Swim with Dolphins – Should you?

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21 Responses

  1. What a lovely post! I’d love to swim with dolphins, and I’d love to do that in Hawaii. Looks like you had a great time. I’m glad you ensure your readers that the Dolphins are treated with care and respect. I’m glad you linked to other humane organizations where people can interact with animals too.

    • NatalieTanner says:

      There is a lot of information out there! I hope the list is helpful as a short cut for those looking for experiences.

  2. I love your list of good encounters. I feel you’ll get digital lynching if you ever say you ride an elephant or swim with dolphins but I do feel it can be done in an animal friendly way. I’d love to do it myself and hope I’ll get the chance one day.

    • NatalieTanner says:

      LOL! That is a valid concern for sure!! Everyone feels like they have the ‘right’ idea about it. It is nice though to share ideas and try to give a moment to the thoughts of others…different opinions aren’t all bad.

  3. I have to say I’m on the edge about this. It’s not always about animals being treated badly but in a case like this one, I don’t see why humans feel the need to curve the dolphins’ natural instincts. They certainly don’t need to eat sushi and to play with toys. The only reason they have regular check-ups is to keep them healthy in this specific human environment. In their natural environment, there are predators – it’s called wildlife. In places like this, I always wonder how the original dolphins were actually captured? As for the argument of interaction with animals being healthy and raising awareness, well, I’ve never swam with dolphins as a child or as an adult and, yet, I wouldn’t dream of hurting one.

  4. Neha Verma says:

    I have a mixed feeling about it. I agree with the animal-human bond part. But I always see some loss/compromise on the animal’s part. They loose their natural habitat, can’t be at absolute ease and at times are even abused. Like those camels – they work a lot and get to eat very little with almost no extra care.

  5. Christina says:

    Well, it seems to become more and more a question with the rising offers of human animal interaction in whatever way all over the world. I mean, those pictures kissing a dolphin, riding an elephant, cuddling a tiger – sure they’re cool. But despite happy posters and whatever one is told how well the animals are treated… at long last, you never know.
    I myself did swimming with dolphins – but with wild dolphins. We were going out in the ocean and the skippers looked for a group. We snorkeled around them, of course we weren’t able to touch them. But it was such a genuine, amazing experience where I knew, they weren’t forced to participate.
    After all though – thanks for such a well researched article, and I’m sure you have looked into it before writing this post 🙂

    • NatalieTanner says:

      I did…a touchy subject for sure and one so many feel really strongly about. I think a truly impromptu experience like you had would be just amazing!

  6. For a person who grew up in Africa among the wild, I cannot say I am totally convinced. But that said, I have petted Koalas in Australia in the past. But will I do it in the future, since I am more sensitive to such issues. I doubt it. Some animals are meant to roam free.

    • NatalieTanner says:

      It is a tricky topic…everyone has their own feelings and those feelings are strong. After careful consideration, I’m sure each individual know what feels like the right thing to do. Thanks for stopping by!

  7. Interesting and in my opinion, quite a controversial topic so first off let me start by saying good on ya for writing about it! It’s always interesting reading another point of view.

    When I was younger, my parents took me to the aquariums and to SeaWorld (before I knew better about the conditions of the animals etc) to see the marine animals so I do agree that it can be educational for the kids… but like everyone else, I am quite on the fence about this. While I do agree human-animal interaction is great for development, I’m not completely convinced about swimming with dolphins in captivity.

    I will admit that when I was younger, I rode elephants in the Singapore Zoo and they were in a healthy environment as well but then more research was done and it was realised that we are damaging their backs (and thankfully they’ve stopped it now). So I’m quite cautious with how I interact with animals as a result.

  8. Really important topic to be writing about. Like a lot of others, I’m kind of on the fence about this as I don’t know how I feel about animals being taken away from their natural habitat. I have to admit though, I’ve only thought seriously about these issues more recently. When I was little (and even in recent years), I’ve loved going to the zoo and aquarium, and ethical issues were never really at the top of my mind. Nonetheless, I’m always in the process of learning so thanks for writing on such an important (yet controversial) topic.

  9. FS says:

    Nice topic to write about. I didn’t really know about some of the things mentioned by you. Thanks for sharing.

  10. Julia K says:

    Awesome post! I am pinning this to my travel board for responsible tourism. Love your suggestions in other countries.

    I personally am against doing anything with animals. I they had a choice they would live freely without entertaining us. And so they should.

    I try to go to sanctuaries where they are rescuing animals and birds from either abusive home or endangerment of any kind.

    Thanks for sharing!

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