood samples will be taken monthly from Dolphins and sent to Mexico for analysis only qualified proffesionals should be doing this, his trainer is not qualified .

3. None of the staff have official qualifications i.e. Marine Biologist or Vetinary qualifications.

4. There isn't a separate treatment pool although they plan to build one we saw no provision for this on site.

5. No Vet for transportation of the Dolphins this is total disregard of the standards.

Noise

1. He hasn't been in Hisaronu in the season but now he knows that the bars and nearby underground night club have loud music until the early hours of the morning he will ask them to keep the noise down!

2. There is no noise insulation in the pool.

Note - The standards have very specific rules regarding noise levels and vibrations. Qualified underwater acousticexperts  have to be involved.The standards clearly state that cetaceans must be protected from excessive noise and harrasment, and that sounds of a mechanical nature are most stressful to the animals because of their repetitive nature      

Agents

He named Hamish McTurk as one of the agents.

Insurance

1. There is no insurance policy in Turkey for Dolphins and the insurance for tourists is covered by the agents. The Manager of the Fethiye Tourist Office confirmed this week that no agents have applied for the license as required by law; this would be done if and when approval by the Ministry is given.

Misc.

1. He seemed surprised when told British people didn't want the Dolphins kept in a pool in Hisaronu..

2. There is a comprehensive list of educational elements which should be included with an establishment of this type.The standards state that establishments should establish educational goals in their programs, these are not part of his Kas dolphinarium

Can everybody keep this thread in their minds please!!

[Dolphin Angels]

When we paid the visit as described above, one container of sea water was being pumped into the pool.
Since then we have heard that a hosepipe was being used to fill, this maybe because the sea around Oludeniz is protected and we think that he has only been allowed to take a certain amount of sea water.
At the begining of the project we were told that sea water was to be used, well that doesnt seem to be the case.

This brings us onto how is the water quality going is to be maintained and be beneficial to dolphins and public.
Obviously if the above is the case then chlorine has to be used.
Too much will cause the dolphins probable blindness, too little will not kill the germs.

He has not been able to tell us who will take samples and where they will be taken.
He has no qualified personnel as we know, so who will be controlling the chlorine!

This issue of water quality is of major significance.
THE WATER QUALITY IS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE
We share so many illnesses with dolphins, the water will be warm,and will act as an incubator we have little confidence in the administration, testing and sterilising process.

Please pass this message on.

[cheers]

Good job I was a Brownie!!
:D

Antalya Vali is Alaaddin Yüksel.he is quite a traditionalist and campaigns strongly against things like Izvidaç programmes(marriage shows on TV).His address is
antalya@icisleri.gov.tr
Tel-0242 243 9791
Fax-0242 243 9395
Another man who you could try is the Assistant Vali(there are a few of them!) but this one,name,Yildirim Uçar has special responsibility for Turizm and Culture.
And also this othjer assistant vali ,name-Hakki Logoglu.He is responsible for Villages and fisheries,farming ,animal health and welfare,-basically a finger in every area valid to the dolphins.he can be contacted on the same address.
Another NGO to contact is
www.turmepa.org.tr who do work similar to WWF etc.
Yet another is TUDAV the Turkish Sea Protection and Investigation Charity
www.tudav.org

Sorry didn't get the double brownie points as no trace of the lady in the dolphin angels request for help.

Anyone know who I can give my brownie point to?

Lets get copying and pasting!!
Time is running out!!
[!][!]

[cheers]

Please don't forget this article....

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=-2010-02-18

[Dolphin Angels]

And the latest article is an interview with Aleksandr Kuznetsov himself

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=owner-defends-hisaronu-dolphinarium-construction-2010-05-09

[Dolphin Angels]

Turks are thick and can't think for themslves and its just a few British residents who don't like this...

These are todays figures for the

World Wide Opposition to Hisaronu Dolphinarium

Facebook groups

Yunus-Parklari-Kapatilsin - 5026 members
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/pages/YUNUS-PARKLARI-KAPATILSIN/340170370958


Free the Ölüdeniz Dolphins - 4287 members
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=358308272654&ajaxpipe=1&__a=8


Internet Online Petitions

Online petition 3166 signatures
http://yasamhakkinasaygi.com/dilekce/dilekce_detay.asp?id=329&DURUM=2

A Voice for Captive Dolphins Petition 1334 signatures
https://acrobat.com/#il=1&d=WnHGOcDRcO99S529sWF5SA


Figures correct 10th May 2010

[angelabee]

I don't get angry often but this made me see red

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=owner-defends-hisaronu-dolphinarium-construction-2010-05-09

Who the hell does this Russian think he his to tell us Brits that we love to see dolphins kept in these conditions?

And those stupid comments from the idiot owners of Nadia's Bar - Nadia has "lived in England" so, again knows all about Brits.
NO YOU DO NOT NADIA - ME and, I suspect 4000 other Facebook signatories will not venture into your bar again.

[cheers]

After you have read this one sided article can you please post a comment at the bottom of the page.  It will be helpful and you never know the Hurriyet might actually run an article from the protesters point of view.

[Pompeylil]

Tried looking for a web site or an e mail address for Nadias' Irish Bar but can not find one.  Does anyone have this, if we all sent polite but firm e mails saying that we will not be frequenting her bar until she announces that she no longer has anything do with this activity, it might make her feel differently about it?