Mexico City Passes Landmark Ban on Dolphin Captivity!
(The AEGIS Alliance) – Mexico City is finally going for a strong stance on dolphin abuse. Legislation that was recently accepted by the Legislative Assembly of Mexico City has banned the captivity of dolphins for entertaining, therapy, research, and performances.
The bipartisan legislation, that was hailed like a “landmark ban” through the worldwide animal protection organization In Defense of Animals, has taken effect earlier this week.
The law was passed in consideration of the organization’s “Ten Worst Tanks” listing of abusive cetacean facilities. Mexico City’s Six Flags Theme-park, which is famous for housing the late Killer Whale for free Willy, is rated at number six worldwide.
Although the fate of these two dolphins and two ocean lions presently in the park continues to be unknown, in Defense of Animals is encouraging their retirement into a marine sanctuary for rehabilitation.
“This landmark ban will spare generations of animals from cruelty and sends a clear message that the public increasingly rejects dolphin captivity,” stated Dr. Toni Frohoff, a Cetacean Scientist for In Defense of Animals. “We thank Mexico City officials for recognizing our Ten Worst Tanks list and acting swiftly to end the abuse. We urge Six Flags to retire the dolphins at a seaside sanctuary where they may recover.”
“All parties, from rights to strong lefts voted just as one,” states dolphin advocate Yolanda Alaniz at a press release. “Deputies recognized dolphins as sentient beings who suffer living in concrete tanks. Politics spoke with ethics, and marked a new way to follow for our country, and we will follow this path.”
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
