In Banning Dolphin Shows, Mexico City Is Taking a Lead on Animal Rights Emily Green - PRI’s The World
go to original August 30, 2017

Six Flags in Mexico City offers the chance for people to swim with dolphins. Here, a young swimmer poses a dolphin while an adventure park photographer takes a picture (Emily Green/PRI)

At Six Flags in Mexico City, massive signs encourage people to visit the popular dolphin show. It happens twice a day, featuring dolphins doing tricks on command as an emcee rallies the crowd with booming pop music.



There is no mention of the fact that the popular spectacle will shut down soon. A vendor at the exhibit even denies the show will end.

But the exhibition will have to close by the end of January, thanks to a new law in Mexico City banning the use of dolphins and other marine mammals in shows, therapy sessions and scientific experiments. The law passed on Aug. 1 with unanimous support.

“Having Mexico City itself take this enormous step is very important, and we think sends a strong signal to the rest of Mexico and Latin America that this is something they need to think about,” says Mark Palmer, associate director of the International Marine Mammal Project, which advocates against the captivity of whales and dolphins for circus shows.

Mexico’s capital is not alone in taking this step. Several Latin American countries have placed bans or tough restrictions on keeping marine mammals in captivity. Switzerland banned importing and France barred the keeping or captive breeding of dolphins and whales. India has also forbidden the acquisition of dolphins for entertainment purposes, going so far as to deem them “nonhuman persons.” And in the United States, dolphin and whale shows — while still legal in some states — are in decline, according to Palmer.

Other Mexican locales offering popular dolphin shows — from Cancún to Puerto Vallarta — are not affected by Mexico City's new legislation.

For now, few people at Six Flags appear to know about the new law. Many are opposed to shutting down the exhibit.

Read the rest at PRI’s The World

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