Campaigns

Here we are proud to introduce you to several campaigns LABCMA launched. It is part of our ideology to avoid killing whales and dolphins for human consumption and we are against keeping marine mammals in captivity. Also, we are launching two campaigns on strategies to protect right whales and Franciscana dolphins in southeastern Brazil. 

 

Say No To Captivity

Say No To Captivity

Here you will find stories of three facilities that kept cetaceans working for food from 1968 to 1990. Those three prisions could be nominated as "haunted houses". Few businessmen made easy money after forcing bottlenose dolphins and orcas to be clowns, and exposing Amazon dolphins as "rare" wild animals. Most of those friendly animals had their lives taken in the name of few "dolphin-lovers" richness. Everybody knows that forced behaviour is perverted behaviour. Everybody knows that confinement is deleterious to human and animal minds. Would you like to see your parents or kids being forced to work for food and attention in a jail? Be sure that bottlenose dolphins, orcas and other marine mammals do not like either. So... after reading the following stories about cetaceans in captivity in Brazil, think twice before visiting the next facility. You may be the responsible for the next cetacean death in captivities around the world. Try visiting those animals in the wild, in their terms. Read with attention our advices and be sure to follow them. Nature will thank!

We suggest a tour through Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Cetacean Society International websites to learn more about the truth on cetaceans in captivities.

SMALL AND DIRTY PRISION CALLED OCEANORIUM


Flipper a few days before its release in the wild (Photo: A TRIBUNA de Santos)

The State of São Paulo hosted three facilities that forced some cetaceans to work for food. One of those jails was located in the city of São Vicente and was called "Oceanorium". That facility kept not only bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), but also sea lions. They kept marine mammals from 1968 to 1993. At least 10 bottlenose dolphins died in a very small pool with a bad quality water. Just to give you an idea on how things were going in that facility on January 15th 1970 a female dolphin arrived from California and died four days later. At that occasion, there were 5 bottlenose dolphins and 3 sea lions at Oceanorium. In the same year, the owner of that facility brought another dolphin from California, called "Juliet". This female died two years later with pneumonia. In the same year (1972), another female called "Brigitte" also died. After the necropsy, more than 2 kg of nails, marbles and stones were found in her stomach. In 1990, that facility had only two dolphins: "Carolina", a female that died in that year, and "Flipper" (another one!!) that stopped his performances in 1991. He was released in the wild in 1993 and had to learn by his own how to survive in his real world. That prision in São Vicente is now closed. No more cetacean deaths occurred there since 1993.

 

CAN YOU IMAGINE AMAZON DOLPHINS EXPOSED IN A SHOPPING CENTER ?!?


Bia and Tiquinha exposed at the Shopping Center (Photo: Alberto Helena Garcia)

Yes... this is true and it happened in Brazil. A female and calf pair of Amazon dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) was captured in Rio Formoso, state of Goiás in 1985. They were brought to a very small pool in a Shopping Center called "Morumbi Shopping", located in the city of São Paulo. Their prision was 4 meters deep and seemed like a store window. The ones who were dealing with those dolphins had never learned anything about cetaceans. They called "Bia" the adult female and "Tiquinha" the calf. On May 29th 1987 "Tiquinha" died with chronic pneumonia. A Non-Governamental Organization called "União Internacional de Proteção aos Animais" (UIPA) ordered the Brazilian government to release the other dolphin. In July 1988, "Bia" was released in Rio Formoso and disappeared. That prision in that Shopping was then closed.

 

POOR ORCAS: FROM ICELAND TO A POLLUTED CITY

In 1985, two juvenile orcas were captured in Icelandic waters. They were taken from those clean waters directly to the polluted city of São Paulo. In São Paulo they lived in a very small prision with a murky water located inside an amusement park called "Playcenter". They received the names "Nandú" (male) and "Samoa" (female). Probably victim of stress, "Nandú" ate three basketballs and all the plastic that covered their prision inner wall. He always had digestive problems. On March 2nd 1988 "Nandú" died with an adrenal gland tumor. He was 4 meters long and no more than 4 years old. "Samoa" stayed alone until March 1989, when she was sold to Sea World in Orlando, where she died three years later with no more than 6 years old. Some bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions were also forced to work for food in that facility, but we had no information about them. Since 1990, that amusement park has kept no more marine mammals.

