From WDC:
After many years of campaigning, we are delighted by the Indian government’s announcement that it will not allow the building of dolphinariums, and that they will shortly be banned altogether.
We recently increased our efforts to push for a ban following a number of proposals to keep dolphins in captivity in India. The country’s only attempt to keep captive dolphins ended in disaster when all three bottlenose dolphins died within months of the attraction opening.
India’s Minister for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan said India will not permit dolphinariums to be built just days after the Minister received a letter from WDC (signed by 60 scientists and other groups) calling for a ban.
Our calls for action have been listened to and we would like to congratulate the Indian government for its highly progressive stance on the issue of dolphin captivity. Dolphins survive poorly in captivity and are subject to stress, aggression from pool mates, and premature death.
India lists all whales and dolphins in its Wildlife Protection Act, prohibiting their killing and capture. A ban on the opening of dolphinariums and imports from overseas will reduce the threat to wild dolphin populations in other parts of the world such as Japan, where dolphins are captured alive for sale to aquariums in cruel drive hunts.
WDC has worked with Wildlife Protection Society of India, Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations and Humane Society International, to block proposals for more of these facilities which threaten the welfare and conservation of dolphins.