Our Work: Dolphins in Captivity
ALI initiated legal proceedings against Dolphin Marine Magic for misleading or deceptive conduct under Australian Consumer Law.
In 2017, the Animal Law Institute (ALI) initiated legal proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia on behalf of Action for Dolphins against a Coffs Harbour marine park known as Dolphin Marine Magic (DMM), for misleading or deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law. Dolphin Marine Magic held five dolphins in captivity at its marine park.
Our client argued that the five animals were not "happy and healthy" as claimed by DMM, relying on scientific evidence around the emotional and physical needs of dolphins. According to Dr Malcolm Caulfield, Principal Lawyer at the Animal Law Institute, the claim was misleading and had “no basis” because “dolphins in captivity suffer stress, behavioural abnormalities, high mortality rates, decreased longevity, breeding problems and their welfare is generally compromised in artificial captive environments.”
Our case also considered Dolphin Marine Magic’s claim that rehabilitation was at the heart of everything it did, arguing this claim was misleading because rehabilitation did not make up the majority of the park’s activities and in reality, only a single dolphin had been rehabilitated between 2010 and 2015.
Image: Amanda Richman (ALI) And Jordan Sosnowski (AFD) at the Federal Circuit Court to Initiate Proceedings Against Dolphin Marine Magic.
Additionally, our client alleged that Dolphin Marine Magic was misleading in its claims:
It provided a high standard of care to all of the dolphins at the marine park;
its animal enclosures either met or exceeded the size requirements set out in the NSW Standards for the exhibition of animals; and
Its human and dolphin in-water interactions, which included rides on the dolphins, promoted the dolphins’ welfare and well-being.
The case was settled confidentially in 2017.
Update
Since the case concluded, Dolphin Marine Magic (now known as Dolphin Marine Conservation Park) has announced it will no longer breed dolphins. Action for Dolphins CEO, Sarah Lucas, described the change as “incredible progress” and that “a moratorium on captive breeding means the park’s five dolphins could be the last generation ever held in captivity in NSW.”
Action for Dolphins has also joined forces with World Animal Protection to work towards developing a sea sanctuary for the five animals at the park. World Animal Protection senior campaign manager Ben Pearson has described the sanctuary development as having “globally significant” implications in the marine park industry and called for Sea World on the Gold Coast to consider the same option.