This year, Ulsan seeks to establish itself as a global ecological hub for whales. Ironically, to enhance the city's reputation, they decided to import more dolphins from Taiji, Japan, which is notorious for its brutal slaughter of dolphins. Despite protests from animal rights organizations and other political parties, the city government brought two dolphins to Ulsan. Not surprisingly, as soon as those two dolphins arrived in Ulsan, their health worsened and one of them died because of the way in which they had been transported from Japan.
But this death is not the first. Since opening its doors, a total of 5 dolphins have died in that aquarium because of poor conditions.
Dolphins need to swim over 160km at a speed of 20~40km/hr on a daily basis. According to Korea’s wildlife law, however, dolphins may be kept in an area as small as 84㎡ with a depth as shallow as 3.5 meters. This is like a human living in a small cage all day long. These highly intelligent, sociable animals who have IQs ranging from 80~90, suffer emotional trauma as a result of being separated from their families and die when they are held in captivity.
Whale ecological education should not consist of displaying caged and abused dolphins to the public. Instead, people can learn about whale and dolphin biology from detailed photos and explanations. Science and technology can be employed for ecological education through the use of visual and auditory tools, and virtual and augmented reality.
Even though there are many other options, the city is pressing on with this cruel plan when it is already the subject of international embarrassment. Dolphins belong to the ocean. Ulsan should release the dolphins in the whale experience hall into the wild.
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