(MW / 06-01-11) This Christmas season, Yerevan hosted opening of the first dolphinarium in Armenia. The dolphinarium is constructed by Nerum Ukrainian company and the show of four dolphins, two sea bears and a sea lion were brought to Yerevan from Odessa.
Around 50 Armenian and international organizations protest against the opening and exploitation of the dolphinarium.
Dolphins kept in a non-free environment often suffer from stress and can pose a serious threat to human life, the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Values and several Armenian environmental NGOs (Eko dar, Eko dashink and ProwPaws) have said in a joint statement, calling on the Yerevan Municipality to suspend the operation of the newly opened dolphinarium in the capital.
The activists of the joint environmental initiative find that dolphins which are kept in dolphinariums cannot have theurapethic effect on humans, as the organization importing the dolphins had announced earlier.
"Taking advantage of society's non-awareness, businessmen earn mega money in this way. I don't think Armenia is a proper country for such adventurers," the head of the foundation, Ruben Khachatryan, told a news conference on Friday. He said a large quantity of chlorin is needed for keeping dolphins in blue water and that makes the animals blind.
Speaking further of the possible hazards, President of ProwPaws organization Elsik Azizyan enumerated five main conditions for keeping dolphins, adding that the the dolphinarium in Yerevan meets none of them.
"Dolphins pass an average of 100 meters per day and dive into water from a depth of 20 meters, while the dolphinarium in Yerevan is just 18 meters in diameter and 5 meters in depth. Besdies, the dolphins in Yerevan will be fed frozen fish, which violates their right to get proper food," he said.
