Guest column by Kenneth W. LeVasseur Editors’ note: Kenneth W. LeVasseur, of Kaneohe, Hawaii, a dolphin intelligence and communication researcher for more than fifty years, with colleague Steven C. Sipman on May 29, 1977 released into the ocean two dolphins, Puka and Kea, who had been held at the University of Hawaii marine mammal laboratory, where […]
What do “rescued” beluga deaths signify for marine mammal captivity?
Sanctuary proponents square off against captivity defenders, as both sides invoke the name & teachings of Ric O’Barry CHICAGO, Illinois––Four of the 30 belugas evacuated from the defunct Marineland of Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, during July and August 2026 have died at their new homes, along with a fifth beluga who was […]
Alan Cooper & John Pippin, M.D., represented the range of animal advocacy
Both Alan Cooper & John Pippin, M.D. were felled by long struggles with debilitating illness It would be difficult to imagine two animal advocates with less in common than Alan Cooper and John Pippin, M.D., except that both were veterans of more than 20 years in animal advocacy on a variety of fronts, and died […]
Whale Sanctuary Project may not finally get some whales after all
30 belugas, four dolphins, & two orcas may be evicted from Marineland of Canada & Marineland Antibes before Whale Sanctuary Project has any holding facilities NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario, Canada; ANTIBES, France––Marineland of Canada, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, founded in 1961, and Marineland Antibes, on the French Riviera, founded in 1970, never shared ownership, but […]
Whale Sanctuary may finally get two whales; dolphin sanctuaries left waiting
Transfer of orcas from defunct French marine park approved by French government NICE, France––Two orca whales stranded at the former Marineland of Antibes marine mammal park on the French Riviera near Nice, France, are to be transferred to the Whale Sanctuary Project in development in Nova Scotia, Canada, French cabinet minister for ecological transition Mathieu […]
Burning urgency to find homes for displaced captive marine mammals
Even if no marine mammals are displaced by fire at the Yeisk Dolphinarium, hundreds from failing dolphinariums have nowhere to go YEISK, Russia; TARANTO, Italy; ANTIBES, France; NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario; MIAMI, Florida––A marine mammal population of unknown size, including Black Sea dolphins, a beluga whale, sea lions, and seals, reportedly survived a September 9, 2025 […]
Captive dolphin industry going down, so what becomes of the dolphins?
Bankruptcies & liquidations, with sanctuaries not a here-and-now option MEXICO CITY, Mexico; MIAMI, Florida––Not entirely by coincidence, the Mexican-owned Dolphin Company, owner of 30 dolphinariums worldwide, is bankrupt; the Miami Seaquarium, recently operated by The Dolphin Company, appears to be at the end of 70 years of marine mammal exhibition; and the Mexican Chamber of […]
The Dolphin Company, owners of 30-31 dolphinariums, goes bust
Bankruptcy leaves dolphins’ fate up in the air CANCUN, Mexico––Great excitement among dolphin freedom advocates over the reportedly declared bankruptcy of The Dolphin Company, owners of 30 or 31 dolphinariums in eight nations, depending on which company statement one accepts as current, is tempered by the reality that depending on the terms of the bankruptcy, […]
Will Clearwater Marine Aquarium call on Trump to allow dolphin imports?
Dolphin stock depleted, Clearwater Marine Aquarium counts on five from Greece to rebuild tourism CLEARWATER, Florida––Fighting for economic survival, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium can be expected to call upon on Florida connections, including U.S. president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, to try to win a permit to import five bottlenose dolphins from the […]
Fly five dolphins from tanks in Greece to tanks in Florida? O’Barry says no
Clearwater Marine Aquarium seeks dolphins to rebuild population after five deaths CLEARWATER, Florida––Two years after four of nine resident bottlenose dolphins died at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium within 16 months, the aquarium has applied for a federal permit to import up to five adult bottlenose dolphins from the Attica Zoological Park in Athens, Greece. […]