Dolphin trade must be stopped!

The man who captured and trained dolphins for the American hit TV series "Flipper" told CDNN the dolphin slave trade must be stopped.

Ric O'Barry says that capturing dolphins for tourist amusement parks must be banned.
O'Barry, Cyber Diver Society (CDS) and other environmental groups have been fighting to ban the world-wide dolphin slave trade, which involves organized crime gangs, cruise ship companies and well-financed PADI dive operators including Hugh Parkey in Belize and Anthony's Key Resort in Honduras.

"The diving industry is no stranger to the multi-million dollar business of marine wildlife harassment," said CDNN editor Lamar Bennington. "But most divers support full protection of marine wildlife and are voting with their credit cards by avoiding Hugh Parkey, Anthony's Key Resort and others who are colluding with organized crime bosses and corrupt politicians that drive the dolphin slave trade."

While PADI, Las Vegas casinos and dolphin slave traders such as Chris Porter continue to greenwash commercial exploitation of marine wildlife as "education" and "conservation", dolphins captured for tourism amusement parks are being killed.

The Mexican Wildlife Department told CDNN that six of the dolphins Porter captured and sold for $100,000 each to an amusement park in Cancun have already died.

O'Barry said that one of the dolphins trained to perform in the Flipper series died in his arms from stress and depression.