Saturday, October 27, 2007

"Now where the hell is that boy


with my mojito?"

..is what, I must confess, first leaped to mind when I saw this headline:
"Pacific dolphins adapt to life at Dubai hotel"


Turns out, it's not so much like that.

From the AP

Pacific dolphins adapt to life at Dubai hotel

DUBAI (AFP) - Twenty-eight dolphins from the South Pacific, flown to the Gulf emirate of Dubai this week despite opposition from wildlife groups, are adapting to their new home in a luxury hotel on a man-made island, the Gulf News reported on Saturday.

The five-star Palm Atlantis Hotel bought the wild bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands, the paper reported, despite several international conservation groups decrying the decision by its government to allow the resumption of the live dolphin trade, saying it is inhumane.

Management at the hotel, located on the giant Palm Jumeirah artificial island on the Dubai coast, told the paper the welfare of the dolphins was paramount.

"Bottlenose dolphins are not an endangered species so it is not a problem. They will get good healthcare and good food," said Frank Murru, chief marine officer at the hotel's parent company, Kerzner International.

The dolphins are being kept is seven, three-metre (almost 10-feet) deep pools and are being acclimatised to humans and trained to interact with hotel guests and visitors, the English language daily reported.
...


You know, perpahs if poor American children were just cuter and could be taught to do cooler tricks, we could induce a foreign government to pay for "good healthcare and good food" for them too.

1 comment:

WereBear said...

This reminds me that the trainer of Flipper, the famous dolphin who had his own TV show, had a complete change of heart and is now activist/writer Ric O'Barry, who runs a sanctuary for wildlife.

Of course, current conservative thinking does not allow sentience among the lower classes, so dolphins will have to wait their turn...