From Shows to Experience Programs... Will Aquarium Dolphin Abuse Disappear? [Kim Suwan's Animal Report]

Dolphin 'Andeogi' Dies at a Jeju Theme Park
20 Dolphins in Aquariums Die Within 3 Years Over 10 Years
Experts Say "Dolphin Shows Must Stop Immediately... Consider Releasing Aquarium Whales"

Dolphins confined to narrow tanks in aquariums are dying one after another, sparking controversy. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As dolphins confined to narrow tanks in aquariums continue to die one after another, dolphin shows and experience programs are still ongoing at aquariums across the country, becoming a social issue.

Dolphins raised in aquariums are forcibly trained and used in performances, suffering from extreme stress, leading to increasing calls for these dolphins to be released back into the sea.

Recently, it was revealed belatedly that the dolphin 'Andeogi' at Jeju Marine Park died in August. Animal organizations have continued to criticize this. Andeogi was a 'bottlenose dolphin' caught off the coast of Taiji Village, Japan, in 2011 and brought to Jeju, where it was involved in dolphin shows and experience programs until this year.

According to the dolphin protection group Hotpink Dolphins, the aquarium in question had more issues than other institutions, including inadequate water quality management methods, insufficient inspection and management of held organisms, and stereotypic behaviors in dolphins.

Stereotypic behavior is a type of abnormal behavior caused by stress-related disorders, characterized by dolphins experiencing significant psychological and mental anxiety, showing problematic behaviors such as remaining motionless for long periods or repeatedly swimming around the tank.

The organization stated, "In the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' inspections of institutions, 'insufficient prior quarantine measures when contacting organisms for experience programs' was pointed out," and criticized, "Marine Park is trying to evade responsibility for Andeogi's death by claiming it was 'old age due to weakened immunity.'"

A dolphin is holding a ball in its mouth at an aquarium. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to a survey, dolphins are dying one after another due to unsuitable environments such as narrow aquarium tanks. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Yang Eui-won, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee from the Democratic Party, among 31 dolphins introduced or born in domestic aquariums over the past 10 years, 64.4% (20 dolphins) died within three years.

Additionally, in July alone this year, two dolphins died, and more than half of the 31 dolphins (50.8%) died from sepsis, acute pneumonia, heart failure, and other causes.

In particular, about 19.4% (6 dolphins) died within less than three months after being introduced or born in aquariums, 10 dolphins died within less than one year, and another 10 dolphins died between one and three years. For whales, aquariums are environments where surviving more than a year is difficult.

The problem does not end there. Aquarium dolphins also experience great stress during training to perform in shows. Moreover, dolphins involved in unwanted physical contact with humans suffer severe health deterioration and eventually die at an early age.

Under current law (Zoo and Aquarium Act), causing injury to animals held for exhibition purposes is prohibited, but such animal abuse continues under the pretext of experience programs.

As a result, animal rights groups have consistently pointed out that aquarium dolphin breeding constitutes animal abuse. Among citizens, voices are growing to stop dolphin shows and experience activities and to prevent repeated aquarium deaths.

Recently, a petition titled "Please release dolphins and belugas kept in aquariums" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board, urging the abolition of dolphin shows.

The petitioner stated, "When dolphins and belugas were brought into the country, research was cited as the reason, but they have been reduced to mere exhibits for people's entertainment and tools for experience," and pointed out, "Considering their natural habitat, aquarium breeding itself is animal abuse for whales." The petitioner added, "We must not exchange dolphins' lives for human money and amusement," and urged, "Please release all 30 remaining whales kept in aquariums."

A dolphin robot is swimming together with a person. Photo by Edge Innovation website capture

As the controversy continues, recently, an alternative has emerged with the unveiling of 'dolphin robots' so sophisticated that they are indistinguishable from real dolphins.

On the 15th (local time), according to foreign media including Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), the U.S. engineering company Edge Innovation developed a robot dolphin at a cost of about 26 million dollars (approximately 29.8 billion KRW).

The company succeeded in creating a dolphin robot that looks real by making the skin from medical-grade silicone and using artificial intelligence technology to learn behavioral patterns.

The dolphin robot is known to be able to fully replace the roles of aquarium dolphins, such as swimming with trainers and performing tricks for visitors. It is even expected to soon replace animals confined in zoos.

Experts have called for the abolition of aquarium whale experience programs and the release of domestic aquarium whales.

At an online forum held on the 22nd of last month on the topic of "Issues and Future Tasks of Whale Experience," Jeon Jin-kyung, director of Animal Rights Action Kara, who presented on "Legal and Institutional Improvement Directions for Aquarium Whales," said, "Current legal measures regarding whale exhibition and breeding are very insufficient," adding, "First, imports and self-breeding should be stopped, and the release of about 30 whales remaining in seven domestic aquariums should be considered; second, whale show experience programs should be immediately halted, and guidelines should be presented through research on environmental enrichment."