TRUE or FAKE. Are captive dolphins unhappy?

Nantes dolphinarium (Loire Atlantique) is one of only two that still exist in France. The associations that want to ban this park ensure that it is more and more obvious that these animals are suffering “significant health and welfare issues in captivity”. Ten zoo keepers take care of the nine captive dolphins. “They are coastal animals that live in three meters of water most of their life “, reassures Martin Boye, scientific director of the Planète Sauvage park. But the animals are far from their wild environment in this five-meter-deep pool.

The park ensures that it succeeds in recreating a daily life as rich as life at sea, even if it is different. “There are two important things for well-being: the unforeseen and the choice “, Martin Boye continues. Their actions are scrutinized two to three times a week for five minutes. “We look at the diversity of behaviors that the dolphin emits. The greater the variability it emits, the more normal it behaves “, explains François Parisot, animal trainer. Isabella Clegg, researcher, believes that “dolphin care has improved since the 90s because we know them better“. Current European legislation does not impose the well-being measures that the Nantes park practices. It is a voluntary and uncontrolled process.