Dear
Friend
WDCS is Concerned
about Dolphin Assisted Therapy (“DAT”)
DAT
is an increasingly popular animal-assisted therapy made available through a
growing number of programs around the world and marketed as offering a cure or
respite from human illness or disability.
It involves swimming and interacting with dolphins, typically in
captivity.
WDCS has a number of concerns about DAT, not least because it is
fuelling the capture of dolphins from wild populations about which little is
known. DAT involves two highly vulnerable groups of individuals. The participants
undergoing the therapy are often children or adults with psychological or
physical disabilities, and the dolphins used in DAT are either held in
captivity or are part of a wild population that may suffer from human
disturbance.
WDCS remains concerned that there is no
conclusive scientific evidence that DAT is more effective than any other
animal-assisted therapy, or is a legitimate and safe therapy with any long-term
benefit. WDCS
welcomes the publication of a new paper by Dr’s Lori
Marino and Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University, Atlanta,
entitled Dolphin Assisted Therapy: More Flawed Data and More Flawed
Conclusions in the August 07 edition of the scientific journal Anthrozoos. You can download a copy of their report at http://www.whales.org/pdf/MarinoLilenfeld2007.pdf. This publication updates their 1998
paper reviewing DAT.
They conclude that "nearly a decade following our initial
review, there remains no compelling evidence
that DAT is a legitimate therapy or that it affords any more than fleeting
improvements in mood."
WDCS will be releasing a comprehensive report
in September 2007 which details the serious concerns for both dolphin and human
welfare associated with DAT. This report will be available on our website at www.whales.org.
WDCS New
Initiative: Pier to Pier
As
an extension of our work with the National Marine Fisheries Southeast Region
(NMFS-SE) and its ‘Protect Dolphins’ campaign to reduce harassment of wild
dolphins in Florida waters and elsewhere, WDCS is partnering with a Broward
County teacher, Jamie Aquino, to develop ‘Pier to Pier’ to help spread the
message throughout the state.
Ms.
Aquino’s journalism classroom will be conducting an outreach campaign to sister
high schools throughout Florida, and specifically, to those high schools in
‘hot spot’ areas where dolphin harassment is a prominent problem for wild
dolphin conservation. Schools in areas
such as Panama City, Sarasota and the Indian River Lagoon will be
targeted for a joint campaign. This is
to raise awareness and public outreach on issues regarding the detrimental
interaction of humans with dolphins in the wild, through boating, swimming and
other recreational activities. Disturbance
from boats can disrupt resting and feeding patterns. Collisions with boats of all sizes can lead
to injury or, worst of all, killed. Dolphins
that are habituated to ‘hand-outs’ from a well-intentioned, but uninformed,
public are in similar peril to those faced by wild dolphins.
WDCS
welcomes this partnership and heralds this project as an extension of its
Dolphin SMART program in the Florida Keys. DolphinSMART is a voluntary education program
instituted with dolphin tour operators, the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary, Dolphin Ecology Project, and NMFS-SE. Dolphin SMART promotes the responsible viewing
of wild dolphins in the Florida Keys,
recognizing operations that meet standards to prevent harm.
See
www.dolphinsmart.org for more
information.
WDCS New Initiative:
Cell Phone and Printer Cartridge Recycling
We
have joined up with Recycle First ( www.recyclefirst.com)
to handle the recycling of inkjet and laser print cartridges and cell
phones. We appreciate it may not be very
easy to mail these items to the office in Plymouth (7 Nelson Street, Plymouth,
MA 02360) for recycling, but if you are able to, we would be delighted to
receive your package and place the contents in the appropriate boxes and help
raise some funds for WDCS. We
will provide an up date every now and again on progress with this initiative
which very much builds on the recycling initiative we have been undertaking on
the Captain John whale watch vessels.
WDCS Support Stellwagen Sanctuary Aukathon
WDCS is supporting the three day semi circumnavigation of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary by providing a crewed safety boat supporting the three day kayak paddle. The press announcement from the Sanctuary can be found by clicking here. Click here for more information.
WDCS News Snippets
August
has been a busy with new stories posted on the following –
The
harpooning and killing of a whale in front of a whale watch vessel in Japan.
Iceland
stops whale-hunting quotas after low demand
A New Dolphin Tour Operator is recognized under
DolphinSMART scheme in Florida
Also
please look at http://www.whales.org/wdcsStopNews.asp
for further stories.
Thank
you for your continued support that allows us to work on your behalf to help
save whales, dolphins and their environment. If you have any questions about WDCS’ work please contact us at contact@whales.org or call the office at
508 746 2522 where we will be delighted to talk with you.
Kind
Regards,
Michael Waterson
Treasurer
WDCS (NA)
http://www.whales.org
This e-mail address is currently subscribed to receive updates, alerts and information from WDCS (NA). If you wish to unsubscribe please e-mail unsubscribe_us@wdcs.org and put Unsubscribe in the Subject field.
WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment.
|
