Park Tenerife

The animal defence association ‘Proyecto Gran Simio’ submitted yesterday to the natural environment protection department of the Civil Guard (Seprona), a formal complaint against the marine park located in Loro Parque zoo, because they consider that the zoo is violating the law of zoos with regards to “mistreatment to dolphins and orcas (killer whales)”.
The animal defence association urged people in general to “think twice before attending these circus-like shows designed against the nature of these species” that include dolphins and orcas which are “forced to live in small aquarium tanks while in their natural habitats are used to swim hundred of miles in straight line and to immerse down to 500metres”.
According to the accusers, the animals are forced to perform shows to obtain food rewards “and for that reason, they keep the animals hungry to force them perform the acrobatic jumps”. The formal complaint states that the animals do not have other option that “swimming in circles in their cement ponds or just staying floating in them”, waiting for the shows in which the trainers make them perform inappropriate demonstrations in exchange for dead fish, being many times ridiculous and providing the audience a false impression about dolphins and orcas, which would never have that kind of behaviour in their natural environment”. This kind of shows doesn’t fulfil the zoos law which states that “animals would only be kept in captivity for educational purposes and scientific research to promote the species conservation”.

They also consider that the park is not fulfilling the law number 31/03 about fauna conservation in zoos which states that “zoos shall have as objective the promotion of education and to make the public aware of the conservation of biodiversity”.
The circus shows that the dolphins and orcas provide to the visitors at ‘Loro Park’ have as main goal to entertain the visitors though the “use of these marine animals in acts that are against their nature and intended to make the visitors laugh about these animals unnatural behaviour”.
Likewise, the association stated that one of the advices included in the handbook edited by the Environment Ministry suggests that zoos “should not allow the participation of their animals in shows or any other activities that not pursuit and educational purpose”.

Space Problems
For the accusers, another element to be taken into account is the lack of space that affects these mammals sonar, which is used in their natural habitat as a mean of communication, and to detect shoal of fish, obstacles, reefs, predators and more. “Cetaceans find their way using sound and they are continuously scanning their surroundings”, stated the association in the formal complaint. For the dolphins and orcas in cement tanks, “the functioning of the sonar becomes a torture, because the signal bounces in the cement walls producing a constant and annoying noise”.
‘Proyecto Gran Simio’ also pointed out that the zoos’ law establishes that there must be an adequate nutrition plan for each species in the framework of a veterinarian attention plan “which is not carried out in this park”.

On the contrary, to make the dolphins and orcas make the tricks during the show, the trainers must have a total control over them, and for that reason, these animals that have resigned themselves to eating dead fish, learn that they will only eat “when they perform the show according to their training, forcing them to adopt unnatural behaviours to be fed”, explained the representatives of the association.