Chinese-company proposal requesting the capture and export of endangered marine animals
Late last month it was revealed that the Namibian Fisheries Ministry was considering a proposal by a Chinese-owned company, Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Research, requesting the capture and export of endangered dolphins, orcas, and other marine mammals animals to China for “breeding purposes.” (The company appears to be registered in Namibia but is owned by a Chinese businessman).
According to a report in the The Namibian, the list of the company’s demands includes 10 orcas (killer whales) 500 to 1,000 Cape fur seals 300-500 African penguins 50 to 100 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins 50 to 100 common bottlenose dolphins and various sharks.
The company has offered 300 million Nigerian dollars (about US $95,000) for the deal, claiming the export is important for the protection and management of these marine resources, while admitting at the same time that the market in China for these marine mammals is “enormous.” It also says it will strictly abide by international and Namibian laws and regulations in managing the marine species.
However, several of these species, such as orcas, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making it illegal for any entity to capture and export them.
The request points to the deeply troubling explosion in the demand for captive animal entertainment in China, despite a growing understanding of the physical and psychological harm that captivity causes for all species. The country currently has 39 marine parks of various sizes, from massive 326-acre facilities like Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Guangdong province to tiny tanks in shopping malls that barely leave any space for the animals to move around. Another 14 such facilities are under construction.
China now represents the fastest-growing market for live cetaceans on the planet.
Caption credit: earthisland.org
According to a report in the The Namibian, the list of the company’s demands includes 10 orcas (killer whales) 500 to 1,000 Cape fur seals 300-500 African penguins 50 to 100 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins 50 to 100 common bottlenose dolphins and various sharks.
The company has offered 300 million Nigerian dollars (about US $95,000) for the deal, claiming the export is important for the protection and management of these marine resources, while admitting at the same time that the market in China for these marine mammals is “enormous.” It also says it will strictly abide by international and Namibian laws and regulations in managing the marine species.
However, several of these species, such as orcas, are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making it illegal for any entity to capture and export them.
The request points to the deeply troubling explosion in the demand for captive animal entertainment in China, despite a growing understanding of the physical and psychological harm that captivity causes for all species. The country currently has 39 marine parks of various sizes, from massive 326-acre facilities like Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Guangdong province to tiny tanks in shopping malls that barely leave any space for the animals to move around. Another 14 such facilities are under construction.
China now represents the fastest-growing market for live cetaceans on the planet.
Caption credit: earthisland.org
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