Disney World is removing all dolphins from Epcot to prioritize animal welfare - but sadly they won’t be retired to a sanctuary
The dolphins at Epcot are being sent to a dolphinarium which has one of the highest death rates in the US, leading campaigners to call for the animals to be transferred to a sanctuary instead.
Disney World has announced that it will be removing all live dolphins from one of its parks.
The marine animals have been used for more than two decades at Epcot in Florida as part of the ride and aquarium attraction known as The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
But modern attitudes towards animal welfare have seen institutions increasingly move away from keeping intelligent and sensitive marine animals like orcas and dolphins in captivity, and now Disney World is following in those footsteps.
In a letter sent to staff and obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the park explained that the decision to remove the dolphins came from “prioritizing the wellbeing of these sensitive marine mammals”.
However, Disney World has made the controversial decision to send Epcot’s three male dolphins to another marine park instead of retiring them to a sanctuary.
The dolphins are currently kept in an aquarium attraction at Disney World’s Epcot, pictured here.
The marine animals, who have “thrived and led long lives” according to Disney World, will be sent to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in late October.
Animal welfare groups have urged Disney World to reconsider its decision and offer the marine animals a proper retirement at a legitimate sanctuary.
Marine animal advocacy group the Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project said in an open letter to the President of Disney World Resort that relocating the dolphins to the Gulfarium is “the wrong choice for their physical, mental and emotional well-being.”
The Project points out that the Gulfarium has failed to report the deaths of at least six dolphins and has one of the highest death rates of any dolphinarium in the US. The controversial marine park currently has captive dolphins that are forced to perform in dolphin shows and as part of dolphin encounters.
Dolphins are still used to perform in shows in the US and around the world.
“After years of performing for tourists, give the Epcot dolphins a retirement that they deserve”, the letter urges.
In Defense of Animals, a group which campaigns against animal captivity, also called for a sanctuary retirement for the three Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, who are known as Rainier, Calvin, and Malabar.
The group welcomed the news that Epcot would be moving away from human-dolphin interactions, but criticized Disney World for passing the problem of the animal’s welfare onto another company, and claimed that “the dolphins are merely being transferred to another facility to continue to be abused for profit”.
According to In Defense of Animals, dolphins “suffer tremendously” in captivity with little mental stimulation while in barren and stale tanks. In the wild, dolphins experience vast distances and natural stimulation as they travel up to 60 miles per day to hunt and play with other dolphins in their pod. The group is calling on its supporters to contact Disney by phone, letter and on socia media, to urge them to “let the Disney Dolphins go to a sanctuary”- find out more on the group’s website here.
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