A bottlenose dolphin and Samoa at the stage at Playcenter Amusement Park (Photos: Marcos César de O. Santos)


A bottlenose dolphin and Samoa at the stage at Playcenter Amusement Park (Photos: Marcos César de O. Santos)


Samoa just a few minutes before traveling to Sea World (Photo: Folha de São Paulo Files)


(Photo: Marcos César de O. Santos)

 

"Orcas can live up to 90 years in the wild.
They live an average of only 5.2 years in captivity"
(Cetacean Society International)

Stop Whaling!

Stop Whaling!

THE WHALING ISSUE: HUMANS PLAYING GOD

The story is the same year after year. It happens in May, or in June, or even in July. It is around those months that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) organizes their meetings every time in a different country. There, politicians that belong to different countries around the world will play God. On the discussion table, that could be called the "match board", hundreds of documents prepared mainly by scientific researchers that dedicate their lives to study whales. During many hours a day and in many consecutive days, argumentation will be presented as if they could represent playing cards. The main goal of some "gamblers", representing their country governments, is to kill whales. It was a good investment in the 1990’s and it probably will be in the new millenium. Some of their good shots are related to the old fashioned justifications such as "it is a tradition in our country" or even "it is for scientific purposes" (sic!). But their real will is business. At the other side of the game board you can find the countries (or gamblers) that are against whaling (the term used for the act of killing whales). Their argumentation are reasonable and worthy of praise in this moment of the Planet’s life, where nature conservation must be considered as an obligation of all the human kind. It is not accountable to kill wild animals in the name of one or another country richness, mainly when we are talking about migratory species that we almost know nothing about their reproduction cycles and also their population size estimates.

A fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, crosses the Ocean year after year in its annual migration, meanwhile some "businessmen" try to decide their future. Aren't we too small to decide the future of such a huge species? (Photo by Marcos César de O. Santos)

 

In 2000, in Australia, one of the against-whaling good intentions was regarded to the establishment of a new sanctuary in the South Pacific. Whaling would not be allowed in an area of about 12km2 around the east coast of Australia. This santuary would also protect the minke whales that have been hunted by Japan and Norway even after the establishment of an international moratoria to stop whaling around the world from 1986 on. This species pays a high price just for the fact that its population is estimated in 900.000 individuals around the world. In a fast and suspect movement, the final results of the ballot for the establishment of the sanctuary satisfied the pro-whaling countries that were against the sanctuary. Countries located in the Caribbean gave support to Japan and Norway. Argentina, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Peru could not vote because they did not pay their annual dues with the IWC. Ireland, Korea, Oman, Russia, Salomon Islands and Italy represented vote abstentions. The ones that voted for the establishment for the sanctuary were South Africa, Germany, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Spain, United States, Finland, Netherlands, India, England, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Sweden and Swiss. As those countries did not represent 75% of all vote intentions, they just regretted for loosing another time in this game which the most interested party will always be the whales, that will never vote. It is unacceptable that an important decision to protect fragile whales is blocked by some countries that are just interested in making money.

Soon, another game may be initiated in London. A whale sanctuary to be established in the South Atlantic that has the Brazilian government as one of the co-authors may be voted. This new ballot will probably be turned in a new game of chance. It will probably be another game where elegant dressed men will play for the rights of living or letting die, meanwhile thousands and thousands of whales will continue to navigate in never end seas, far away from those humans that still insist to play God.

We had meetings in London, Japan and Germany. Almost nothing changed for cetaceans. Politicians still play games. Until when? Are they waiting the extintion of cetaceans?

Franciscana dolphins in the road of extinction?

We are sorry! We are just working on the final details of this campaign to be launched on January. Thanks for your patience!

Conservation of right whales

We are sorry! We are just working on the final details of this campaign to be launched on January. Thanks for your patience!