Dolphins

Dolphins Plus makes a play for Anguilla. Word has reached me that representatives of the Florida-based Dolphins Plus met with tourism officials last week to discuss opening a facility on Anguilla. The site of the jetty at Forest Bay was tentatively suggested to them. The Dolphins Plus representatives were so encouraged by this meeting that they are said to be planning a return trip in four weeks time to meet with government.

         Some of our shorter-than-normal-sighted tourism reps are pressing the tourism department for this type of entertainment to be introduced into Anguilla. Apparently, they want to attract more of the Disney World crowd to our shores. Our political representatives are being encouraged to whistle the same tune. They are desperate for any type of project that will bring a crowd, any crowd, to Anguilla. It would give them an opportunity to claim that they are bringing “employment” to Anguillians. This is a perfect example of Juvenal's bread and circuses.

         Anguilla used to be considered a five star resort destination.  That was before construction of the previous dolphin prison, now mercifully closed.  Regretfully, as the intelligence and quality level of our visitors has deteriorated, so has that of our tourism advisers. As we continue to scrape the bottom of the tourism barrel we are once again considering the construction of a prison circus for the entertainment of the more scruffy parts of our market.

         Dolphins Plus are headquartered in Key Largo, Florida. Their website claims that they come to the dolphin pen business with a "different" approach. They say they are more humane and educational. If you believe that, I have a tower in Paris I want to sell you. Here are some recently taken photos of their prison facility at Key Largo.

The only sight more depressing I can think of is San Quentin Prison.  I sure hope they do a better job of constructing a containment facility in Anguilla than they did in Key Largo.

         Has anyone smelled the excrement yet? If you have not, read up on the Dolphins Plus adventures a few years ago in Dominica and Tortola. This is a small example of what awaits us in Anguilla if this project is permitted.

         Fortunately, it does not have to happen.  Before this project can get off the ground, there are many obstacles that Dolphins Plus will have to overcome. A sample of them include:

         The shallow depth of the sea in the bay. There is no significant depth of sand that can be dredged. There is solid rock below and around the Forest Bay jetty. Dynamite will be needed to get the needed depth for dolphin pens. The cost alone would be prohibitive.  If they go any further out into the bay in search of depth, they will block the entrance to the harbour. How would the fishermen take that development?

         Has anyone considered what sort of breakwater will need to be constructed to attain the protection these sea mammals require when they are caged? The cost would make the project unaffordable.  And, what would constructing a breakwater do to the health of the Bay? Does anyone swim in nearby Marigot harbour since they constructed their breakwater?

         The requisite Environmental Impact Study will be interesting to read. What impact, if any, will the chemicals leaching from the Corito Landfill a half mile away have on the health of the dolphins? And what of the proposed nearby deep water harbour?

         Forest Bay Beach has its swimming devotees. The beach is a mere hundred yards down-current. There are Anguillians who regularly take their constitutional swim there, some in the mornings and others in the evenings. Will anyone still want to swim there after the dolphins are installed?

         Has anyone told Joyce or Dame Bernice about this proposal to place a five-star dolphin toilet pit in the front yard of their Conch Bay property? If not, please do so now. Let us see Dolphins Plus try to deal with a combination of those two ladies.

News

The Chinese and the Dolphins. I had been hoping to hear something on the radio. Perhaps, something in the papers. But, there has been no news published about the only two important events in Anguilla during this Christmas week worth reporting on.

I am told that on Tuesday, some fifty or sixty Chinese were seen off with their packed suitcases.

We do not know several important pieces of information. Did the Chinese workers get their pay for the last months they worked for Ashtrom? Or, were they sent packing with empty pockets. Does anyone know how many there are actually still marooned on Anguilla? How many have actually left our shores? Not the number of seventy announced last week in the House of Assembly, the real numbers? Did Ashtrom pay for their trip back to China, or did the Anguillian taxpayer take up the tab? Did anyone take a photograph of them leaving?

