Disney World: Retire Your Dolphins.

Many families grew up watching Disney’s magic on the screen and going to Disney theme parks. The company has delighted, entertained, and sparked our imagination for decades, and has also kept up with increasing entertainment demands. One of the ways it has managed to grow is by providing visitors to one of its parks with a dolphin exhibit. Popularity for this exhibit has been fueled by movies like Finding Nemo, and while this educational experience feeds into the wonder of Disney, it is at the expense of the dolphins’ well-being.  

At Disney World in Orlando, visitors to the dolphin exhibit are able to spend three hours learning and swimming with these remarkable creatures. Recently, organizational and public outcry on keeping cetaceans, like orcas and dolphins, in captivity shows it is no longer appropriate to keep dolphins confined and forced to entertain or interact with the public. Through scientific discovery we know that dolphins and other cetaceans are incredibly intelligent, are far-ranging, and are highly social.

The National Aquarium just announced they are going to retire their dolphins. It’s time Disney does the same. Disney should give their dolphins a chance to live in a more natural world better suited to their needs. Like Nemo and Dory, Disney’s dolphins belong in the ocean.