Dolphins Trade Arizona Desert For Troubled Waters, Activists Say

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The four remaining bottlenose dolphins at an embattled Arizona tourist attraction have been moved after the mysterious death of four dolphins in less than two years, but animal welfare activists aren’t happy about their destination.

They were relocated earlier this week to Coral World Ocean Park in Water Bay, St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Animal Welfare Institute says the marine park and tourist attraction has a history of water-quality issues that put the porpoises’ health at additional risk.

Dolphinaris Arizona was temporarily shuttered earlier this month after the death of Kai, a 22-year-old male dolphin. Officials at the tourist attraction, which allowed its guests to swim with dolphins, admitted the death of four dolphins in a year and a half was an unusually high and abnormal number.

“We are still not certain what caused the deaths of four dolphins at Dolphinaris within an 18-month period,” Dr. Naomi Rose, the Animal Welfare Institute’s marine mammal scientist, said in a statement to Patch. The dolphins, which are potentially immunocompromised, will be held in a sea pen enclosure in a bay known for its limited water circulation and poor water quality.”

“We felt it was imperative to remove the animals from what appeared to be a compromised environment at the Arizona facility,” Dr. Rae Stone, Dolphin Quest Co-founder. "Just like the natural ocean water sanctuaries Dolphin Quest pioneered over three decades ago in Hawaii, Coral World’s marine habitat promises to provide a healthy and enriching environment where our dolphins will inspire the next generations of ocean stewards.”

Veterinarians and marine mammal specialists who have personal relationships with the dolphins precisely planned the transport to be in accordance with all federal regulations and traveled with the dolphins to ensure their comfort and health.

The four dolphins are a strong social group and they traveled to their new home together. Dolphin Quest’s Marine mammal specialists will stay with the dolphins through their acclimation until they are settled in to their new home.

See Also: Dolphins Mysteriously Dying At Swim-With-Dolphins Tourist Trap

As recently as December, Water Bay failed clean water tests for bacteria under the Clean Water Act and was declared unsafe for human swimming and fishing. The water has since been declared safe, according to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, but the conditions at Water Bay that prompted the warnings in December had persisted almost weekly for at least six months, with a few exceptions.

“Based on Clean Water Act monitoring, Water Bay is not fit for human swimmers 40 percent of the year,” Rose said. “These two dolphins must live in this polluted water all day, every day.”

Dolphinaris has not yet said if its closure is permanent, which means Sonny and Ping could be returned to the Scottsdale attraction. The string of dolphin deaths renewed activists’ calls for a permanent closure of the facility, which they say should never have been allowed under the punishing desert sun.

Either way, AWI worries about the welfare and survival of the animals, but especially if they remain at Coral World Ocean Park.

Coral World completed its Dolphin Education Center nearly two years ago, but it was used to house employees during and after hurricanes Irma and Maria. The park reopened in November.

Coral World plans to house up to 10 dolphins on a regular basis, including six during its first year and as many as 18 when breeding begins. It’s unclear where Coral World will get the other dolphins for its exhibit.

Trudie Prior, general manager of the attraction, told the St. Thomas Source that she is “confident the design of the facility is environmentally sensitive and will provide an excellent home of for the dolphins.”

But Rose isn’t convinced.

“The public display industry often says that dolphins born in concrete tanks, such as Sonny and Ping, cannot handle the contaminants and pathogens they would encounter in the ocean if they were ‘set free,’” Rose said. “However, even placing them in a sea pen raises similar concerns using this logic. The hypocrisy on the part of the captive display industry here is noteworthy: It’s OK to send tank-born dolphins to a sea pen when it’s convenient for management, but not when it’s in the dolphins’ best interest.”

Rose’s organization thinks all captive dolphins should be retired to seaside sanctuaries.

“But such a sanctuary would never be located in a polluted bay,” she said. “This enclosure was sited for the convenience of Coral World, which is on the adjacent shore, not for the welfare of the dolphins who will be kept there.”