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Heartbreaking video shows dolphins stuck in a miniscule tank in Mexico, languishing just a few feet from the open ocean — leaving activists appalled over “gut wrenching” conditions.
Barceló Maya Grand Resort near Cancún keeps the creatures as part of their Dolphinaris program, which offers guests a chance to swim with the dolphins and watch them perform synchronized tricks.
But after viewing drone footage, UrgentSeas, a non-profit organization focused on freeing captive sea animals, has called for a boycott and for the release of the dolphins, which it says are being held in “Latin America’s smallest dolphin tank”.
The footage, captured by the organization, shows dolphins floating aimlessly in the pool due to severely limited space and stimulation.
The concrete pool where the animals live is located mere feet from the Caribbean Sea and is only about 6.5 feet deep, leaving the dolphins exposed to constant sunlight — which experts say can burn their skin.
UrgentSeas also alleges that two dolphins recently died at the hotel, only to be quickly replaced by others.
Guests at the luxury hotel pay up to an additional $129 for a thirty-minute interactive experience, according to the Barceló website.
Philip Demers, UrgentSeas co-founder and executive director, said: “Dolphins are wide ranging, emotionally complex, social animals that live their entire natural lives in large family pods.
“To see them separated from family and forced to perform for food in the most unsustainable, tiny tank is just heart-breaking.
“The dimensions of the tank offer no reprieve from the sun and the fact that it’s a mere few meters from the ocean makes this entire situation more gut wrenching.
“Imagine seeing and smelling the ocean, a.k.a. freedom, while simultaneously being treated like jailed criminal.
“Dolphins deserve better.”
The resort has been contacted for comment.
