Whale shark release from captivity

A 7 metre whale shark was released from captivity. Credit WSPA

Article from www.wildlifeextra.com

Covert whale shark release by Dubai hotel shocks global animal welfare charity
March 2010. There is alarm about the recent covert release of a female whale shark into the Persian Gulf from its controversial home in an aquarium at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai. The hotel claims the shark was released at some point last week due to the public pressure surrounding her captivity, but would not say exactly when the shark was released.

The issue has received a new wave of concern at the CITES meeting in Doha and United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials have admitted that this may have played a part in their decision to fast-track the shark’s release. The UAE’s Environment Agency claims that the shark has been tagged so it can be tracked for research purposes.

Aquariums like this are built to attract the visiting public and make profits; they never put the needs of the animals first. This aquarium in particular has attracted many celebrities including Danni Minogue, who even twittered and attached a photo saying: “This is the Whale Shark that swam past our bedroom window this morning at The Atlantis hotel, Dubai.”

7 metre long shark
According to UAE officials, the animal was a sub-adult female measuring 7m in length, and to the best of World Society for the Protection of Animals’ (WSPA) knowledge had not received any rehabilitative or adjustment work prior to her release.

Bad timing
Little is known about the distribution of whale sharks off the UAE coast but it is thought that this would have been the wrong time of year to release, since groups of whale sharks migrate through UAE waters during August and September. It has also emerged that the whale shark had a wound on her tail fin when in the aquarium.

Claire Bass, WSPA Programme Manager comments: “WSPA is concerned that Sammy’s chances of survival are slim. This was a wild animal caught and put into an unnatural environment – purely to amuse hotel guests – who has been unceremoniously dumped back into the ocean. Wild animals are not decorative items which can simply be discarded – the hotel and government of the UAE have a responsibility to ensure the successful rehabilitation of this animal into the wild.”

Top 4 places to see whale sharks in their natural environment:

1. Thailand

2. Australia Ningaloo Reef

3. Utila Island off of Honduras

4. Seychelles Islands