By Sophie Liu

Imagine this: you’re stuck in a glass box. Groups of people pass by and stare at you every day, but no one everhelps you escape.

Aquariums are not worth the moral cost. Marine parks like Ocean Park, are part of a billion-dollar industry that keeps marine mammals in merciless conditions. These animals are kept in cramped tanks, suffering and spending their lives pointlessly swimming around in circles. They are made to perform tricks that are unnatural and damaging to their bodies. 

“There’s a difference between a domesticated species like a cat that’s been changed over thousands of years biologically, behaviorally to be around people, and an animal that’s been broken to be tame.” says Nancy Blaney, director of government affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute.

Sea animals are born to roam freely in their natural habitat; they are not intended to be trained to do tricks. Their existence is reduced to a monotonous drag of swimming in circles when they are housed in tanks comparable to a person living in a bathtub. Compared to the vast, boundless ocean they come from, their tiny, sterile tanks at Ocean Park are too small, only allowing a few strokes in each direction until they hit a wall.

When interviewed on their thoughts on Ocean Park, Saffron Law, a frequent visitor said, "I love all the fun rides! But whenever we pass the aquarium, it feels a little uneasy. They're confined to cages that are barely twice as big as their bodies while we're here roaming about the amusement park with little to no limitations."

After living their lives in a glass tank, marine animals have passed away from heatstroke and illnesses related to living in contaminated water. Captive facilities are too tiny for wild sea animals capable of swimming up to 150 kilometers per day. The space is not only uncomfortable but also dangerous. For outdoor tanks, creatures cannot swim to deeper waters to avoid the heat in hot weather.

To make these animals comply with the training, they are frequently given antidepressant medications. These drugs are used in conjunction with behavioral training to create a change in the animals' behaviours so that they more willingly obey the staff's directions. Marine animals have even been taken away from their families. In the wild, orcas stay by their mothers' sides. They are no different to us; they share family bonds and have social networks. Humans believe they can treat them as objects. How come? We need to realize that animals are also capable of experiencing pain, joy, and grief.

At Ocean Park's "Meet the Dolphin'' program, visitors can feed and swim alongside dolphins. While the idea of interacting with these lovely creatures may seem thrilling, the issue is that many people overlook how intrusive these programs are. Visitors, primarily young children are renowned to have high levels of excitement, so they chase and startle the animals. This damages the animals’ well being, as they experience extreme stress when exposed to constant physical contact, clamorous crowds, and loud music. 

Although there is a deception that dolphins always smile, it is only because of an  anatomical anomaly in their genes. Dolphins smile even after they pass away, so don't let their grins deceive you. Dolphins don't enjoy amusing you!

Fortunately for the dolphins, in 2020, Ocean Park declared that its dolphin and sea lion performance would be discontinued. Animal rights activists have long criticized the program. The dolphins that were a part of the show underwent intensive training, which had a negative impact on both their physical and mental health. They were subjected to cruel training methods that left them with little to no time for social interaction or rest after long training sessions, resulting in the unfortunate death of a few dolphins. According to marine ecologists from Empty The Tanks, the mammals did not eat, socialize, reproduce, or exercise naturally.

“Over many years, our marine mammal ambassadors have helped people learn about their species and habitats.” an Ocean Park spokeswoman said. 

There is, however, no concrete evidence that this is true. Public exhibitions frequently fail to successfully educate the general public, as the animals are not behaving as they would in the wild. Thus what is being taught is not accurate. A study from WBC even found that 62% of children experience no change in learning following an aquarium visit.

“When you lose the ability to hold these animals in a healthy, responsible environment, you lose the opportunity to learn about them.” said Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

However, people still support Ocean Park. This is because marine animals in captivity are not required to search for food. Food that has been frozen to eradicate parasites is fed to them. Veterinarians also monitor their health. As a result, some argue that captive marine animals are healthier than wild ones.

Furthermore, Ocean Park, like many other marine parks, say they provide safe homes for endangered species. The Ocean Park team and the Agriculture-Conservation Department have cooperated since June 2016 to cover live strandings of endangered sharks in Hong Kong. This benefits the ecosystem and saves valuable creatures from extinction, which is unfortunately, happening at an alarming rate. This also helps to protect representative habitats and biodiversity. Despite the environmental benefits, many marine parks need to rethink how they treat the animals. By making these animals perform tricks they were not biologically made to do, how are you, in any way, saving them? Every natural and fundamental right is denied to these intellectual animals.

The most straightforward approach to help halt the cruel treatment of marine mammals is to avoid visiting parks that hold them in captivity. Supporting legislation that forbids the capture of marine mammals and organizations working to shut down ruthless marine parks are other effective methods to promote awareness. Remember, a life in captivity is no life.

References

Deaths, drugs, distress: why marine parks are losing their attraction. (n.d.). The Guardian. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/visitors-turn-backs-on-marine-parks

'Death was a relief for her': Animal rights advocates' lone voice against panda captivity in Ocean Park. (n.d.). Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://hongkongfp.com/2016/10/30/death-relief-animal-rights-advocates-lone-voice-panda-captivity-ocean-park/

The Debate on Marine Mammals in Captivity. (n.d.). Digital commons. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=honors-theses

Dolphin encounter. (n.d.). Ocean Park. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.oceanpark.com.hk/en/experience/get-closer-to-the-animals/dolphin-encounter

Meet the Dolphin. (n.d.). Ocean Park. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.google.com/search?q=ocean+park+dolphin+programme&oq=ocean+park+dolphin+programme&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i10i160l2.4503j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on