Stingray rescue sees captives returned to wild
(CNS): Stingrays that normally spend their time at the Sandbar and Stingray City were returned to the wild on Monday after Department of Environment officials rescued them from captivity at a local dolphinarium. DoE officials told CNS on Monday that they were able to successfully transfer four tagged stingrays from Dolphin Discovery to the Sandbar after the owners agreed to give up the creatures, which were identified as ones associated with the wildlife interaction zone (WIZ), after a local vet spotted the tags while visiting the facility. However, six other un-tagged rays still remain in captivity at the facility.
On Friday DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said that the dolphin facility had also been asked to release the six rays that were not tagged but werelikely to be from the local population that frequents the Sandbar. However, the owners had not responded to that request and appeared reluctant to let these creatures go, she said.
It is understood that while less than half a dozen male rays were counted at the Sandbar during the most recent survey of the dwindling numbers, five of the six stingrays which the West Bay dolphinarium is continuing to hold captive are male.
The revelations that the Stingrays were being held at the tourist attraction highlighted the plight of these creatures as they have no protection in law. Although the Stingrays are supposed to be protected while they are inside the wildlife interaction zone around the Sandbar and Stingray City, if the rays swim outside that zone, as they frequently do, they have absolutely no protection.
Although there has been considerable public outrage about the stingrays being kept at the dolphinarium, because there is no evidence that the four tagged rays were taken from the WIZ there is nothing to prevent the facility from keeping the six untagged rays.
Dolphin Discovery, as well as many other animal related businesses in Cayman, including the Turtle Farm, does not have a license to hold animals because the Department of Agriculture, inexplicably, is not enforcing the law, there is no possible sanction against the facility.
If the Animals Law was being enforced and the dolphinarium did have a license to hold these marine mammals, the acquisition of Stingrays would have required the facility to apply for a change of use license and the issue may have come to light sooner and created an opportunity for officials to refuse such a change and see all ten creatures released.
The recent situation has highlighted, once again, the inadequacy of current legislation and the failure of other government departments to protect wildlife in the Cayman Islands, despite the efforts of the DoE and the significance of Stingray City and the Sandbar to the wider tourism product.
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Category: Science and Nature
Let me get this right now, if the lobsters, conchs, whelks arn't tagged we can keep them in captivity. Good I'm turning my swimming pool into a snorkel lagoon. If any poor Caymanian had done this they would already be in Northward and trust me they would have found some existing law on the books to justify it.
If you take the lobster, conch or whelks during the season then fair game, if you take them out of season, they have a tank for you at HMP Northward.
Cayman should show its conviction to animal welfare by banning internal activities that are barred internationally under the CITES regime.
By which you mean ban the trade in turtle products?
So if I have this right…under the the laws as they stand… I can quite legally go out and catch all the stingrays I like and keep them in a tank for my amusement. No licence or permission required, but I am not allowed to remove a lionfish from the water without a licence and may not under any circumstances keep it in a tank for my amusement….licence or no licence…… Pretty messed up situation here…….
Come on Gene and Dale..this is ridiculous..You guys have done so well off these islands…
Your fathers would cringe at this …they didn't raise either of you this way..
What is shocking is according to the other news source, they claimed that 5 of the 6 rays left were male, and the manager had the balls to offer that we could swap 2 of the males for 2 females, so I guess he is playing hostage and negoiate, I don't know if this manager is just stupid or he really has nosense of when he should keep his mouth shut, just that statment proves they have no intenion on returning those rays to the wild, the DOE members should have just taken the rest by force and walked out.
This is just digusting and no joke Cayman we might need to relook at who we do business with in the future.
NHB
I hope that stingrays are not being taken from the Sandbar and Stingray City and exported to other countries that are interested in starting similar dive sites or who have operations similar to Dolphin Discovery.
WebSearch: Stingray Beach Cozumel
Nuff Said
Stingrays are abundant in Cozumel.
They are also very easy to train.
They are not exporting them.
Check out the pictures of some of the top ranked operators in Grand Cayman on trip advisor to see how to correctly handle stingrays and starfish !!
WHAT!?! 6 rays to remain? Call the RCIP! This is poaching. We PROSECUTE fishermen for taking too many conch and lobster, but are going to allow stingray poaching for zoos?
I THINK NOT….. helllooooo, DOE, RCIP, DOA- what LAWS are there against this?
Can anyone just go out to a random sandbar and keep a stingray as a pet? I'll convert my swimming pool.
That is the point. There is no law against takign stingrays unless you are caught, like the fisherman, poaching from a protected area. – Or haven't you been paying attention the last couple of weeks/months/years? If not, do a CNS search for National Conservation Law.
Ooh we can make our own law on that.
You want them returned….it's simple….Everyone just boycott the facility until theyare returned and we'll see them returned quick enough.
Do local people even visit that facility? I doubt they would feel a loss until cruise shippers boycott.
Good old gene gene giving Cayman a bad name as usual. He will never change. He is a disgrace to this island. Greed is a terrible thing.
Quote from the article : "Dolphin Discovery, as well as many other animal related businesses in Cayman, including the Turtle Farm, does not have a license to hold animals"
Why are they allowed to 'hold' any animals at all?