The other piece of news is that the dolphins have been sent off to work in the Cayman Islands. They were seen off earlier this month in a large cargo plane en route to Tortola. Around the same time, a plane load of dolphins showed up in Cayman for work in their newly authorised dolphin abusement industry. I am told they are the same dolphins. Does this mean we in Anguilla have seen the last of them? One can only hope so.

And, another thing, did the export shipment from Anguilla and the import shipments into the BVI and the Cayman Islands comply with the CITES requirements? Was proper documentation produced? Did our Agriculture Department and the Government Vet sign off on the export? Or, did our agricultural, environmental and public health authorities conspire to permit an illegal shipment? Does anyone know the microchip numbers on the animals?

Is this our new line of transhipment, or just a case of dolphin laundering?

And with that exciting thought, may I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sand mining

Coastal and Marine Ecosystems and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. That is the title of a new press release from the Department of the Environment concerning our coastal and marine environment. They are to be congratulated on listing some of the problems.

"But marine and coastal biodiversity is under threat: habitats are being destroyed to make way for buildings; water is being polluted by sewage seepage and dumping, sand is being mined, bays are being dredged, anchors are being dropped on corals; reefs and seagrass beds are being suffocated by excessive algal growth and sediment from land and beach erosion; fish stocks and other marine organisms are being over-exploited; and the health of the island all of its inhabitants are being compromised."

The article jumps around a lot, and doesn’t really reach any conclusion. I think what it says is that “greater awareness”, and the publication of an underwater guide, are going to stop the people who are destroying our environment. I am not sure.

Because sand mining was causing acute problems at many of our beaches, certain areas were designated as protected beaches. This, of course, left other beaches Unprotected, resulting in the total destruction of Sile Bay and Windward Point Beaches. The protected beaches are not even protected by prosecuting those who steal sand from them. We do not want to criminalise good God-fearing Anguillians. As a result, you can find trucks collecting sand from the beach and dune at Cove Bay almost every day, if you go early enough.

After our Revolutionary leaders wisely chose the dolphin as our national symbol, we allowed and encouraged a Mexican company to imprison and exploit them in Anguilla for profit.

There are some who believe that we need to pray for the sand miners to bring them to righteousness. Still others believe that greed can be stopped by education. When well we admit that these procedures have failed? We need to do things that are effective. We need to enforce our existing laws.

A-G's Chambers

The Power of the Attorney-General's Chambers. The way I heard it said, the A-G's Chambers have power. When the Queen says, "Stop", you can ignore her. When the Governor says it, you can pretend you did not hear. When the Court says it, you can keep right on going. But, when the A-G's Chambers say it, you better comply. Or else!

On Tuesday 6 May 2008, the High Court instructed the Dolphin Discovery people to obey the following order:

“That all construction of all piers or structures or any encroachment on the foreshore or floor of the sea in whatever manner at the Sandy Point Beach or in the waters forming the Port at Blowing Point by any persons whether by themselves, their servants or agents, in violation of the requisite licensing provisions of the Beach Control Act and the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act cease forthwith until further order.”

What happened the following day, Wednesday 7 May? Did the Dolphin Discovery people comply? No, they carried on working at full speed. The following photograph was taken on Wednesday. It appears to show the Mexican workers placing a new pole in place at the dolphin pen at Sandy Point:

And what was photographed the following day, Thursday 8 May? Did they obey the court order and stop work? No, construction work continued at full speed. According to my correspondent, at about 11:00 am there were five or six workmen carrying telephone poles, cutting steel rebar and drilling on the piers. Illegal work appears to have continued at night by the use of powerful lights. The work that was done at night must have been phenomenal. The aerial photographs presented in court showed the walkways unfinished. By today, Thursday, the walkways were all covered in boards making it easy to walk around the dolphin pens. My photographer was only able to shoot a couple of photographs during daylight hours. They show the following:

But, today, Friday 9 May, Mr Ivor Green, Senior Crown Counsel of the A-G's Chambers, attended at Dolphin Discovery at Blowing Point. The Mexicans were still hard at work on the illegal construction. Some tough talking must have taken place. All construction work appears now to have stopped. Here we see a couple of photographs of Mr Green first arriving at the work site and then meeting with the workmen and then apparently demanding that all work cease:

Thank God the A-G's Chambers carry so much weight. I guess the Order of the Court does not matter so much in Anguilla. It seems that the Court's Order can be safely ignored until the A-G's Chambers go into action in support of it!

