Dolphins and sea lions are not a daily sight in Malta. Sure, you might be lucky enough to catch a pod playfully playing alongside your boat if you’re out at sea, but if your kid wants to see a dolphin up close, there’s only really one place on the island to do so. And that one place is yet again under fire by a protest that’s been gaining online traction as it approaches.

Ba?ar i?-?ag?aq’s Mediterraneo Park will be the target of a Marine Park Protest scheduled for next week, on the 2nd of September. Hosted by the nearly 3,000 member strong Animal Liberation Malta, the peaceful protest has as its aim the education of the public on animals in captivity.

“We want to bring awareness to the public that animal exploitation is unacceptable,” the event description explains. “And there is no education in these daily shows because marine mammals in tanks are not eating, socializing, reproducing, exercising, or behaving naturally. Everything you see at a marine park is a forced and induced behavior, a consequence of hours of starvation and training.”

In a short clip accompanying the event page, ALM go on to give some shocking statistics, such as the fact that, whereas dolphins can live up to 30 years, they rarely make it past the age of four in captivity.

Other shots from the local marine park are also used to prove that the animals there are engaged in an endless cycle of “repeated training and loneliness”. Going on to share snippets from previous protests, ALM concluded by saying that these animals belong in the sea and that “captivity kills”.

What do you make of this protest? Let us know in the comments below

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).