Wildlife activists hold Xmas protest vs dolphin show in QC

(Updated 12:45 a.m. Dec. 26) Three wildlife activists on Saturday held a street protest calling for the closure of a dolphin show in Quezon City, which allegedly “holds captive" and “exploits" two dolphins shipped from Indonesia. Wildlife activist A.G. Saño said he and two others held the Christmas Day protest to urge Filipinos to boycott the dolphin show called “Angels of the Sea," which will be staged by Indofil Sea Wonders Co. Ltd. at the Big Dome of the Araneta Center in Cubao starting Saturday. “Two dolphins are being held captive in Araneta Center for our amusement, when their rightful home is the open seas. We salute the Filipinos who refuse to support this type of animal exploitation and encourage the rest of us to boycott the dolphin show," he said in a statement Saturday. Carmela Garcia, Araneta Center’s marketing officer, for her part, refused to comment on the issue, saying that they only provided the venue and had nothing to do with the actual show. Saño, who started a movement called “Dolphins Love Freedom" and maintains a Facebook page on the issue, likewise criticized how the show’s organizers kept the dolphins in “a small heavily-chlorinated pool" in a parking area near the venue where the marine creatures swim, eat and release their wastes. “The organizers misinform the public by saying that watching dolphin shows is one way of saving the ocean, but studies show that captive dolphins live less than half of their life expectancy," he said. He added that the dolphins, which have very sensitive hearing, might get “traumatized" or lose their hearing during the New Year’s Eve celebration, when Filipinos traditionally use fireworks and firecrackers. As a result, Saño wrote a letter to Agriculture chief Prospero Alcala asking him to cancel the dolphin show’s permit to operate, and to issue a ban on fireworks within the perimeter of the Araneta Center. Earlier this month, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) also called for the cancellation of the same dolphin show and criticized the way the organizers allegedly deprive the marine mammals of food before the show starts. PAWS likewise called for the resignation of Angel Mateo, officer-in-charge of the Animal Welfare Division of DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry, who allegedly issued the permit for the dolphin show.—JV, GMANews.TV