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” Its a model. It can be duplicated. And were attempting to do that in Europe as well, in Italy and in Crete,” said Ric OBarry, an animal activist and founder of the Dolphin Project, the charity that runs the centre.
BANYUWEDANG BAY, Indonesia (Reuters) – Just a year ago, Rambo was restricted to a shallow, chlorinated pool in an Indonesian hotel on the island of Bali entertaining visitors from around the world by jumping through hoops.
Now, the bottlenose dolphin is swimming easily after being given what organisers say is the worlds very first permanent rehab centre under a project initiated by Balis federal government and animal rights groups.
” Its a model. It can be duplicated. And were trying to do that in Europe also, in Italy and in Crete,” stated Ric OBarry, an animal activist and founder of the Dolphin Project, the charity that runs the centre.
With the assistance of Indonesian authorities, activists rescued four dolphins last year and brought them to the centre in a bay on the tropical island for treatment.
” Its more difficult for dolphins in captivity than any other animal well see at the zoo,” said OBarry, who was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” about the capture and slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
More than 3,000 dolphins are in captivity around the globe as part of a home entertainment industry that creates as much as $5.5 billion (4.39 billion pounds) yearly, a 2019 report by World Animal Protection says.
Returning dolphins to the wild depends on their health and capability to catch food and interact with other dolphins.
” Often they turn off the finder when they are kept in captivity, so thats one of the primary tasks of the group here to prepare them for their life in the wild,” stated Femke Den Haas, who runs the rehab centre.
Dolphins utilize finder to browse in the ocean and likewise to interact with each other.
For OBarry, 80, who in the past qualified dolphins used in the television series “Flipper” before his modification of heart, opening the Bali sanctuary is another action on a goal to end captivity..
” There are numerous activists working on this problem now. When I began doing this 50 years ago, people thought I was insane,” stated OBarry, who was speaking from Denmark.
Extra reporting by Sarah Mills in LONDON; Writing by Angie Teo and Ed Davies; Editing by Gareth Jones.
