Dolphins
 

Has anybody been to DOLPHIN FANTASEAS in Anguilla ??? What is it like ?? I would like to know before Antigua has it's own dolphin pen ;good and bad points please . Should I join the club????<BR>DOLPHIN

DONT DO IT!!<BR><BR>Read for yourself about this deplorable practice of exploiting the dolphins. <BR><BR>http://antigua-net.com/dolphin/<BR><BR>WWW.DOLPHINPROJECT.ORG<BR><BR>Once you read the about the violence of the capture and the incredible stress these beautiful animals indure while in captivity I hope you'll join the ranks of anti-captive dolphin supporters!<BR><BR>A happy dolphin is a free dolphin!

Dear Tasha, <BR>As someone who considers Antigua a "home away from home" I am normally <BR>very supportive of RESONABLE Government effort to sustain and increase/encourage tourism. In this case, I protest with great vigour the explotation of dolphins for <BR>amusment and greed. Several dolphins have already been captured and are being held in a "sea pen" near the Royal Antigian Hotel - pending the move to a man-made (only 9 feet in depth!!!!) marina. These magnificent animals will be penned in - cheek to jowl as it were - and it is no secret that these animals suffer terribly under restricted circumstances. It is one thing to have dolphins swim in and out (at will) of a conservation site such as in Key Largo; and quite another for them to be CAGED. There are neither the proper funds, nor is there the proper respect and attitude required by Gov't. for this to become anything other than a horrendous & despotic debacle - leading to a death watch. PLEASE - join us in protest. There is a large grass roots swell of protest in Antigua - arising esp. from those who make Antigua (as expats) thier home. Dolphins are animals. Think about this. Really think. <BR>Thank you. <BR>Samantha Silverbridge

Yes, I was in Anguilla the first week of July and we did check out Dolphin Fantaseas. I wished we hadn't. It was very expensive 85-90 dollars for one person to spend maybe 30 minutes tops in the water with the dolphins who are still in the training stages so we had very little contact. Not worth it. Plus the issue of exloiting these wonderful animals comes in to play here.They belong free to roam the ocean.

Dont listen to Tasha she is all over this board about anti-dolphin anything. <BR>We swam with the dolphins in the Bahamas and had a wonderful time, spent 1/2 the day at the park with them. Enjoy your trip and dont let the negative replys cause you to miss out on something very enjoyable.

Around 4 in the afternoon,generally,you can sit on your private jetties out over Crab Pond Point,at Horizon AND Bello Mundo on Jamaica's South Coast,Bluefields/Belmont , and watch <BR>dolphins cavort by in the wild.At Milk River Bath, you can hire a fishermen and guide to take you out in the river to swim in the wild with manatees. This might be a far better alternative to commercialized flipper-time fan shows.

Love your email adress so I stole it! The last thing that any person should do is capitalize on one of nature's beautiful intelligent creatures under the guise of education and research. The abusement parks that are beginning to proliferate throughout the Carib are a travisty and, altho Kim must be pro-park, do read and listen to Tasha and make up your own mind if you want to support those who exploit. I do hope that the Antigua campaign is succesful altho it seems that the BVI one is not going to be! However, there is a very active boycott of the accomodations on Tortola who are planning to bring the captured dolphins there! In fact, they now are offering "free" trips thru their timeshare affiliate just to get people to come! Hope that's because no one has reserved. So, if you get the offer, take 'em up on the "freebie," head there and don't spend one penny at their place and tell 'em why! The care and feeding, "training" and the capture and seperating a dolphin from its pod just to use it to charge mega bucks for entertainment, is disguisting!

Time Magazine had good article on this subject from May 2001. Here's the link. <BR> <BR>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/pr...109583,00.html

To :Kim ([email protected]) <BR> <BR>Been to any good dog fights lately? Ive heard its very entertaining, just like those dolphin "swims" you love so much. <BR> <BR>One question: if you love dolphins so much, why, after reading all the proven facts (early death, skin cancer, miscarriages, etc., etc.) on this dolphin exploitation do you still participate? Because your "enjoyment" is all that matters! <BR> <BR>A happy dolphin is a free dolphin! <BR> <BR>Seems that

Just returned from the grayhound races and a Cock fight last night it was <BR>great. Are you stupid, I guess we have to take Tasha's advise. She doesn't even own a dog. Do you eat beef? or just fish? Swim with whatever you like.

Tasha, do you not believe in Zoo's either?

Good one Joe!

This has got to be a joke! Swimming with the dolphins is a wonderful thing, we have done it many times. We have even swam with them out in the wild. The places that do this for vacationers take very good care of the dolphins.Maybe they do need to be out in the wild but if we did not have these parks most people would not get the opportunity to observe a dolphins at all let alone swim with them. Have fun with them experience what most people never get to.

I've never been to a "zoo" in recent years ... don't they call them parks today and have done away with the cages and other horrible conditions that existed at zoos? One travesty doesn't give proof that another is okay. They starve the wild animals and "train" them into domesticity so that a few well-heeled travelers (or big limits on the unpaid credit card more likely!) can play with them? Been to any Tiger playgrounds lately? Or maybe running with the cougars? How 'bout Lunching with the Lions? Any natural behavior is modified right out of the dolphin. And if you were really informed, you would see that dolphins can be quite aggressive in the wild under certain circumstances even attacking those who are "familiar" to them and each other! It would be a terrible thing, Rose, if someone had to go thru life never having paid for the experience and their life would certainly be unfulfilled! It has nothing to do with choosing to not eat meat or fish, wearing leather or any of the other assaine comments you make. It is about exploiting a wonderful living creature who can be conditioned to exhibit certain behaviors by withholding food until the "behavior" pleases the keeper. It's keeping an animal who needs to be with his pod for socialization in a swimming pool that many would call a plung pool. It is about filling the pockets of the captors with money. It is about lots of things but none that you would probably understand. There is no mistaking that! Why else would FANTASEAS have already declared bancrupty once and, if you are really smart, you would find out who is running and working for Fantaseas! Scarey! But, you don't want to know that - doesn't matter to you and the other uneducated! It's all for fun!

ok, swim with the dolphins!

Kim: You sound like a very greedy, callous, and uncaring person. How can you be so cavalier about something so inhumane to something so innocent and intelligent? Maybe you should be pinned up in a small house for the rest of you life. Unable to go anywhere or do anything. Tasha is not anti-dolphin, she's pro-dolphin. Duh!

<BR> <BR>Kim, your attitude sickens me. And Rose, I don’t know if I should feel the same about you or are you just very, very naïve? Swimming with the dolphons may feel wonderful for you but did you ever stop to wonder how it felt for them?

We all have our opinions like ass holes, and some of you sould like the ass holes. Kim has her opinion just like the rest of you. She has a right to speak her piece, leave her alone. Ive seen her posts on this board on many subjects and she seems very smart on alot of travel subjects and has helped many people.

hey, Rose, sounds much nicer to say that opinions are like noses, everyone has one! Little more classy, wouldn't you say? Too bad you had to reduce it to name calling and vulgar language! But, sometimes, when there is no defense, people do that!

Funny how Rose sounds just like Kim, doesnt it? Maybe this is her other personality, defending herself under a different name. Both sound and act like a rat trapped in a corner! <BR> <BR>Actually, its sad, they/her must lead such sad, narrow minded, pitiful lives.