Marine animal performances have long been a fixture of ocean parks around the world. However, in the interests of animal welfare, they will soon be phased out in Taiwan.
Farglory Ocean Park’s show has historically attracted a large number of people eager to watch dolphins jump, flip, and roll, and sea lions waving and doing tricks with bouncy balls. While the show is much-loved by audiences, it runs counter to animal rights.
At the end of July, the Agriculture Ministry announced new regulations that stipulate all animal show operators’ performance plans must first be approved by the relevant authorities and prohibited performances involving protected animals. As cetaceans are protected under Taiwan’s Act on Wildlife Conservation, all performances involving this group of marine mammals will soon come to an end.
Farglory Ocean Park’s Director of Sales & Marketing Leo Teng (鄧淳仁) said that the park has in fact had a plan to transition away from dolphin shows since 2016. Instead, they intend to become the largest cetacean rescue and education base in Asia. Yehliu Ocean World’s Vice President, surnamed Liao, said that they actually stopped putting on circus-style animal performances some years ago and switched to focusing on introducing the physiology and ecological habits of marine animals to park visitors.
The public is also receptive to these changes, saying that as long as they can interact with the animals, they don’t need to see them perform. Although the shows were fun while they lasted, there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had in learning about them, and it’s more important that the animals are healthy and happy.
Hanna Bilinski for RTI News