I guess we are all now safe, basking in the rule of law? Do we not feel safe and comforted?

Have we not earned the right to “full internal self-government”?

Dolphin Park

Dolphin Discovery Relocation at Sandy Point to be Investigated. This case is not over. A final decision still has to be given. We have to be careful what we write. It is important not to pollute justice by writing things that can be read as intended to wrongfully influence the court.

However, we cannot let the making of the recent order in the High Court pass without any notice at all.

The court had been asked to permit the neighbours of the Dolphin Discovery to bring the government to court. The alllegation is that government did not follow its own procedures and laws for permitting an activity such as this to begin at the Sandy Spit at Blowing Point Harbour. I have written about this previously, most recently here, and here, and here.

The court listened to the argument by the neighbours and by the government. The court agreed that the matter needed to be fully ventilated. While the matter is being made ready for argument, the court ordered the dolphin people to stop their construction.

The story of the court's decision has been published in the newspapers. You may like to read the actual words of the judge. This is what she said:

“THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

TERRITORY OF ANGUILLA

(CIVIL)

AD 2008

CLAIM NO. AXAHCV/2008/0015

BETWEEN:

PAUL WEBSTER
MAJORIE MACCLEAN
MAJORIE CONNOR
PHILIPPE CHAMPAULT
CHRISTINE CHAMPAULT
ANNE KELLER
LLOYD SINCLAIR
NEIL FREEMAN
WENDY FREEMAN
Applicants/Intended Claimants

And

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
(FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ANGUILLA)
Respondent/Intended Defendant

TRANSCRIPT OF DECISION

6th May, 2008 at 9:10 a.m.

BY: HON JUSTICE JANICE GEORGE-CREQUE, Judge.

APPEARANCES: Ms. Palmavon Webster, Ms. Tameka Davis and Mr. Gerhard Wallbank for the Applicants;

Mr. Ivor Greene for the Respondent;

Mrs. Josephine Gumbs-Connor: (watching brief on behalf of Dolphin Fantaseas Anguilla).

PROCEEDINGS

THE COURT: Now yesterday, I granted leave to the Applicants to make a claim for judicial review of the various decisions of the governmental bodies or persons giving rise to the construction of a dolphin pier and/or a dolphinarium at Sandy Point Beach in Anguilla, and I reserved until today the question as to whether interim relief ought also to be granted pursuant to CPR 56.4(9), which in essence states that the Court, on hearing an application for leave for judicial review, may, if it considers that it is just to do so, grant such interim relief. Now, counsel for the Applicants made this application in light of certain information given by counsel for the Respondent in connection with this matter.

From the evidence adduced the following matters appear to be clear and uncontroverted.

(1) On the 12th of June, 2007, Dolphin Fantaseas Anguilla, applied for permission to construct a dolphin pier in the water at Sandy Point, Blowing Point, Anguilla and in respect of Block 28309, Parcel 169. (See exhibit "VP3" to the first affidavit of Vincent Proctor)

(2) This parcel is properly described as Registration West, Block 28309 B, Parcel 169 and is owned by the Crown having been acquired by compulsory acquisition for public purposes, namely: The development of a public park and a sports complex. (See Statutory Rules and Orders 1997 No.8).

(3) Planning approval was given by the Land Development Control Committee, LDCC, on 12th December, 2007. (This is exhibited at "VP3" to the first affidavit of Vincent Proctor).

