Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) Animal rights organisation Humane Society International has requested Maharashtra Government to reconsider the proposal to build dolphin parks (dolphinariums) along the coastline in Sindhudurg district, as it would involve capturing dolphins from the wild. Such projects are being increasingly discarded in the developed countries, it says. "In a letter to Chhagan Bhujbal, Tourism Minister, we have strongly urged him to reconsider his support to the proposal to build new dolphinariums," the NGO's Campaign Manager, N G Jayasimha, told PTI.
"Building dolphin parks, especially in regions where such facilities do not already exist, may mean that animals must be imported or captured from the wild, " HSI's letter says. "The construction of dolphinariums is a backward step... true ecotourism has minimal costs to the environment and maximum benefits for the local community. Dolphinariums in new areas do not comply with these requirements," Jayasimha said. The letter was sent after media reports that in a bid to give a boost to tourism in Konkan area, government was planning to set up a Rs 510 crore Sea World theme park in Sindhudurg.
"India has the opportunity to be a leader in Asia, regarding the increasingly controversial practise of exhibiting dolphins and other marine mammals to the public. The practise is in decline in the developed world, but is still increasing in the developing world. This is a disturbing trend," the letter says. (More) PTI VT KRK
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