Says the marine-mammal park would be in violation of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests guidelines
Uddhav Thackeray
Following reports that the state government was planning to invite an expression of interest from private players to choose a location for the SeaWorld park (to be developed on the lines of the SeaWorld in Orlando, US), the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to not go ahead with it, as the marine-mammal park would be in violation of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests guidelines.
The organisation had raised a similar demand when a decade ago the Congress-NCP government conceived the same project and they had also written to the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.
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PETA said when the concept of a SeaWorld-type park was floated in 2013, the central government had issued a policy note stating, "The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, has decided not to allow the establishment of a dolphinarium in the country. The state governments are advised to reject any such proposal for a dolphinarium that involves the import or capture of cetacean species to establish a facility for commercial entertainment, private or public exhibition, or interaction purposes whatsoever."
It added that the policy note was issued after the organisation and other groups provided officials with scientific data on the suffering of captive marine mammals.
"Aquaria and marine-mammal theme parks like SeaWorld sell the suffering of intelligent, social beings, who are denied everything that's natural and important to them, as entertainment," said PETA India CEO and veterinarian Dr Manilal Valliyate.
"PETA India requests that Maharashtra steer clear of marine abusement parks and instead support tourist attractions that don't involve keeping animals in captivity," he added.
According to PETA, in nature, orcas and other dolphins live in large, complex social groups and swim vast distances every day in the open ocean. In captivity, they can only swim in endless circles in tanks that are the equivalent (to them) of bathtubs and are denied the opportunity to engage in almost any natural behaviour.
"They're forced to perform meaningless tricks and are often torn away from family members. Most die far short of their natural life expectancy," it said.
PETA said that the SeaWorld in US is a notorious animal abuser and its practices are widely condemned. "More than 40 orcas have died on the company's watch (many of them far short of their natural life expectancy) from causes such as bacterial infections and fractured skulls, and 20 orcas are still suffering at parks.
Other dolphins at SeaWorld are still being bred — forcibly and, in some cases, after being drugged — and 140 of them are crammed into just seven tanks across the company's parks," the statement said.
CM wants pvt investment for project
The organisation had opposed a similar proposal in 2011 when Prithviraj Chavan was the CM. It was to be set up in Tondavali-Vayangani village at Malvan in Sindhudurg district. The Congress-NCP government had earmarked 1,400 acres of land for the project, but the agitated villagers did not allow it to proceed. The subsequent Devendra Fadnavis government scaled down the project to 300 acres of land. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation was made a nodal agency for the project, which didn't move further because of several obstacles. Chief Minister Thackeray, who was on a tour of Sindhudurg, told a review meeting on Monday that the SeaWorld project would be expedited if private investors came forward and the state would contribute its share as investment grant.
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