Campaigners have called for ‘Nancy the dolphin carer’ dolls to be removed from shelves in Spain over claims it promotes the exploitation of animals.
A petition has been launched demanding that Spanish toymaker Famosa recalls the toy, which retails for the equivalent of £24.
The Catalonia-based animal rights group Associació Cetàcea has called the sale of the doll ‘a backward step’.
According to The Local, the doll comes with accessories including a bucket, hoop and handbag and is one of the toymaker’s most popular products.
Famosa has denied that the doll is meant to be a dolphin trainer.
But in its petition, Associació Cetàcea wrote: ‘It represents a step backwards in terms of all those values animal lovers want to pass on to new generations.’
And it told the Spanish Huffington Post that the doll ‘promotes the exploitation of animals’ and that dolphins in captivity suffer ‘high levels of stress and depression’.
The Local, which says the doll’s packaging features an image of a dolphin leaping through a hoop, quotes a Famosa spokesman as saying that Nancy is a ‘carer, not a trainer’.
‘The doll has absolutely nothing to do with dolphins in captivity,’ the spokesman said.
‘The hope is that the doll will transmit the importance of animal life and the need for professionals to take care of dolphins with all the guarantees that they will be released back into their natural habitat.’
More than 1,250 people have already signed the petition since it was set up on the website change.org.
Source: Mail Online