A Dolphinarium for Puerto Vallarta? Empty the Tanks? Gretchen DeWitt - PEACEAnimals
May 2, 2016

Puerto Vallarta is not the most beautiful of cities. There is no colonial architecture, roads are in need of repair, telephone wires remain overhead, and the building of generic condos continues. What is absolutely beautiful are the jungled foothills of the Sierra Madres, the winding rivers, the rocky coastline, the deep, horseshoe-shaped Bay of Banderas, the small islands inhabited by pelicans and blue footed boobies, and beyond the bay, the gleaming Pacific. The bay is where the humpback whales come to breed and to birth. It is thrilling to see see their powerful breaches and to hear their great exhalations of air as they surface. It is not rare to see breaching mantas and sleek, shiny dolphins gliding through the water and leaping for what seems to be pure joy.

GICSA, a real estate development company headquartered in Mexico City, has plans to construct a shopping mall called La Isla. The complex is located a golf ball hit away from the bay, where dolpins enjoy their freedom and where they can often be seen swimming. GICSA´s business proposal includes a dolphinarium, and it´s very possible the city will approve this plan. It will ultimately be the decision of GICSA whether to go ahead with its plan for a dolphinarium, or find another amusement to lure shoppers to their location. This is about money, and there is competition from several other large malls in Vallarta. It should be simple - build an attractive environment and offer exceptional service and merchandise. There are excellent entertainment alternatives to "interactive" dolphin exhibits.

Mexico recently outlawed animals with circuses. To open up new dolphinariums is on the wrong side of history. It is against nature and it is crass commercialism. Because of the many news stories and the documentaries, "Blackfish" and "The Cove," there is now excellent information available on what capturing and training dolphins means regarding this highly intelligent (second only to the human) marine mammal.

To see Denise Herzing´s short TED presentation on the complex language of dolphins, click here and for more information on dolphins in the wild visit Wild Dolphin Project.

The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights of the United Nations and UNESCO establishes, among other things, that every animal has the right to be respected, and that any deprivation of freedom, even when it is done for educational purposes, is contrary to this law.

If you are against the proposed dolphinarium and/or if you have alternative suggestions regarding entertainment and amusement for La Isla shopping complex, please send your message to GICSA - c/o  Samuel Jalife at sjalife@gicsa.com.mx.
 
Please attend "Empty the Tanks" event - free and open to the public - Saturday, May 7 at 12:00 noon at La Isla, where GICSA developers will be building a shopping mall and have proposed building a dolphin tank.

To connect with Gretchen DeWitt of PEACEAnimals, please email her at gretchen@peaceanimals.org or visit Empty the Tanks on Facebook.

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