CAIRO: Dolphins that have been held captive in Egypt's Hurghada Red Sea resort town have been moved, the country's leading environment protection agency, the Hurghada Environmental Conservation and Protection Agency (HEPCA) reported late last week. According to the Hurghada-based organization, the four dolphins, transferred to Egypt from Japan, have been moved from “one dirty hole in the ground to another.” Dina Zulfikar, Egypt's leading independent animal welfare advocate, said the dolphins are part of plans to erect a dolphinarium in the town in an effort to attract more tourism. The dolphins, according to Zulfikar and the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), have been held in Egypt since August 17 in the private villa in Hurghada. Local reports from Hurghada have indicated that the dolphinarium owners have listened to HEPCA, Zulfikar and other leading activists including Ric O'Barry of the Earth Island Institute, to end the completion of the project. “Although at first we encountered resistance from the owner and his guards, we persevered, and eventually were granted access to the new location to watch the dolphins being re-released into their new quarantine area,” HEPCA said in a press statement published on their website. “The size and conditions of the pool are compliant with the national standards as recommended by the National Coordination Committee which is formed of the Scientific Research Academy,” it continued. “However, as Ric O'Barry correctly stated … a pool in the desert does not give the dolphins a good chance of survival. There are too many negative factors that can harm the animals, such as: dust, heat and UV damage.” The Bottlenose dolphins are to be the new attractions at a dolphinarium in Sahl Hashish in Hurghada. Leading the campaign to house the dolphins for visitors viewing are hotel owners in the area. None of the four 5-star hotels Bikya Masr contacted on Friday returned phone calls. One assistant manager did say that “the dolphins are a part of the tourism industry and will be well kept and treated well.” Making matters worse, the animals are from Japan, and according to observers, are likely from the the now infamous Cove in Taiji, where tens of thousands of dolphins are slaughtered annually. Dolphins that escape the murder are then transferred across the globe to dolphinariums and zoos, including the one in Sharm el-Sheikh – Dolphina Park. HEPCA reported that four additional dolphins are “expected to be imported from Japan and assigned to the brand new dolphinarium in Makadi Bay, Hurghada” in Sahl Hashish. “There are serious conservation and welfare concerns associated with the capture of dolphins in drive hunts and other live capture operations and their export overseas for display in dolphinaria. These dolphins should never have come to Egypt. Due to a serious lack of regulations, these animals are now doomed to live a life of imprisonment,” HEPCA said in its call to obtain signatures in the campaign to end the dolphin transfer. “HEPCA continues to work on forming an alliance with tour operators, pushing for their agreement that they will not seek to profit from immoral facilities such as dolphinariums. We want their word that they will not advertise such a facility, or take their guests to it. If we have the tourists on our side, there is simply no requirement for a dolphinarium here!” HEPCA said. BM
