"Dolphinarium plans create major protest"

[peecee]

God willing

[Dolphin Angels]

Well yesterday things certainly heated up after the latest instalment in the Hürriyet... which is great if it keeps this topic alive and in the minds of those that would prefer Dolphins to be free in the wild and not held captive in concrete pools up a mountain.

Our aim is to stop this project and this is being done by various means

- to inform and influence the key decision makers
- by raising awareness and promoting the facts about the reality of keeping Dolphins in captivity.

Rest assured this work is going on 24/7 - that's every single day!

The framework for our approach is the European Standards which are an absolute minimum requirement and this is relevant in this instance because ibrahim Dilek, personal assistant to Alexandr Kuznetsov, general manager of Dolphintherapy Kas said

"The pool is being built in accordance with European standards and will be large enough for two dolphins to live comfortably"
Quote source ibrahim Dilek Hürriyet 11Mar10

This is by no means an easy task as we know the authorities and some of the key decision makers have been involved from the outset.

"Owners of Kas Dolphinarium have rented land from the municipality," the mayor told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

"Construction for the pool has commenced and will be completed for opening at the beginning of this summer season. I understand there will be two dolphins from the Mediterranean."
(Quote Ölüdeniz Mayor Keramettin Yilmaz 11Mar10)

This has been confirmed by Kuznetsov

"I am now working with officials in Ankara and Mugla to get this one [in Hisarönü] opened. Hisarönü needs something like this, or they only have bars and restaurants. I think the Ölüdeniz mayor may be fed up with all the fuss although we were originally invited by the municipality."   (
Quote source - Alexsandr Kuznetsov Hürriyet 10 May10)

Just one note on how we conduct ourselves in this effort - we do and will confine ourselves to the facts.

Clearly passions and emotions are running high and some may feel justifiably so.

However the way to win is to rise above this detraction and focus our energies on what will make a difference and that is the work to influence key decision makers and by raising awareness and informing people of the facts.

If Murat Akbaba of Nadia's Bar wants to denigrate his own country men there is little we can do about that "the Turks around here have no mental control. They will hear some foreigner saying they don't want it and will agree with them. They don't really think about it for themselves."
(Quote source - Murat Akbaba Hürriyet 11May10)

What we can all do is to hold the moral and responsible high ground and
- arm ourselves with the facts about Dolphins in Captivity and there is reams of information here in these topics and on the Facebook groups
- talk to and share this information with the people we know and meet.
 
Many people have no idea of the consequences for Dolphins in Captivity or of the risks that they could be exposing themselves too by taking part in this type of activity.

We can and will win this together

[Dolphin Angels]

Taken from Facebook

Breaking news. Just on Fethiye TV, the pool is finished, water was being brought from the sea. Because of the negative reactions to this the Kaymakam is against the project, the dolphins are not in yet, but the pool looks full of sea water from the tv coverage. Lots of people are researching about this and the water... was stopped from coming. This was a repeat of the 7pm news. Unfortunately my husband only heard half the broadcast and thats all we could translate.

It appears that the Kaymakam stopped the water being transported and the trucks were turned back, but the film showed a pool that was nearly full. The report said that many people are against this project and that much research was being done about it (although...

See more we missed the bit about who was actually 'reasearching' ) - there also appeared to be some problem about the water being brought, which was why the trucks were turned away.

[Julesp]

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/dolphincaptivity.php
This very interesting site with links, found it from The Cove website, if you are interested in Dolphin welfare theres loads here to support the cause

Quotes from site
Click here to see a list (in no particular order) of captive dolphin facilities that were closed or never opened. These success stories were accomplished by ordinary people like yourself who actually showed up to protest these dolphin abusement parks.Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense. Here are just a few of the issues with captivity:

...Captures of dolphins are traumatic and stressful and can result in injury and death of dolphins. The number of dolphins that die during capture operations or shortly thereafter are never revealed in dolphinariums or swim-with-dolphins programs. Some facilities even claim their dolphins were "rescued" from the ocean and cannot be released. This claim is almost invariably false.
...Training of dolphins is often deliberately misrepresented by the captive dolphin industry to make it look as if dolphins perform because they like it. This isn't the case. They are performing because they have been deprived of food.
...Most captive dolphins are confined in minuscule tanks containing chemically treated artificial seawater. Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life - their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.
Join us and pledge that you won't go to a dolphin show or swim-with-dolphins programs

[cheers]

Have contacted them Julesp hope everyone else does.

Great news Dolphin Angels!!:D:D

Maybe just maybe this is the beginning of the END of this 'Puddle'!!

:D

[Julesp]

If anyone has actually seen the film The Cove There would be no way you could look at a captured Dolphin ever again, I am ashamed to say that in the 70s I watched and enjoyed a Dolphin show near my home at Knowsley Safari Park Liverpool , But we live and learn would never do again, Ive seen many wild Dolphins here anyway on 12 islands dayboat trips and its so exciting when they swim with the boats This is the only way Dolphins should be promoted as tourist attraction here, ok theyre not guaranteed but they do exist,

[Dolphin Angels]

News Update

There's definitely trouble at mill and this is straight from the horses mouth so to speak. After last night excitement of the Fethiye news report I thought I'd just pop down to the pool to see what if anything was happening and had a chat to Alexsandr while I was there.

