An Interview with Dolphin Defender and star of The Cove, Richard O'barry
Deborah: You were once famous for training the dolphins used for the popular TV series, Flipper in the 1960s. Over the past 40 years, you have since become most well known for freeing dolphins from captivity and for continually risking your life to speak out and take action against dolphinariums and aquariums that ‘showcase’ dolphins. When did this shift occur, and why it is cruel to keep these animals in captivity?
Ric O'barry: The shift occurred in 1970 when Flipper died in my arms at the Miami Seaquarium. For a long time before she died, I knew that dolphins did not belong in captivity, but I didn’t do anything about it. The entire dolphin captivity industry is based on deception and, as a dolphin trainer, one must go along with it. You lie to the public, to the media and you lie to yourself everyday.
Captivity is extremely stressful for animals that are free-ranging, whose primary sense is sound. We are talking about a sonic creature confined to life in a concrete box! This grim reality has been covered up by this industry for so long. Watching dolphins doing silly tricks does not translate into education. Most dolphins born into captivity have never even seen a live fish! They do not know the natural rhythms of the ocean, the tides and currents, their natural environment, nor can they ever be released into the wild and that is sad.
Deborah: Can you explain why this practice occurs, and the impact that it has had on the local community of Taiji, Japan?
Ric: Dolphin captures are the economic underpinning of the slaughter in Taiji. One dolphin sold into captivity can generate as much as $154,000. A dead dolphin is only worth $500 which is sold to be eaten. However, the people of Japan really do not know what is going on there, and therefore are not guilty; it is the government that needs to be held accountable for its actions. The Japanese people simply do not have the information that we take for granted, but one can not argue the facts about mercury poisoning. Once the public knows that the dolphin meat is contaminated with mercury, it is a human rights issue and the Japanese people have the right to know, which has been denied by the media up until now. Dolphin meat has higher levels of mercury than the fish that caused the Minamata poisoning!
Deborah: You have recently been involved in the award winning documentary film, The Cove, which exposes the annual slaughter of dolphins and cetaceans, do you see this issue coming to an end in your lifetime, and how can the average person help?
Ric O'barry: Yes, it takes films like The Cove and the international media getting behind it. The Cove will do what the Japanese media failed to do: inform the Japanese public. The world association of zoos and aquariums also have to get involved and start policing their own industry and get their dolphin trainers out of places like Japan, Cuba, and the Solomon Islands if this industry is to be shut down once and for all. These Japanese dolphins are currently being exported to China, Mexico,Turkey, and Philippines. The United States is no longer importing dolphins that were not caught in a humane way. This is a step in the right direction; however, we have much more work to do on the worldwide front.
If you really love dolphins do not buy a ticket to a performing dolphin show where they have to perform just to be fed. It’s simple, it is based on supply and demand and If consumers will stop buying tickets then the problem will go away. The zoo and aquarium and dolphin industry is a 2 billion dollar a year industry in the U.S. alone. It is all profit however. Consumers can in fact make a difference by voting with their wallets. Also, sign petitions, and go to the website to learn more.
Ric O'barry: The shift occurred in 1970 when Flipper died in my arms at the Miami Seaquarium. For a long time before she died, I knew that dolphins did not belong in captivity, but I didn’t do anything about it. The entire dolphin captivity industry is based on deception and, as a dolphin trainer, one must go along with it. You lie to the public, to the media and you lie to yourself everyday.
Captivity is extremely stressful for animals that are free-ranging, whose primary sense is sound. We are talking about a sonic creature confined to life in a concrete box! This grim reality has been covered up by this industry for so long. Watching dolphins doing silly tricks does not translate into education. Most dolphins born into captivity have never even seen a live fish! They do not know the natural rhythms of the ocean, the tides and currents, their natural environment, nor can they ever be released into the wild and that is sad.
Deborah: Can you explain why this practice occurs, and the impact that it has had on the local community of Taiji, Japan?
Ric: Dolphin captures are the economic underpinning of the slaughter in Taiji. One dolphin sold into captivity can generate as much as $154,000. A dead dolphin is only worth $500 which is sold to be eaten. However, the people of Japan really do not know what is going on there, and therefore are not guilty; it is the government that needs to be held accountable for its actions. The Japanese people simply do not have the information that we take for granted, but one can not argue the facts about mercury poisoning. Once the public knows that the dolphin meat is contaminated with mercury, it is a human rights issue and the Japanese people have the right to know, which has been denied by the media up until now. Dolphin meat has higher levels of mercury than the fish that caused the Minamata poisoning!
Deborah: You have recently been involved in the award winning documentary film, The Cove, which exposes the annual slaughter of dolphins and cetaceans, do you see this issue coming to an end in your lifetime, and how can the average person help?
Ric O'barry: Yes, it takes films like The Cove and the international media getting behind it. The Cove will do what the Japanese media failed to do: inform the Japanese public. The world association of zoos and aquariums also have to get involved and start policing their own industry and get their dolphin trainers out of places like Japan, Cuba, and the Solomon Islands if this industry is to be shut down once and for all. These Japanese dolphins are currently being exported to China, Mexico,Turkey, and Philippines. The United States is no longer importing dolphins that were not caught in a humane way. This is a step in the right direction; however, we have much more work to do on the worldwide front.
If you really love dolphins do not buy a ticket to a performing dolphin show where they have to perform just to be fed. It’s simple, it is based on supply and demand and If consumers will stop buying tickets then the problem will go away. The zoo and aquarium and dolphin industry is a 2 billion dollar a year industry in the U.S. alone. It is all profit however. Consumers can in fact make a difference by voting with their wallets. Also, sign petitions, and go to the website to learn more.