Four dolphins kept in swimming pool in Egypt

DIRTY AND CRAMPED: The pool was tiny and the visibility poor - just 20cm

Tiny pool measured just nine metres by nine metres

September 2010: Dolphins have been discovered kept in appalling conditions in a private villa pool in Hurghada, Egypt. Concerned members of the public reported the find to Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). Relevant local authorities were immediately contacted to find out more and on September 15, the HEPCA team, including dolphin specialists, went to visit the villa where it found four common bottlenose dolphins - two males and two females - all two to three metres in length and being kept in a small swimming pool.

Aside from the fact that no pool is long, wide or deep enough, national regulations exist in various countries, specifying acceptable dimensions of the main enclosures for common bottlenose dolphins. According to the Brazilian Institute for the Environmental and Natural Renewable Resources a minimum of 14 metres horizontal distance, a minimum depth of six metres and a minimum volume of 1600 m³ is specifies for two animals. The volume for four animals should be at least 2400m³. The HEPCA team found the four dolphins in a pool measuring nine metre by nine metre pool that was just four metres deep - a volume of just 324m³, only slightly above one tenth of the minimum required size. Other than the pool's tiny size, the water conditions were appalling, with a visibility of approximately 20 cm, probably due to a filtration system unable to cope with the large amount of excreta naturally produced by the animals.

Lack of regulation
The HEPCA team was informed that the dolphins come from Japan and are supposed to be the main attraction of a new dolphinarium currently under construction in Hurghada area. According to Egyptian regulations, they are required to be kept in quarantine for a minimum of 105 days, to ascertain that are healthy and able to perform.

HEPCA did not have the chance to examine all the documents, so whether the dolphins were caught in the wild or are coming from captivity is still an unanswered question. HEPCA and the Red Sea Governorate firmly oppose, and are determined to fight against any activity, which involves the trade, shipment or captivity of dolphins in the governorate.

The lack of national legislation in Egypt regarding dolphin captivity, whether pertaining to the establishment of dolphinariums, or to requirements regarding the human treatment of the animals, leave the situation totally unregulated, leading inevitably to tragic situations like is current one.

After the Red Sea Governorate learned about the four dolphins, they officially defined their position against holding dolphins in captivity within the borders of the Red Sea governorate. We hope that this will include the cancellation of the planned dolphinarium in Hurghada, before it opens its gates.

Releasing dolphins into the sea could risk local bottlenose population
Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done for the four dolphins. The issue is very complex and must be rationally, objectively analysed. The primary goal must be to provide them with better conditions. They cannot be released to the open sea - as they are not native to the Red Sea, introducing them into the wild would create a risk of genetic and disease contamination that could affect the health of the local bottlenose dolphin population.