video. Should we keep dolphins captive to science?

“Unfortunately, this law was smoke and mirrors, and people applauded and thought it was over, but it is not over yet.” Muriel Arnal, founder of One Voice, laments. For her, scientific studies can be conducted on captive animals in a natural environment. For his part, Martin Bouye, scientific director of Planet Sauvage Park, states that research work has been taking place there since at least 2009, that is, before the dolphins arrived. ““So we are not doing research because the law required us to do so.”

“Marineland will be completely closed, so the dolphins will go to very terrible places, either China or Dubai.”

Within the Planète Sauvage park, two types of studies are being carried out: on communication between dolphins, and on the way they view their environment. “And all this with the idea of ​​being able to apply this on land, at sea, to improve their living conditions“Martin Boy defines.”Studies conducted here will be useful in providing information about captive dolphins, but not about free-range dolphins. Muriel Arnal answers, adding that the living conditions are not the same: captive cetaceans “I don’t know the currents, the tides, or the wild marine life“. For Martin Bowie, the captive environment allows for the study of elements that would be more complex to study at sea, such as the depiction of childbirth, and thus “Better understanding of what they need in nature“.

“There are two places where dolphins are found in France: Marineland in Antibes, which also has killer whales, and Planet Sauvage. Marineland will be completely shut down, so the dolphins will go to absolutely terrible places. There are no more places in Europe, so the destination is either China or Dubai. China has no laws to protect animals, Dubai we are not talking about.. There tourists can enter the water with them and force them into direct contact“I would like to mention Muriel Arnall.”Why do they go to Dubai? Because parks in France are forced to close. There, we put animals at risk” Answers Martin Boye. For Muriel Arnal, the solution is to create “The perfect sanctuary“, which would combine the best living conditions for cetaceans with the necessary framework for scientific research.