(4) Apart from the LDCC's planning approval, the only other written approval granted by any other governmental body or person appears to be for a building to be located at Sandy Point, Blowing Point, in respect of an application dated either 14th or 19th February, 2008, bearing application No. 0017/07 in respect of parcel 169, shown as having been approved on December 14th 2007 by the Anguilla Building Board.

(5) Sandy Bay Point Beach is a protected beach pursuant to the Beach Protection Orders, Revised Regulations of Anguilla, B25-1 made under section 2 of the Beach Protection Act (Revised Statutes of Anguilla Chapter B25)

(6) The Port of Blowing Point as per the Prescribed Ports Regulations, Revised Regulations of Anguilla P55-4, made in accordance with the provisions of the Ports Harbours and Piers Act (the Revised Statutes of Anguilla Chapter P55), encompasses an area of sea and land extending on both sides to the extremities of the Blowing Point Beach and seawards to the edge of the farthest reef or to a distance of 1,000 yards from the mean shore line where no reef exists and includes the harbour and piers situated therein.

(7) Construction of a Dolphinarium or Dolphin pier commenced in the water in an area falling within the prescribed limits of the port of Blowing Point at Sandy Point Beach. Photographs and plans are exhibited depicting the site and the physical location of the structure being constructed.

(8) The Beach Control Act (Revised Statutes of Anguilla Chapter B20) vests all rights in and over the foreshore of Anguilla and the floor of the sea in the Crown. (This is set out in section 2 of that Act.). Section 3 prohibits the use of the foreshore and the floor of the sea without a licence. The Act also provides for a licence to be granted by the Minister and that Minister is the Minister charged with the administration of Crown Lands upon application being made. The application must be published in the Gazette and members of the public must be afforded an opportunity of making representations to the Minister in respect thereof. Encroachment on or use of the foreshore by any person without a licence attracts a penal sanct ion.

(9) The Ports, Harbours and Piers Act section 36 states, in effect, that no person shall construct any pier on any part of the foreshore without the written permission of the Minister (and in this case it is the Minister responsible for Ports, Harbours and Piers). Section 37 of the said Act provides for owners of piers or constructions on the foreshore to apply for a licence, renewable annually. It further fixes the responsibility for the management of Ports with the Supervisor of Ports and also charges the Supervisor with the responsibility for the management and protection of the foreshore with power to order the removal of any obstruction or construction thereon. The Supervisor is also empowered to operate the ports as appears best calculated to serve the public interest.

Counsel for the Respondent stated that:

(1) There has been no decision to lease Parcel 169;

(2) That no licence has been issued by the Minister responsible for Crown Lands pursuant to the Beach Control Act. He refers, however, to the first affidavit of Vincent Proctor, paragraph 25, where Mr. Proctor alludes to information passed on to him by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, to the effect that "the Ministry of Lands gave the Developer permission to commence building the pier" and that "the licence to use the beach is a new concept, the details of which is still being developed". From this it is readily inferred as accepted by counsel for the Respondent, that no licence has been granted for the use of the foreshore or of the floor of the sea as required by the Beach Control Act.

(3) There is no written permission given by the Minister of Ports pursuant to the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act. Indeed, there is no evidence of any permission in any manner given by the Minister of Ports for the construction of a pier on that part of the foreshore falling within the domain of the port of Blowing Point, or that any licence for such has been applied for or granted by the Superintendent of Ports as required under the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act. Breach of any provisions of the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act also attracts a penal sanction. (See section 44 of that Act.)

Despite the lack of such licences and permissions under the Beach Control Act and the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act, it is not challenged that construction of a Dolphinarium or a Dolphin Pier has been proceeding apace in the water forming part of the port and harbour of Blowing Point and encroaching on the foreshore and floor of the sea at Sandy Point Beach. It is because of the Dolphinarium's peculiar location which brings it within the ambit of the provisions of these Acts quite apart from any other law which may be applicable thereto. Admittedly, the construction as being carried out runs afoul of the provisions of these Acts. This then begs the question: "How could such activities which attract criminal sanctions, in the absence of the requisite licences and permissions, simply be allowed to occur and proceed unabated without the necessary intervention by the relevant servants or agents of the Crown?" Yet no steps have been taken to bring such activities which are being carried out in plain sight to a halt. Can such a dereliction or abdication of responsibility be permitted to the detriment of the public interest? I think not. It is after all in the public interest that the laws of the land be applied and obeyed. Such is essential for the good governance in a democratic society. Accordingly, in such an instance, the Court must step in with a view to safeguarding the interest of the ordinary citizen.