The conditions that these animals are held in are miserable, in my humble opinion(and they wonder why the hatch rate of the turtles is down!). The poor saltwater crocodile that was so sadly speared then prohibited from being relaeased back into the wild some years ago, because she has the misfortune of having been born a naturally-occuring hybrid, is especially sad to see. I have been to the facility once, and will not be going back.
It seems to me as though Dept. of Agriculture should be doing so much more for the welfare of these animals.
The proof is in the water in this case. It is obvious that dolphin abuse parks are on the decline as more and more peole are becoming aware of this abuse and their conscience is getting in the way of participating and/or supporting this in any way and look for other ways of being "educated".
As a result, operators of these hell holes are now seeking alternate ways to attract people to come throught the door in the hope to keep the doors open and as usual, the local applicable laws are with them in the same water. Regardless of who has actually the power to stop them from exploiting even more wild animals then they already do, they won't, because it looks bad as nobody wants to look like a fool by first allowing them to operate without a license at all, broken all the evironmental marine waste laws killing the corals and what not so theirs heads will therefore not come out of the sand and do what what is not only morally the right thing to do but also ignore the laws that have been written by themselves.
What took place here is nothing short of legal poaching the way they put it, you can catch them here, but not there. So on one side the stingrays get all the help they can get, whatever little bit that may be, and on the other side it is ok to kill and slaughter them for bait or do whatever you want witrh them.
Perhaps the most applicable explanation of law would be: The principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicableto its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
I don't think one has to be a lawyer to understand this.
Another example of the green trumping the blue. How there is no penalty in place borders on the absurd. Let's get our collective heads out of rather sizeable bottoms and right this wrong immediately. C'mon Cayman, start acting like we actually care about what is happening to the island.
For an island people that are famous for NOT doing any work your asking a lot. Unless you were being sarcastic. OK sorry I get it.
a story that sums up the nonsense & hypocrisy of the 'caymankind islands'
One particular Dolphin facility behaves disgracefully and you use it as an excuse lambast Cayman as a whole with lots of thumbs up from fellow expats. There is no wonder that there is a Caymanian/expat divide
there must be at least one aninmal abuse story a week highlighting the real 'caymankindness'….
does the truth hurt?
when are the dolphins going to be released?
Boycott this establishment until all the stingrays are released
Boycott? The local gymnastics place is hositng a family fundraiser there!!! Shame, shame, shame…..
The fund raiser is at
Dolphin Cove
NOT
at Dolphin Discovery.
last year the Cayman national team raised around $5k.
the team has come 1st, 2nd and 3rd in international events.
the Cayman national team has incredible success considering the small population.
kudos to the coaches and the owner for providing such a wonderful facility to the people of our country.
SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
Say what? The tagged rays were returned to the Sand Bar after the owners agreed to give up the creatures. They should've released all of them, not just those that were tagged. It could only happen in the Cayman Islands. We allow anybody and everybody to come here and dictate to us, it is time enough for us to run this country according to law,rules and principles, not by who we know or close connections (friends). If there is anyone who deserves a favour, the indigenous natives should fill the spot. If an indigenous Caymanian was found with rays in captivity, could someone tell me what would've been the end result?
The facility belongs to indigeous Caymanians – Gene Thompson and Dale Crighton, right? and whoever is on their Board. The manager is just being scapegoated.
"…we allow anybody and everybody to come here and dictate to us" etc etc ad nauseam ad infinitum all the time from idiotic posters.. Mentally challenged people like you, Tue 7:05, are what makes posters to this site go on and on about racism and anti expat stuff because you write such effing stupid inaccurate rubbish. The owners involved in this project are Mr Gene Thompson and Mr Dale Chrighton. Shall I repeat that, BOZO??. Ok, I won't. But perhaps even you know they are…GASP….BORN CAYMANIANS.
This sort of action on the facility part should be met with the appropriate action….1) DOE request the Stingrays be returned and 2) If ALL are not returned then boycott the fcaility until they do.
Simple.
If we are serious, boycott all the businesses the retail companies of Gene.
Divers Supply
Office Supply
Sports Supply
I am very glad that some of the rays have been returned to their proper & natural habitat & hope the others are also returned. What also concerns me is the fact that this “attraction” is holding captive dolphins. For anyone who is unaware of the plight of dolphins in captivity & the horrific process involved in capturing them, please watch the Academy award-winning documentary The Cove. Dolphins are highly intelligent, sentient beings that form complex pods & swim hundreds of miles per day. To capture these animals, rip them from their natural surroundings & destroy their pod all so humans can watch them perform ridiculous, unnatural trucks is nothing short of barbaric.
Shame Shame on the Owners of the Dolphin attraction that refuse to release the other s/rays.One would hope that they might feel some pressure to do so BUT I guess the almighty dollar will win this fight.Gentlemen I hope you sleep well at night knowing that what you are doing is WRONG regardless of whether or not there is a law to protect these creatures.Pity they are blind to the fact that the rays are so important to our tourism product and will do far more good in the wild than in their fancy Dolphin enclosures.For once in your lives do the right thing and RELEASE them.
How pathetic 4 released???? I see the National Trust too realizes the Hocus Pocus excuses that are being fed to the public, we can have all the laws in the world if no one will be man enough to enforce them what good are they?????? Dolphin Discovery should be closed down plain and simple.
This operation should be boycotted until they release all of the rays – hit the b@stards in the pocket, the only way they’ll listen
Their pockets will be hit when we tell all the cruise ship guests that they are going to the FAKE stingray city.