Breaking the glass: Born Free’s ‘Tank-Free’ campaign

Now that the holidays are over and we have returned to our mundane routines, many Britons across the country are likely seeking ways to banish the January blues by booking their summer holidays. However, as they do so, the International Wildlife Charity Born Free are imploring tourists to help bring a stop to the practice of exploiting captive dolphins, whales and porpoises.

There are more than 3,600 captive cetaceans around the world, trained and tortured for the purpose of human entertainment. This involves performing repetitive tricks to loud music, displaying unnatural behaviours for crowds, posing for souvenir photos, and swimming with tourists. All the while, they are kept in sterile, over-crowded tanks, swimming in chemically treated water.

Although the UK has banned captive cetaceans since the early 1990s – in part due to Born Free’s ‘Into the Blue’ campaign – these creatures continue to suffer beyond our national borders. In the EU alone there are more than 300 captive cetaceans, with the most residing in Spain.

As one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world, second only to France, the tourists coming into the country and paying to see marine attractions featuring captive dolphins and whales are inadvertently upholding this unethical industry.

Dame Virginia McKenna, Born Free’s co-founder and trustee, is particularly appalled by the practice of forcing these creatures to perform. “Dolphins, whales and porpoises are magical, mysterious creatures, intelligent and perceptive. Yet we keep them cooped up in shallow, concrete tanks; in water treated with harsh chemicals, which irritate their eyes and sensitive skin. We force them to perform stupid, unnatural tricks, and interact with people. And this is meant to be ‘entertainment?’”

Opposition to the ‘Tank-Free’ campaign may argue that these marine attractions offer unique educational opportunities for children to learn about marine life. Not only is this mostly untrue (how is posing with a dolphin a beneficial learning opportunity?), but this does not negate the detrimental effects that lifestyle has on the marine animals.

In these aquariums, there is a high infant mortality rand low survival rates for the cetaceans. Premature death is common for these captive creatures. In November 2024, previous SeaWorld orca Keto became the fourth whale to die prematurely at Loro Parque, a large zoo and marine park in Tenerife. Having spent his whole life trapped in aquarium tanks, Keto’s story has brought worldwide attention to the ethics surrounding marine animal captivity.

Preceding their tragic deaths, these animals are often drugged to control their boredom and stress. In the wild, cetaceans may swim more than 100 miles a day and dive to depths of 300 metres. In captivity, they suffer damaging psychological effects from their restrictive tanks, forced to swim in small, repetitive circles.

Other physical effects arise in the form of tooth trauma (from biting and hitting the sides of concrete pools), injuries (caused by interaction with trainers and performing tricks), irritation of sensitive skin and eyes (from water purposely contaminated by chemicals), and harm from visitors’ fingernails and jewellery.

To raise awareness and bring an end to this horrific practice, Born Free’s ‘Tank-Free’ campaign is calling on holidaymakers to avoid supporting any businesses that partake in this industry. This includes not booking tickets or visiting attractions where marine mammals are held captive and forced to perform, and to voice concerns to travel companies which profit from animals suffering.

Although tourists can make the first step in advocating for the end of the suffering of these marine mammals, the responsibility in ending the practice once and for all lies within the travel industry and national governments. Born Free outlines their vision: end the promotion and selling of excursions that put financial gain above animal welfare, introducing legislation that bane the practice of holding cetaceans captive, and finally assess existing captive animals for relocation to seaside sanctuaries, where they will provide lifetime care or rehabilitation back into the wild.

Born Free considers this a realistic vision, but only if animal welfare organisations, public governments and holidaymakers work together. So, when booking your summer holiday, do your research – avoid helping elongate the captivity of these intelligent creatures.

 

Featured image: Jeffry SS via Pexels

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *