The fight for animal rights often feels like an uphill battle plagued with strong opposition from selfish individuals and greedy businesses. However, at times there are celebratory victories that provide the encouragement we need to keep on fighting for those who cannot speak out for themselves.

One such victory recently occurred in Vietnam, where authorities denied the proposal to build a dolphin park tourist attraction in the city of Danang. This happened after 200 animal welfare charities spoke up and a petition written by Animals Asia garnered 16,000 signatures, showing that the general public does not want this type of “entertainment.”


If the park had been approved, dolphins would have been captured from the wild, possibly from the gruesome Taiji dolphin hunts, and kept in tiny inadequate tanks and forced to do unnatural tricks in exchange for food. For highly intelligent creatures who typically swim over 60 miles a day with their family pods in the wild, life in captivity is pure misery filled with physical pain, severe psychological distress, shortened lifespans, and an all in all poor quality of life.

Animals Asia’s Animal Welfare Director Dave Neale had this to say about the rejection of the proposed dolphin park: “This is a stunning success, which absolutely reaffirms our belief that anything is possible when people come together in support of a common goal…By turning down this proposal, the Danang authorities seem to recognise that the world does not want more animal cruelty packaged as entertainment…There has been a growing international backlash against keeping whales and dolphins in captivity…Until the last dolphin is released and the last dolphinarium closed down, we will continue to bang the drum against these horrors.”

Until all the tanks are officially emptied, the single best way to combat the cruelty of marine parks is by never buying a ticket to visit them. And please remember to share this excellent news with your friends and family as a reminder why wild animals belong in the wild, not in tanks.

Image Source: Pixabay

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