In a growing movement around the world, an increasing number of governments are banning dolphinariums, and the capture and display of cetaceans for entertainment purposes in their countries, with many citing the inherit intelligence and sensitivity of these creatures as the reason behind these moves.

The first country to issue such a ban was Bolivia: in 2009, the government there made history by instituting the world’s first ban on the keeping of animals in circuses and other venues for public performance, of which included captive cetaceans. In the following years, similar bans were enacted by Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, India, Nicaragua, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
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Over 200 dead dolphins have washed up on the East Coast of the US. A similar spike of dolphin deaths occurred in 1987 when more than 700 dolphins died and a bacterial infection was identified as the main culprit. This time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA) 91 dead dolphins have washed up in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia in July alone. Last year, those same states had a combined death toll of nine. In 2011, the total was 16. The number of animals that die at sea is believed to be far larger than the number that wash up on beaches.
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As the world population increases, people in coastal poverty-stricken areas are turning to the ocean for their meals, consuming marine mammals such as dolphins and seals. And this is not only happening in poor parts of the world!

The fate of the world’s great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental catching and killing of dolphins, porpoises, manatees, and other warm-blooded aquatic species are rarely studied or monitored.
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