Malta Has Banned Circuses – But Dolphins In Captivity Are Forced To Perform Tricks
Malta is one of the few European countries that have a nationwide ban on all animals in circuses, along with Greece and Cyprus.
However, dolphins are pretty much forced to perform tricks while held in captivity at Malta’s dolphin park in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, which operates through a zoo license.
Greece recently made the move to ban dolphin shows and performances altogether that feature animals, with the exception of domestic animals like horses.
Abroad, a facility which provides a spectacle out of dolphins performing tricks for large crowds falls under the name of a circus, not a zoo.
This appears to be the loophole in Maltese law.
Malta is one of 15 member states within the European Union that hold dolphins in captivity, with many countries having long abandoned the practice.
Dolphins held in captivity are trained to be able to perform tricks, even undergoing methods such as food deprivation training, which involves starvation until a trick is learned.
When dolphins are held in captivity for the entirety of their lifetime, they even become susceptible to self-destructive behaviour, even leading to depression to self-harming actions.
A look at Maltese legislation
According to the Animal Welfare Act: The Keeping of Wild Animals in Zoos Regulations 2020, establishments holding a zoo license must make sure to keep up with a list of measures.
One of these measures states that zoos must implement “participation in research from which conservation benefits accrue to the species and, or training in relevant conservation skills”.
It also stipulates “the exchange of information relating to species conservation, repopulation or reintroduction of species into the wild”.
It also states that facilities must “accommodate their animals under conditions which aim to satisfy the biological and conservation requirements of the individual species, inter alia, by providing species-appropriate enrichment of the enclosures”.
Furthermore, “facilities holding cetaceans should be required to report pregnancies, births, deaths, cause of death, and transfers within 30 days of such events occurring”.
The facility failed to do this when three dolphins died within their responsibility due to lead poisoning, effectively breaking the law in the process.
Since this was revealed, the facility has been under intense scrutiny, as calls to close down the park continue to intensify.
This is the third article in a series of articles by Lovin Malta raising awareness of dolphins in captivity.
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