Based on all the circumstances as I have set out, I am satisfied that the granting of interim relief is warranted to halt the activities being undertaken in admitted violation of the provisions of the Beach Control Act and the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act.

Accordingly, it is ordered as follows:

(1) That all construction of all piers or structures or any encroachment on the foreshore or floor of the sea in whatever manner at the Sandy Point Beach or in the waters forming the Port at Blowing Point by any persons whether by themselves, their servants or agents, in violation of the requisite licensing provisions of the Beach Control Act and the Ports, Harbours and Piers Act cease forthwith until further order.

(2) The Respondent shall perform all acts and do all things as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this order.

(3) It is further ordered and directed that this order be served upon Dolphin Fantaseas Anguilla, being a person appearing to the Court to be directly affected by the making of this order.”

What is the significance of this decision? It is that when an Anguillian resident has a good reason to believe that government has not been following its own laws and procedures, that resident can ask the court to review the decision of government. Government is under the Constitution and the law. The court has power under our Constitution and our law, if it finds that government came to a decision that adversely affects some or all of us by following an incorrect procedure, to cancel that government decision. It can call up the government's decision into the court and set it aside, declaring it to have been an illegal decision. Damages can follow. That is why government ministers always get the opinion of the Attorney-General before making any important decision. They need to be sure their decision is legal.

That is where we are. The court has given permission for the case to go ahead. The court is now going to hear the argument in June. Until then, the construction at Blowing Point must stop.

All Anguillians wait with baited breath to see if the Mexicans will obey the order of the court. The law is that every order of the court must be obeyed, regardless of how you object to it.

Since the order was made against Government, what will happen if the Mexicans proceed with their construction in defiance of the order of the court? We shall keep our ears to the ground.

Blowing Point

Dolphinarium Construction Begins at Blowing Point. I really am not focused on the dolphins. They are the national symbol of Anguilla. Their exploitation by a Mexican company, with the connivance of Anguillian officials, for the amusement and entertainment of hamburger-eating cruise ship passengers from neighbouring St Maarten, is curious at least. The general opposition to the project in Anguilla has not moved our government. Other than that, I have no interest in dolphins.

The three dolphins on the Anguilla rebel flag shown above stand for friendship, wisdom and strength, according to the website Flagspot. The three dolphins are coloured orange to represent endurance, unity and strength. The circle stands for continuity. The flag has a white background, for peace and tranquility, with a turquoise-blue base representing the surrounding sea and also faith, youth and hope. What irony!

The current official flag shown above, a blue ensign with a dolphin badge, was adopted on 30 May 1990 with much pride and fanfare. I remember the events well. As I recall, Colville Petty served as Chair of the committee, and I was a naïve and enthusiastic member of it. Little did I know at the time what use we were to make of these intelligent and friendly symbols not twenty years later.

The story that catches my interest is the report that the relocation of the dolphinarium from Meads Bay to Sandy Ground and now to Blowing Point has not been conducted within the rules and laws that govern Anguilla. Official approval and encouragement of wrongdoing is the real meat in the dolphin story. The Land Development Control Committee advising government has placed reliance on Environmental Impact Statements that have been described by the experts as mere “lobbying documents, insubstantial and shallow”. Their decision to approve the project in the face of all the evidence that it is of no advantage to Anguilla’s tourism plant, causes most Anguillians to wonder. The Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association is in the process of conducting a poll among its members. Preliminary results indicate that upwards of 90% are opposed to it, on the ground that none of Anguilla’s tourists and few Anguillian residents visit it. Placing a wild animal circus in a high-end city suburb has never been a town and country planner’s idea of how to add value and improve the environment!

