Dolphin watching vs Swimming with Dolphins

Keeping on the dolphin theme, Planet Green has an eye-opening story on the not so nice side of swimming with the dolphin programs. While SWTD, as Planet Green calls it, is definitely preferable to say, dolphin hunting (see post on Cove, The), it would definitely not fall into the conservation travel realm. We can certainly understand the desire to swim with and interact with amazing animals like dolphins, and imagine the people that partake in these activities come away with a deep appreciation and connection to nature, as noted in this Travel & Leisure article.

But the effects on the dolphins is not worth the fun for the people. These kinds of programs encourage the capture of wild dolphins, can cause stress and injury on the animals, and most of these programs are unregulated to ensure humane treatment. The article quotes a statistic from World Society for the Protection of Animals that claims more than half of dolphins caught at sea die within 3 months.

SEE Turtles suggests researching programs that promote dolphin conservation, such as Earthwatch in Greece or this one with Global Vision International in Kenya. At the very least, search out dolphin tours in the wild that take strong efforts to reduce the impact on the animals and support their protection.

-Brad Nahill