I asked his what was going on and this is what was said.

He has been told that the pool isn't big enough for the two Dolphins 'according to the European Standards'.

I think we can take some credit for persevering with this angle (although water volume is not the only issue) and it was well worth the effort of getting the Standards translated and handing them over to the Kaymakam and emailing them to all and sundry in Mugla.

We do also know from a conversation I had yesterday with someone in Mugla that the Mugla Vali had them and they weren't just sitting in his a tray and he was well aware of the situation. I was also told that they all knew, even in Ankara what was going on and aware of the strength of feeling and overwhelming opposition to this project. Anyway, I digress.

He says that for one Dolphin 300 cubic metres is enough. He did point out that in Turkey there are no standards so I reminded him that Dilek his PA had said that the pool would conform to European Standards and that Turkey was hoping one day to join the European Union. We both had a had a little chuckle about the likely hood of this.

According to the European Standards the minimum requirement for 2 Dolphins is 1200 cubic metres. It is not calculated on surface area.

According to our figures and Alexsandr confirmed the pool measurements today

24m length,  12m width, 4m depth
* shelves for sitting on intrude into each end of the pool, these measure 2.5m each

24 x 12 x 4 = 1152 cubic metres

minus the 2 shelves at 2.5m each

That makes the actual cubic volume 19 x 12 x 4 = 912 cubic metres

He also said they said 'they' wanted him to come here and now they say they don't want him. You can hardly blame him for being confused. But it does mean that now we are approaching crunch time. Which way will it go is anyone's guess.

He said that the cost of keeping the Dolphins is huge and listed costs and that it was so expensive for tourists to travel to Kas. By coming here they would be able to come more easily and more cheaply. And I think he also said that the conditions here for the Dolphins would be better than in Kas.

I did say that many people who had been to swim with the Dolphins in Kas on trips had reported afterwards said they were very upset by the condition of the Dolphins and the environment in Kas and that British tourists did not want the Dolphins here.

I asked him if he had a contract and he said yes.

He waved his arm around the park to indicate all the work they were doing and said they will be putting up a veranda for shade for the Dolphins.

I asked him about the trouble with the water yesterday but as the pool is full maybe this is old news and why he was filling it with tap water after the first encounter we had with him when we saw the first container of what we were then told was sea water from Gemiler.

He asked me if I had a husband - I said yes I did  

[cheers]

Hopefully the start of good news!!:D

In Dolphin Angels latest post........

"He (Alexsandr) said that the cost of keeping the Dolphins is huge and listed costs."
He also states in Jane's latest article in the Hurriyet that the dolphins working hours will be closely monitored at one hour and 20 minutes per day.
He couldn't possibly make any money on this venture if that was the case!!!
What a LIAR!!![!][!]

Keep up the good work everybody!!

[Dolphin Angels]

This pool we must remember does not meet ANY of the European standards in its present form.

Its size is too small, and the location is certainly not quiet!
There is no insulation to protect the animals from underground vibrations from the surrounding vibrations, and in spite of the russians statement that he will ask the surrounding nightclubs and funfairs to be quiet we all know this is an impossible task
He has no personnel with adequate qualifications, and no specialist vet in attendance
no isolation pool
and to date no shade
water quality is of grave concern, as is the monitering, filtering, chlorination, salination, microbial testing, analysis etc

the list goes on and on and......

This encounter today, shows that the authorities are now concerned about the pool not meeting the E E A M standards, which are there for both the public and dolphins protection.

Not conforming to just one of the standards will pose great risks, dolphins can and will act unpredictably when suffering stress, and the publics health and safety is of paramount importance.


Also surely  now they have realised the negative impact this venture will have on tourism.
This is an area which we need to stress!
Tourists no longer enjoy seeing animals confined and used for profit, and at present Hisaronu is linked worldwide to the word cruelty. There are many, many better ways for the council to make money from this site for the benefit of all.
 
By putting a stop to the pools completion authorities will be able to proudly link their names with establishing Hisaronu as venue which regains its standing in the tourist market, and their names will also be proudly associated with saving the dolphins from incaceration.

Lets not stop at this cruical stage, much needs to be done still, please continue to write, email, telephone, tell your friends, tell your family, tell your local buisiness.It has only been with your unswerving support that we have reached thus far

Remember, the water is in, the garden looks pretty, the tourists are coming, and time is really running out.
 
Every letter from any corner of the globe will help.
In fact concerned people writing from abroad will prove this protest is of worldwide interest and certainly not local, which is very important!

For Antalya Vali contact    antalya@icisleri.gov.tr
For Mugla Vali contact      mugla@icisleri.gov.tr

many other contacts are on previous postings

[crystalgirl]

Well Done everyone-something is definately happening-its great that Kaymankan is also behind you it would seem.
That you tube video is terrible-that pool is way to small, I thought the same it is like a hotel swimming pool, actually I have seen way bigger.  If it is open it is going to a grave for many dolphins I fear.
Fancy that Russian chappy saying he would ask them to keep that noise down-as if thats possible, what does he think we are stupid!