uShaka defends animal practices criticisms

USHAKA Marine World is remaining steadfast in its animal practices despite a report by a tourism non-government organisation criticising animal practices.

The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), published a report last year based on three years of research that it would no longer suggest tourist attraction facilities to international guests which have a questionable animal policy.

This is part of SATSA’s plan to push for ethical tourism in the country. Part of the policies it deems unethical include:

Performing animals; tactile interactions with infant wild animals; tactile interactions with predators or cetaceans; walking with predators or elephants; and riding of animals

The move is yet another twist in the debate around the complex issues of captive breeding. The national department of Tourism in South Africa has already endorsed SATSA’s policy along with many other animal and environmental activist groups.

ALSO READ: uShaka Marine World to be revamped

Dr Larry Oellermann, CEO of the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), defended uShaka Marine’s practices.

Ushaka Marine, a subdivision of SAAMBR, is famous for its dolphin show where trained dolphins perform practised stunts for crowds and even interact with people.

Oellerman admitted that when applying SATSA’s criteria to uShaka, it does not fare wel,l but laments that their system leaves little room for nuance.

“For example, we do not breed our marine mammals, but we are developing a fish-breeding programme based on the collection of eggs spawned naturally in the large aquarium exhibits. We are developing this programme to decrease our reliance on wild-caught fish, which is conservation-positive. The tool, however, considers all breeding of animals in captivity to be bad, and so we would fail the question,” he said.

Oellerman continues to state that interaction with dolphins at Ushaka is highly monitored and is done at the discretion of the dolphin.

SATSA hopes to implement their guidelines with full effect by the end of July, after its AGM.

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