This Saturday’s Daily Herald Weekender section carries a front page story by Suzanne Koelega detailing the whole sad chronicle of events. It is an eye-opener for anyone who is not familiar the story.

Here are some photos of the new construction under way. You can draw your own conclusions.

This shows one of the pens under construction.

This shows what I imagine will be the jetty out to the pens.

This shows the Anguilla ferries at Blowing Point harbour, moored not more than a couple of hundred yards away, up-current from where the dolphins will be caged. I understand the EIS reports hopefully that the diesel and gasoline and the noise of the engines will have no adverse effect on the captive animals.

The above photo shows one of the ferries darting out of the harbour, just a few yards up from one of the new dolphin pens under construction. You do not have to be a dolphin expert to imagine what damage this activity will do to the caged animals with their delicate echo-location equipment being assaulted twice every half hour in this fashion. Not to mention all the inevitable spilled fuel and oil. But, then we all know that dolphins like to swim in dirty water, and suffer no adverse effect from it.

I had thought that the new dolphin facility would be on the actual sandy spit at Blowing Point. We have been referring to it as the new dolphinarium “at Sandy Point”. However, the above photo shows it being constructed some distance to the east of the spit, and close to the business places and the ferry terminal just to the east and in the near background of the photograph.

Then, of course, there are the new homes that are going up to the west, down current from the dolphinarium. You can see one going up to the right of the above photograph. Heaven alone knows what it will be like to swim in all that rotting, uneaten, dead fish and dolphin excrement that will be flowing in their direction. And, where will the Anguillians who used to picnic on this pristine location go to enjoy themselves in the future? And, what is going to happen to these “fish” when the next, inevitable hurricane strikes?

I am told that one bus driver who has a lucrative contract to take the cruise ship passengers from St Maarten, who are the main users of the dolphinarium, and two ferry boat operators, who have similar contracts, were the only lobbyists in favour of the dolphinarium. Their alleged mortgages outweighed all the other interests in moving the government of the day to approve the project.

How will the Hon Hubert Hughes answer to his political constituents when the inevitable merde hits the propeller, I ask myself? As the Chief Minister has admitted in another context, “Mistakes have been made.”

Dolphin steak, anyone?

No News

I Have Very Little News: Perhaps, the headline is more accurate. I practically have no news. That is why I have not updated the blog for several days.

Unless, you think that the news of the relocation of the dolphins to Blowing Point is news!

Planning and Executive Council permissions and leases have been granted, in spite of the criticisms of the people of Blowing Point who will now have a circus in their midst! In spite of the nuisance that this development will cause its neighbours! In spite of the realization that this relocation must ensure that the Blowing Point taxi-drivers will never again earn a penny from the business! Dolphinarium customers will simply walk there from the ferry!

Yes, that is the public access to the beach. This development will inevitably destroy one of the public's last accesses to a popular beach and picnic site!

Yes, that pretty white building you see in the background, behind one of the newly installed pilings, is the ferry terminal. The dolphins will love breathing its spilled fuel and fumes! Their echo location sensors will just have to learn to put up with the ferry engines!

The lease and permits were granted based of one of the most idiotic “environmental impact statements” you have ever read in your life. It was written in a semi-literate style, but was no doubt well funded. This report should have been all the evidence government needed to tell these people to go away. The other EIS was very well written, but by a notoriously pro-dolphin-circus engineering company. They are a reputable company, but they build dolphinariums, for Heaven’s sake!

And, government does not subject these two reports to expert scrutiny of its own?

Nor hold the sort of public consultations they promised in signing the Environmental Charter?

But, then, I hate to say, “I told you so!”

