Shocking footage has emerged of a dolphin hitting concrete on the edge of a pool at the Barcelo Riviera Maya Hotel in Mexico. The dolphin was performing in a show, and it’s reported the mammal died as a result.
Global animal welfare charity, World Animal Protection, has been campaigning for decades for an end to dolphins in captivity. In 2022, World Animal Protection Australia released a report ‘Too Close For Comfort’ which spotlighted the unnatural dolphin shows at Sea World Gold Coast.
Suzanne Milthorpe, Head of Campaigns at World Animal Protection Australia said:
“This horrific turn of events exposes the grim reality of dolphin shows, where these highly intelligent mammals can literally perform themselves to death.
“These shows don’t provide the educational experience you may think. The dolphins perform in an unnatural setting, forced to jump at heights through rigorous training.
“Dolphin entertainment venues are sentencing intelligent, long-lived animals to a lifetime of misery in tiny, chlorinated pools, a world away from their lives in the ocean.
“This is not just an overseas issue. This so-called ‘entertainment’ is also happening here in Australia at Sea World on the Gold Coast, where captive-bred dolphins are still forced to perform in circus-style shows, stripped of all dignity.
“Recently in Queensland we’ve seen venues like Dreamworld and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary move to end various wildlife interactions, now we need Sea World to do the same and end their dolphin shows.
“The cruel commercial exploitation of dolphins has no place in 2025. They are highly intelligent wild animals, not entertainers.”
ENDS
Read World Animal Protection Australia’s ‘Too Close For Comfort’ report here.
About us:
World Animal Protection is the global voice for animal welfare, with more than 75 years of experience campaigning for a world where animals live free from cruelty and suffering. Our work to protect animals will play a vital role in solving the climate emergency, the public health crisis, and the devastation of natural habitats.
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