It’s been widely known for some time now that cetaceans do not belong in captivity. Marine mammals like whales and dolphins are incredibly intelligent and highly social animals that belong in the wild with their pods. Like all other captive wild animals, their health is also negatively affected and deteriorates when in captivity. In the wild, dolphins can travel up to 80 miles a day, but in captivity, they are confined to small tanks. People are fooled into believing that the animals are happy to perform, but they are being exploited. One of the methods used to train such animals to perform is food deprivation because it’s completely unnatural for animals to perform for humans’ entertainment. Not to mention, they are taken from the wild and that alone is very cruel.

The conditions in marine parks are so unlike the natural habitat of cetaceans that they become sick and depressed, even attempting suicide. How many more innocent animals have to die before all tanks are empty? Recently, a baby dolphin died at a dolphinarium in Bulgaria when forced to perform.

During a live performance at the dolphinarium in the city of Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the dolphins suddenly stopped performing. A spectator told BBC there was a disturbance — the performance was cut short and visitors were asked to leave. Another distressed spectator said they could see the dead body of the baby dolphin from the park’s cafe.

The park’s biologist claims that the dolphin was not performing nine days after its birth and the death did not happen during a live show, but spectators say otherwise and animal rights activists are still furious. Four Paws‘ Yavor Gechev pointed out to BBC that five dolphins and a seal have died at the park in the last five years.

Four Paws and other animal activists are fighting to stop the dolphinarium from including seal pups in their shows as well, and petitioners are calling for the dolphinarium to be shut down!

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