Αναδημοσίευση από greekreporter.com
The world’s first permanent sanctuary for dolphins that have been rescued from captivity founded by the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has been almost complete for some time. Yet, according to the institute, Greece’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy, responsible for issuing the relevant permits has been failing to do so for almost seven years.
The issue of the sanctuary’s operation came to the spotlight again, after Greece’s main zoo announced on Wednesday, January 22, that it would send its five captive dolphins to a Florida aquarium in the United States. Animal activists in Greece and the United States have been calling for the animals to be transferred to the Lipsi sanctuary, instead of spending the rest of their lives in another tank.
According to Archipelagos, the institute has been applying for the permit of operating the marine mammal care cen byter, which is a prerequisite in order to get the dolphin sanctuary permit, since 2018. According to documents seen by Greek Reporter, the institute got the first, written response from the ministry six years later and almost five months after the fifth request.
While Greece is notorious for its unrelenting bureaucracy, Thodoris Tsimpidis, the director of Archipelagos, says that in the case of the sanctuary, the problem goes beyond that. He tells Greek Reporter that the delay comes from ”specific, lower-level ministry employees,” who he alleges are “part of a system that opposes the establishment of the sanctuary.” He further claims that at least one of them has connections to marine parks.
While stressing that there is no political expediency, Tsimpidis says issuing the permit has been festering under a number of different leaderships at the ministry. “The trick is to exhaust the time,” he tells Greek Reporter. “In essence, they are nibbling on time because it’s not that they they cannot issue the permit, but they can delay it. You raise some doubts, you tell the minister ‘they have some issues,’ the minister tells us ‘you’re doing great, you’ll overcome the problem.’ And we say ‘but we don’t have that problem!”
In a question by Greek Reporter to Greece’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy regarding the delays for the dolphin sanctuary and the allegations against some of its employees, the ministry said in a statement that the relevant authorities are looking into the case and that a decision will be made soon. “The initial application of the NGO Archipelagos-Institute for Marine Conservation regarding this case was submitted in 2018, without being complete and with serious missing points on various levels. After the beginning of 2024, the pending process moved on significantly… A decision is expected to be issued soon for the next steps,” the statement reads.*
In a notorious case near Athens in 2022, a sick beaked whale was stranded on a beach and, on live TV, was given by veterinarians medication through IVs fit for a pet and not a marine mammal. After it was released in the open sea, it was found dead a few days later.
https://youtu.be/iLFXFw6FGaA?si=NThG8w7FoNU4x5uX
The Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary on Lipsi will be of unique global significance as the first of its kind, providing both a veterinary clinic and rehabilitation center for sick and injured marine animals, such as dolphins, seals, and turtles. It will also function as a sanctuary for formerly captive dolphins who could thrive in a natural environment.
The marine life sanctuary, constructed solely on private funds, has a vast team of international experts on marine life, including veterinarians, biologists and scientists from countries such as the United States, Germany, Italy and New Zealand. It was created in the hope of providing these rescued creatures a safe haven to live out their lives, as well as to end the exploitation of the intelligent mammals in zoos and marine parks around the world.
The location of the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary (AMLS) in the elongated, fjord-like gulf of Vroulia Bay also provides safe shelter with minimal external interferences, natural waters with high biodiversity, and both shallow and deeper locations within an area many times larger than the largest dolphin pool.
“Once we get the permit, we can become operational in a few months,” Tsimpidis says. “Two thirds of the work have already been done by nature itself and everything is ready.”The sanctuary will operate with a well-equipped care center, combining innovation with high standards of animal welfare, in a pristine and highly biodiverse bay located far out of reach of human interference.
The transfer of Greece’s captive dolphins to an aquarium across the Atlantic Ocean has been fueling a controversy along with an outcry. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has applied for a federal permit to import the dolphins from Greece. The application was submitted last month to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries and is open to public comment until February 3, 2025.
Ric O’ Barry, a former dolphin trainer turned activist, and founder of the Dolphin Project, a non-profit dedicated to the protection of dolphins, along with other animal rights groups have launched an international appeal urging “everyone to immediately voice opposition to this transfer.” The Panhellenic Federation for the Environment and Animal Rights has also been calling on the Ministry of the Environment and Energy to block the transfer and ensure that the dolphins are moved to a sanctuary in Greece.
At the same time, the operation of the sanctuary on Lipsi is beginning to be heard amid Greece’s halls of power. Giorgos Amyras, an MP recently sworn in with the ruling New Democracy party and a former deputy Minister of the Environment and Energy with a focus on the protection of the environment, is well-aware of the case. He tells Greek Reporter that issuing the permit for the sanctuary is now his main concern.“What we started during our term as a deputy minister has now become a leading responsibility,” he tells Greek Reporter, “so that Archipelagos gets the permit in order to operate and so it can fully unfold its potential to care for and host marine mammals.”
“Clearwater Marine Aquarium isn’t a dolphin sanctuary other than in name,” O’ Barry told Animals 24-7 via email. “It’s a huge concrete building with concrete and glass holding tanks inside the belly of the facility,” dominated by a souvenir store and a restaurant.
The chief zoological officer for the Florida aquarium, James Powell told Josh Rojas of the local ABC news affiliate that “We need additional animals there with our current animals to provide the social makeup that you would typically see in a wild population. So that’s kind of driving this.” Dr. Powell explained that the aquarium would not be “buying” the Attica Zoo dolphins but would be paying their relocation expenses. “We’re trying to do the right thing here in terms of providing these animals a forever home,” insisted Dr. Powell. “This potentially is a very positive situation. We want to provide the best care that we can. We’re a science-based research conservation base.”
O’ Barry, along with many other animal activists and organizations, dismisses those claims, suggesting “a much more humane alternative would be to take the dolphins directly to the Greek island of Lipsi or Crete,” a maximum distance of under 200 miles, “where they can live out the rest of their lives in peace and dignity.”
*The full statement by Stathis Stathopoulos, Secretary General for Forests at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy to Greek Reporter: “The initial application of the NGO Archipelagos-Institute for Marine Conservation regarding this case was submitted in 2018, without being complete and with serious missing points on various levels. After the beginning of 2024, the pending process moved on significantly: after mutual communication between the Secretariat General and the Secretariat General for Forests with those applying, within 100 days from the latest communication with the NGO, [the case] was discussed, examined and a decision was issued by the relevant, primary committee, of which the applying party was notified a few weeks later in order to complete their application file.
It is noted that for granting the permit or not, an indispensable requirement is for the case to be examined by the Central Advising Committee for a KE.P.E.A.P. (Wildlife Care Center), which is independent and is comprised of distinguished scientists and representatives from different sectors aside from the general government and which, obviously, is not making its decisions under pressure from publications and articles.
The issue of the permit for the center at Lipsi has been included in the agenda and is due for a final decision as soon as possible after being examined during the meeting of January 8, 2025. A decision is expected to be issued soon for the next steps.”
Source: https://greekreporter.com/2025/01/24/dolphin-sanctuary-greece-remain-limbo/ at Animal Rights -- κοινοποίηση
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