Dolphin Risk

Government to Approve Dolphinarium at Blowing Point on Thursday. We would all have heard by now that the Ministers have agreed to give the “swim with the dolphins” company a licence or lease of part of the proposed national park at Blowing Point for as their new facility. Its approval by ExCo on Thursday is expected to be a mere formality.

In the past, concerns have been expressed over a number of issues. These have included on the “pro” side such matters as the need to provide visitors to Anguilla with more amusements, and the need to keep those Anguillians employed by the old facility at Meads Bay in their jobs. On the “con” side we have read of concerns about the pollution problem and its consequences, including damage to reefs and other marine life, risk of infection to humans, and the impact of fuel and oil from the Blowing Point harbour on the health of the dolphins.

Silently lying in the background has been the unspoken issue of the impact of this type of circus activity on the values of the multi-million dollar homes built in recent years along that coast.

Now, comes word of another factor that should be thrown into the equation. Are the visitors and participants safe when swimming with the dolphins? Are these really tame animals that love to hug and to be hugged? Marine Connection is a UK charity dedicated to protecting dolphins and whales worldwide. Reading through its web-pages, I came across a story about a recent incident in Curacao. A captive dolphin apparently deliberately dropped itself on three volunteer participants in a game. The dolphin was supposed to jump over a stick they were holding. Instead, it landed on three of them, seriously injuring one of them. If you are interested, you can read the story and look at footage of the incident [link here].

Dr Naomi Rose is a marine mammal scientist with Humane Society International [link here] . She has expressed interest in the dolphin activity in Anguilla. When approached, she provided an insight into the significance and meaning for us in Anguilla of this incident in Curacao. She writes:

"The Curacao incident is not as rare as the swim-with industry would have the public believe. Many people every year receive minor injuries from these animals, such as bites or bruises. The vast majority are never reported, mostly because the facilities behave as this one did (try to suppress the information) or because the people themselves believe they must have done something wrong to provoke the dolphin (and they are encouraged to think this by the facilities). More serious injuries, such as broken bones, lacerations requiring stitches, and so on, do occur but more rarely. Then there's this sort of thing: an unusual interaction - certainly rare, but nevertheless as significant a risk as, say, a plane crash - that could potential lead to permanent injury. I don't know the current condition of the woman in the middle of the three people who received that body blow, but she could easily have been paralyzed by what happened.

It was almost certainly not an accident either, no matter what the facility called it. Dolphins are very aware of their position in the water and when they "porpoise" or jump out of the water, even more so when they are in a confined, completely familiar space such as a tank. We must remember that the water is their element - we are the awkward, tentative, clumsy ones in it. Annie, the dolphin who did this, did it on purpose - I can say that with very high confidence, even without viewing the video clip but certainly after doing so! Why she did it is another question - she might have meant absolutely no harm by it, because to another dolphin, such a body slam wouldn't have caused any permanent damage, but could have made a point within the dolphin social hierarchy of this facility. She might have even been playing. But my guess is that she meant to make a dominance point. She was no doubt quite surprised when the people she hit didn't respond as dolphins would.

Captive swim-with encounters are at least as dangerous as some recreational sports, like skate-boarding. Generally speaking you don't get injured, but you might end up with bumps or cuts. When you do get injured, it could be serious. Some people might think that's a reasonable risk and so it may be - but the difference with swim-withs is 1) with its rhetoric, the industry misleads the public into thinking it's completely safe (just go to any facility's web site - there may be fine print somewhere about the risks of injury, but the big print is all about how lovely and gentle and happy dolphins are); and 2) the industry is not transparent when injuries do occur.

For what it's worth, some former customers who got injured by dolphins have filed lawsuits - I think most are settled out of court, precisely to keep the information confidential. The industry is *not* transparent - any authority permitting this activity needs to recognize that."

Members of the public are entitled to ask some questions about the proposed approval of the dolphin facility at Blowing Point. One is, do these people carry insurance against incidents such as this? How common are incidents such as this? Is there any liability on the part of government and the public purse if such an incident should occur at Blowing Point? Are our health and emergency agencies ready to deal with this sort of incident if and when it occurs?

