Online petition seeks to stop return of Dolphin Discovery
Gov't & Investors finalising contracts
Launched by Neil Day on October 5, 2019, with a target of 2500 signatures, he noted, "Very little good news came about as a result of Hurricane Irma which decimated our Virgin Islands in 2017. One bit of positivity, however, was the destruction of the captive dolphin facility and tourist attraction run by Dolphin Discovery."
On October 2, 2019, during a press conference at Brandywine Bay Restaurant, the Government of the Virgin Islands (VI) had announced it was close to finalising contractual arrangements with the Management of Dolphin Discovery that would result in the commencement of works at a section of Prospect Reef Hotel and Resort to facilitate the return of ‘Swim with the Dolphins’.
The internationally acclaimed Dolphin Discovery’s Swim with the Dolphins is seen as a key component of the VI’s tourism product, especially for cruise passengers.
However, following the storms of September 2017, the Prospect Reef area which housed Dolphin Discovery was completely ravaged by the hurricanes and left abandoned by the National Democratic Party (NDP). Investors had accused the Dr. D. Orlando Smith administration of 'not giving a damn' after numerous attempts to revive the area into a thriving economic hub failed.
Abuse & Exploitation?
Now, according to the change.org petition, Dolphin Discovery and the use of dolphins for entertainment is now an outdated form of entertainment, that should not be brought back to the territory.
"The practice of exploiting these intelligent, social animals is out of step with the modern world, basic decency and increasingly, the law, as countries, most recently Canada, continue to ban this vile exploitation," it said.
The petition further said many travel companies, including Tripadvisor, "have stopped promoting or selling tickets to captive dolphin programmes as they distance themselves from those that seek to profit from evil."
Persons have since started adding their voice to the conversation to spark the change. One signatory, Natasha Ruscheinski, based in Tortola, said "Keeping dolphins in captivity is extremely cruel. The BVI has so much to offer tourists without stooping to animal cruelty simply to make a profit."
Hon Shareen D. Flax- Charles leads initiative
According to Premier Fahie, the Junior Minister for Tourism, Honourable Shareen D. Flax- Charles (AL) has been tasked with realising the return of Dolphin Discovery and the aim is to have the tourist attraction in place for the next height of the [2020] cruise tourism season.
“She (Hon Flax-Charles) has already brought all the players to the table, discussions have been had and the leg work is being completed, led by her, and being overlooked by the Premier’s Office,” he said.
This is not the first time a petition of this nature has been launched against Dolphin Discovery in the VI. In 2014 an Italy based Dora Marchi had petitioned the VI government, specifically Myron V. Walwyn, then Minister of Education and Culture; Dr Kedrick D. Pickering, the then Minister for Natural Resources and Labour and Mr Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO, the then Governor and Mrs V. Inez Archibald, the former Deputy Governor, to close the facility and release the animals.
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50 Responses to “Online petition seeks to stop return of Dolphin Discovery”
Hope you are not raising children.
In addition we need to petition an end to this siddung meme. It sounds stupid.
It was born of foreign people mocking the people of the BVI.
This is what we say, when we say it *ahem* "Go sit yuh a.. down!"
The Dolphin prison is a pretty crappy project that will be seen negatively by the majority of our potential overnight visitors. Most companies are moving away from this stupidity for a mixture of commercial and ethical reasons. What is even more surprising is the apparent support for barbaric treatment of God’s creatures in such an allegedly Christian place.
All these comments spewing racist / religious nonsense further show how backwards we are as a nation.
I went to SeaWorld Orland this Summer 2019, and I watched Shamu shows for an hour in a packed venue. The only difference is before the trainers used to go in and swim with the whales but now they don't. My Kids sat in the splash zone and had a terrific time. Nothing cruel about that. There was a show every hour. At the close of day, the whales have a special part deep in the ocean that is secured for the next day. In the BVI everyone always want to tell us what is right from what is wrong, just because we are a small island. Try interfering with bigger nations, oh, wait, you won't. I agree better measures should be put in place to have them secured during storms, but I am sure collective heads can get together and come to a common ground. Everything always an issue in BVI. We will never move forward if there is always some negativity, especially from persons who don't even mingle outside of their w***e circle, i.e, Caribbean people. Always trying to act like they know best and smarter than everyone else.
Just sick of these w****e rac**t living in the bvi trying to tell us what to do
They need to go repent for slavery and what they did to the jews
Never see a petition to get Cable TV to pay their workers. Never see a petition to get R T. R w a big super market n popular to keep their workers after the Storm they benefit the most from the Storm. Never see a petition for that ... I can go on and on about the real things that deserve petition. These are just selfish people trying to stop progress... Premier Fahie is wise.... He understands their motives... I'm sure another Caribbean island would be glad to have them....
etc..
Whataboutism, also known as whataboutery, is a logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument.
If you are passionate about minimum wage, slavery reparations, the condition of the roads, the standards of education you are free to start your own petition, organise a protest, write to your District Rep. All it takes is You: stop complaining and start being the change You wanted to see in the World!
The dolphin prison is certainly not the biggest problem in BVI. If you are a BVIslander your opinion matters, you are a voter. You speak up for what matters to You. The politician could care less what the ex-pats say, haven't you noticed this by now?
Petition signers I invite you to post up your yearly incomes. You have our permission to protest if you can do this one simple thing. The difference between us islanders and you will always be very significant.
Persons who can live comfortably while stunting the growth of others have no right to complain, plain and simple. I have never once seen those dolphins mistreated from the very first day they were brought in. Yes the facility could be much larger, that we can all agree on. But the trainers and staff have treated those lovely animals like family which im sure you were never there to see or witness.
The request for the dolphins were made by the cruise industry. That is more income for those of us already struggling to make ends meet in this place we call home. We don’t come to your country and take the bread out your hands do we? If this is a cause you can actively fight for I would like to see you more active in local matters. Fix those and we will be more inclined to listen to your concerns.
Rarely do you see a fur coat. Freeing the dolphins in the VI must happen. Our Bread can be buttered via some other way. Kiss these beautiful, intellgent, sensitive and gentle creatures good bye and let them be free. What others are doing with animals in other countries does not make it right. We are better than that!!!
I am from Venus
I am from here
You are a hybrid wnting to be " people like us"
People like us have open minds and place our conscience before stubborn stupidity just to be -right.
Ps is the noisy racist lady still working for the tourist board? If I were her employer I would have considered whether that position is compatible with such a public viewpoint.
If you think taking care of Earth is a race thing, it is. But not how you portray it - We all stand to lose as environments get destroyed but disproportionately, Africa and island nations around the tropics are being negatively affected.
Do not pretend that a handful of locals and Mexicans who used to work there are completely incapable of getting a job outside of the Dolphin prison industry.
It would be ridiculous to pretend that non-belongers are all white or are somehow not contributing incredibly highly to the BVI's economy, infrastructure and future prospects.