Dolphin Defenders to Blast Ocean Park Over Broken Promise to Ban Marine Animal Shows

Dolphin Defenders to Blast Ocean Park Over Broken Promise to Ban Marine Animal Shows

What: Wearing dolphin costumes, a pod of PETA supporters led by a “dolphin trainer” dressed as “Whiskers”, the well-known Ocean Park mascot, will converge outside Ocean Park on Wednesday to perform a series of demeaning tricks—including jumping and waving their “fins” to greet the audience. The stunts mimic the ridiculous performances captive dolphins are forced to do at Ocean Park, despite the park’s highly publicised pledge in 2020 to discontinue cruel dolphin shows.

PETA’s action follows a video shared on Ocean Park’s Instagram earlier this week, announcing the abusement park’s new Dolphin Explorations “interactive” programme in collaboration with actor Joey Leung that includes forcing dolphins and other marine animals to perform “tricks” for human entertainment.

“Actors can choose to perform at Ocean Park, but the captive dolphins and other marine animals trapped in the park’s tiny tanks have no choice,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “PETA is calling on Ocean Park to make good on its pledge to ban these abusive animal shows, and we stand ready to assist the park in sending the dolphins to a reputable seaside sanctuary.”

Where: The Pedestrian Walkway adjacent to the Cross-Harbour Taxi Stand outside Ocean Park, Ocean Park Road, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong (See the Google Maps link here).

When: Wednesday, August 20, 11 a.m.

Interviews will be available on-site and remotely. Photos of the event will be available here after 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Why: In their ocean homes, bottlenose dolphins can swim almost 100 km per day, and form long-lasting friendships with other dolphins through hunting, mating, and protecting each other. At Ocean Park and other marine theme parks, dolphins are displayed in cramped, barren concrete tanks, forced to perform degrading tricks, and are subjected to breeding programs, in which they are sexually abused and sometimes drugged so they can’t fight back.

PETA notes that a growing number of countries—including Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, India, and most recently, Mexico—have banned the practice of keeping dolphins and other cetaceans in captivity for entertainment.

PETA —whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow PETA Asia on X, Facebook, or Instagram.