HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Cetacean (whale and dolphin) keeping in the UK actually goes back
considerably further than one might imagine with historical references to
porpoises being held at The Brighton Aquarium and beluga whale being display at
the Westminster Aquarium.
In contemporary times the first two purpose built aquaria for cetaceans where built in 1963 at Flamingo Park Zoo in Yorkshire and at Marineland built in the northern sea-side resort of Morecambe.
In contemporary times the first two purpose built aquaria for cetaceans where built in 1963 at Flamingo Park Zoo in Yorkshire and at Marineland built in the northern sea-side resort of Morecambe.
Dolphin keeping ceased in the UK
in 1993 with the last three female dolphins at Flamingoland being relocated to
European facilities.
It is popularly promoted by animal-rights groups is that cetacean keeping has be banned and is illegal in the UK. This is not correct.
In 1985 - after concerns
raised about the care of cetaceans in the UK by various animal and
environmental groups - the then Department of the Environment (now part of DEFRA) commissioned biologists Dr Margaret Klinowska and Dr Susan Brown to research
and review the keeping of these animals in UK zoos and aquaria (see below
note regarding the UK's Zoo Licensing Act). Klinowska and Brown's
report 'A Review Of Dolphinaria' was published in 1986
with various recommendations to be implemented by those holding captive
cetaceans by no later than 1993. The authors did have the authority to
recommend that cetaceans should not be held in captive care if their research
supported such a position. However they did not and maintained that these
animals could be successfully kept in animal collections provided they were
given the right conditions. They stated:
“...No
substantial contra-indications to the keeping of cetaceans have been
found which would not apply equally to the keeping of any other
wild-caught animal...This is not to say that there are no problems with
cetacean keeping, only that the problems are not dissimilar to those
encountered in wild-caught animal husbandry in general, and could be
solved...”
One of the conditions in A Review of Dolphinaria was related to pool dimensions. Whilst some facilities complied with
pool size and area none reached or exceeded the suggested minimum depth
standards for the species held; for bottle-nose dolphins this depth of at least
a third of the pools size should be 7 metres (23 feet). Ironically Marineland
Morecambe one of the first facilities to display these animals had a main pool
which was 5.53 metres (18 feet) deep with Flamingoland's main pool having a
depth of 4.6 metres (15 feet).
However by this time only three dolphinaria remained and all would have to rebuild and/or extend their existing facilities to be able to publicly display animals after 1993.
Windsor's holding company had financial problems and went into receivership in 1992. The site was acquired by Legoland Theme Parks and the animals in the park where rehoused; the dolphins going to Harderwijk Marine Mammal Park.
Brighton Aquarium's lease was sold to the Sealife Centres group in 1990 and the two dolphins and the dolphin 'Rocky' from Morecambe's Marineland became part of a dolphin release project called 'IntoThe Blue'.
Flamingoland was the last facility to house dolphins and did plan to build an extension to the existing dolphinarium to comply with the new keeping regulations but this did not come to fruition and the dolphins were moved to aquaria in Europe.
However by this time only three dolphinaria remained and all would have to rebuild and/or extend their existing facilities to be able to publicly display animals after 1993.
Windsor's holding company had financial problems and went into receivership in 1992. The site was acquired by Legoland Theme Parks and the animals in the park where rehoused; the dolphins going to Harderwijk Marine Mammal Park.
Brighton Aquarium's lease was sold to the Sealife Centres group in 1990 and the two dolphins and the dolphin 'Rocky' from Morecambe's Marineland became part of a dolphin release project called 'IntoThe Blue'.
Flamingoland was the last facility to house dolphins and did plan to build an extension to the existing dolphinarium to comply with the new keeping regulations but this did not come to fruition and the dolphins were moved to aquaria in Europe.
 | |
| Dolphins: Kings of the Sea. A popular book sold at many dolphinariums in the 1970s. It was written by zoo vet Dr David Taylor and and Tommy Hansen the manager of Scarborough Marineland and Zoo. |
It should be noted that until the UK's Zoo Licensing Act which came into force in 1984
there was no legally enforceable standards of husbandry for any captive
wild animals let alone cetaceans. It should be also noted that of the many
dolphinaria linked on the site were not extensive, purposes built facilities with
some being very temporary in nature and existed for just few summer seasons and
would not be consider appropriate or legal by modern day animal keeping standards.
Further
information on the contemporary care of whale and dolphins in captive care can
be found at our sister web site MARINE ANIMAL WELFARE.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many of the photographs and information on this
site have been donated and the web master wishes to thank the following people:
Peter Bloom - Martin Allen - Debbie Drumstick - Denis Steele - Keith Reaney
To this end please note the photographs on this web site may not be used
without permission of the web master and remain copyright of the respective
owners.
If anyone has any photos and other information they would like placed on
the web site please contact me. Email Link