AARF Critical

Anguilla Animal Rescue Foundation Criticises “Dolphinarium” Blog as Irresponsible. AARF is Anguilla’s premier animal protection society. It looks after any animal in distress. It reports to the authorities on acts of cruelty to animals. It should have a deep and abiding concern for Anguilla’s dolphins. Those whose principal interest lies in little puppies and pussies should not be contending with those more concerned with the plight of our endangered iguana or the holding in a prison in Anguilla of eight dolphins. They have a common cause. They should be natural allies. They should not be attacking each other’s efforts on behalf of dumb and helpless animals. That causes a waste of energy and a loss of focus. So, imagine my concern, if not consternation, when the following press release dated 18 December was given to me today.

It was only on 16 December that this blog broke the story on the deplorable condition in which the dolphins were then held. Photographs taken on 11 December were shown. It was hardly an irresponsible coverage. The evidence was there before all our eyes. Now, officers of AARF have visited the site. It was two days after we reported the story here. They say they found the dolphins “in great shape and extremely well cared for”. They saw what they saw. They wrote what they wrote. They say they “cannot condone irresponsible press releases”. They condemn those “who wish for an animal to suffer and die in order to attract public attention”. This critique must refer to the blog of 16 December. There was no other press release on the subject. Unless it is Nat Hodge’s news article in Thursday’s issue of The Anguillian newspaper. He published some photographs that were not on my blog. I assume he had access to the person who took them and to those who visited the site then. He wrote his own story, and did not quote mine. He wrote, “Though not in colour, these photographs present a gruesome reality of the environment of the captive dolphins”. Enough said about conditions at that date.

Let us leap forward to today 21 December. By coincidence, one of my correspondents visited the site today. My correspondent took more photographs. Let us look at them and determine for ourselves what they show.

This is a shot of the outflow pipe onto the beach. It shows that the pumps are not running today. I accept that they must be capable of running to have been able to top up the tanks that are shown in the photographs of 11 December. It is very costly to run the pumps all the time.

This one shows the algae oozing out of the dolphin tanks. If this is what comes out of the discharge pipe, the water can hardly be described accurately as clear and with the pens clean. One has to ask how the government vet who helped write this press release could have reported to the executive committee of AARF that “he had visited the facility earlier in the month and reported to us at that that time, that the water was seen to be clean, no chemicals were in use, the water circulating system was working . . .” This is shown by the photographs taken in early December, and earlier published, not to be true.

This photo shows scum and debris floating on the top of the water today. Did it all grow back since the visit of AARF on 18 December? It is difficult to see how so much algae could have grown in the few days that had passed. Did AARF miss it on their visit?

There were originally eight dolphins on the site. There are only two visible in the tank at this time. At any rate, only two were alive and well enough to swim around and show themselves today when these photographs were being taken. I am told that in the dead of the night last night, a cargo plane flew in to Wallblake Airport and, with the assistance of the local customs and veterinary authorities, four of the dolphins were shipped off the island. We are told they are going temporarily to Tortola. So, there should be four dolphins left in Anguilla. Does anyone know what happened to the apparently missing two?

The water level in the above photograph is higher than the level shown in the photographs in the post of 16 December. The tank has obviously been topped up recently. My correspondent writes me that you have only to look into the water and you can see that while the surface of the water is relatively clear, the muck on the bottom has not been removed. It is as filthy as it was before. My correspondent’s exact words are, “I shot views to show that the water level is back up to par. It appears to me that the tank has been cleaned "cosmetically" around the edges as when I looked hard into the bottom of the tank I could see clumps of algae, etc.” It would appear that after the story broke, the dolphin people hurriedly turned back on the pumps and topped up the tanks. They did a little surface cleaning, no more than that. If the missing two dolphins are still there, it means that the water is too dirty to see them.

Those in Anguilla who do not understand what all this fuss is over “a bunch of fish” must be laughing.

I am ashamed of AARF.