This was forwarded to me, its an important read not only for TCI but for all to be educated. It is written by someone who lives on island and cares deeply about preserving its beautiful by nature reputation. It is long, but give it a read. If you need proof to back some of the things stated I can supply that too. TC Islanders, you are being lied to! CARE ABOUT LOCAL PEOPLE??? A few months ago, I read an article by the developer of the proposed dolphinarium(s). What stayed with me was him saying how much he cared for the people of Grand Turk. I cant get that bit out of my mind. He CARES about local people? Why? He never lived there, visited perhaps a couple of times, knows but a handful of people out of the entire GTs population. BAD ECONOMY As a matter of fact, people who enslave animals dont care. And this particular developer doesnt care about the our people, nor about the animals he is about to have stolen from the wild, their families brutally murdered by stabbing and having corks jammed into their breathing holes. But that is not all. He is lying to you. He is lying about how this attraction will make a positive change to the economy of GT and TCI. He is using the lack of jobs in GT to create an illusion of future prosperity. BAD PUBLICITY What he will bring is a lot of terribly bad publicity. Worldwide. And loss of current business as the vast majority of tourist who now visit the TCI visit for its BEAUTY BY NATURE and are horrified at the prospect of a displays of animal pain and suffering. What is worse, they vow not to come back and spread the word. This, in todays world of instant media, could spell a disaster. FACTS Here are some FACTS with links to actual websites they come from. None of this is made up, it has all been printed and published online: POPULARITY PLUMMETING - The popularity of these attractions is in steady decline. As more and more people become aware of the horrible cruelties done to the animals, they refuse to support them. They stop buying tickets the moment they find out that the dolphins for these shows come from simultaneous slaughter of 23,000 dolphins slaughtered………in Japan alone. SEAWORLD MOST HATED / COVE /BLACKFISH - SeaWorld has been declared one of the five MOST HATED companies in the USA after films like the Cove and Blackfish have shown people what really goes on the inside of this despicable industry. 75 SHOWS CLOSED - Worldwide, over 75 of dolphin and orca shows have already been shut down, or never opened, due to protests. PETA / RIC OBARRY / SPCAs - There are countless organisations around the world working tirelessly on exposing the unimaginable horrors of capturing these highly intelligent animals, ripping them away from their families, and keeping in tiny, dirty enclosures, using them for our entertainment. Their high intelligence has been proven by countless studies: they communicate, they have languages and even local accents, they live in families, protect each other from danger, care for and love their young. A 2010 study carried out by professor Lori Marino at Emory University in Atlanta used MRI scans to map the brains of dolphins and compare them to those of primates and concluded that dolphins are second only to humans in intelligence. At least two scientists recommend that dolphins be given the same status as humans. Other studies have revealed that dolphins have distinct personalities, can think about the future, and have a strong sense of self and that new behaviors are passed from one dolphin to another. PETITIONS / VISITORS TO TCI - Countless petitions have been published, signed and sent to both those who capture the dolphins and those who keep them captive. The one against a dolphinarium in the TCI has collected almost a hundred thousand signatures. That is a HUNDRED THOUSAND POTENTIAL VISITORS TO THE ISLANDS LOST. PROTESTS AT THE GATES - There are daily protests in front of Seaworld and other dolphine/orca parks. There are people actually standing in front of these attractions with banners, exposing the terrible practices ENTERTAINERS CANCEL 8 out of 10 bands that were to have concerts at SeaWorld, have canceled. SEAWORLDS STOCKS PLUMET Contrary to what this developer wants to tell you, investors are no longer interested in dolphin shows. Here is what happened to SeaWorlds stock in second quarter. This has hit media around the ENTIRE WORLD. As investor interest drops in the big marine mammal entertainment business, we in the TCI are watching our politicians work overtime to bring in a small operator and allow it to operate out of one 20 foot container and one 40 foot container, with no provisions for first aid should a visitor get seriously hurt. MORE BAD PRESS FOR US AS ANIMALS INJURE PEOPLE Orcas and dolphins are lonely, unhappy, bored, depressed in captivity. Throw a human into the mix and you are asking for a disaster. Trainers and tourists have both been injured, some even killed, by captive dolphins and orcas. Can you imagine the headline: A LITTLE GIRL BIT BY A CAPTIVE DOLPHIN IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS? RELATED INDUSTRIES Turks and Caicos Islands are entirely dependent on tourism. Nowadays, The travel industry is beginning to turn on tourism trips that exploit animals. There are many places that the industry stopped recommending, some include circuses………and dolphin shows will be the next thing to go. The mighty power of the tourism industry combined with international media can crash TCI in an instant……… RIGHT NEXT DOOR / BAHAMAS DOLPHINARIUM CLOSED BY BAHAMIAN COURT A Supreme Court judge in the Bahamas has ordered a “swim-with-dolphins” exhibit to shut down and release its eight captive dolphins. The facility on Blackbeard’s Cay, off the coast of Nassau, had barely opened its doors when Justice Stephen Isaacs ordered its owners, Blue Illusions Limited, to remove the shallow and unprotected sea pens that the dolphins were held in and restore the area to its original condition. Then, Justice Isaacs raised questions about the legality of importing dolphins into the Bahamas for anything other than research or preservation of the species. THERE IS A BETTER WAY / GOOD PUBLICITY / JOBS / CELEBRITIES But, there is an alternative. There are ways to help animals AND build a prosperous community at the same time. Think about it: think about being the MOST ANIMAL FRIENDLY nation on the planet. Instead of creating a show that would destroy our reputation of being BEAUTIFUL BY NATURE, we could build a marine mammal rescue facility. We already have the old buildings of Conch world, we could use those for headquarters. We could market ourselves as those who protect Mother Nature and with that also ensure sensible and long lasting jobs for Islanders. We could attract those celebrities, who, like Ricky Gervais, Richard Branson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, or Sean Penn already speak against the likes of SeaWorld, and who would be happy to get on board in TCIs Dolphin Rehabilitation Center. They already support the likes of Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Marine Animals (IPRAM) in Brazil and similar…………and we could team up with these organizations for support, guidance and funds. (N.B. Brazil is one of the markets we are trying to court for our low season tourism. They banned dolphin attractions there already. India went even further, they proclaimed dolphins Non Human Persons) Going back to the beginning of my letter, to the caring for people. There are people already on the islands, both local and expat, who CARE, really CARE for animals. Those who work at the TCSPCA, the vets who spend hours and hours rescuing and rehabilitating dogs, cats, dolphins, donkeys, horses. There are those who clean up the beach, who pick up thrash. Those who donate local charities. Please, talk to them. Ask them. Because they are the ones who will tell you the truth. And most importantly: Think! Think for yourselves. Think and consider the positive publicity, the jobs, the popularity for doing something really, really good. Tourists could still come and visit, but they would learn about how to protect animals - IT IS A WIN WIN SITUATION
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 12:14:22 +0000