Dolphins not connected to Taiji, says Phuket GM
Phuket Gazette


Trainers work with the new dolphins at the unopened Nemo Dolphinarium in Phuket. Photo: Dolphins Bay Phuket

PHUKET: -- The Nemo Dolphinarium dolphins, which recently arrived at the controversial facility on Phuket, were not poached from the wild and have no connection to the annual dolphin slaughter at Japan’s Taiji Cove, Dolphins Bay Phuket General Manager Supreecha Suthamanondh told the Phuket Gazette yesterday.

“Our five dolphins are among 19 dolphins that were born and raised in an aquarium in the Ukraine. Each one of them has an embedded chip to verify their identity, which is registered with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),” Mr Supreecha explained.

“The dolphins and two seals legally arrived in Phuket earlier this month and are now in quarantine, as training specialists and veterinarians work with them.”

Five people from the Nemo Dolphinarium in Ukraine joined the animals on their trip and are now working with Mr Supreecha to ensure that they adjust to the new facility.

“We have a lot of faith in the company, as they have been in this business for years.”

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Dolphins-not-connected-Taiji-says-Phuket-GM/62189?desktopversion#ad-image-1


-- Phuket Gazette 2015-10-21

Soviet training of 'killer dolphins' began in Crimea in the 1960s. Following the break-up of the USSR, the dolphin training division was handed over to the Ukrainian navy.

When Russian forces annexed Crimea in March, they took control of Ukraine's naval bases in the region, including the military bottlenose dolphins, sea lions and fur seals.

Ukraine has indeed been in the business of abusing dolphins and other sea mammals for years

Our cetacean friends have brains bigger than ours...
Lets respect their lives, lets respect their freedom.