We, the people of Turks and Caicos, are proud of our natural islands. They are our brand - Beautiful By Nature.
We are also very proud of the proactive laws our country created to protect Marine Mammals, and our islands, from the importation and abuse of Marine Mammals like dolphins, whales, sea lions and the like.
So we were not worried when, recently, a Business License was granted to a group looking to establish a captive dolphin 'swim with the dolphins' facility. We and the dolphins -- including our resident wild dolphin, JoJo -- are protected by such a thing by the laws of our country.
And again, we were not worried when a company applied for planning permission to establish what appears to be an ill conceived prison for dolphins on Providenciales -- again, our laws protect us against such a thing.
And then our Governor -- a man appointed by the United Kingdom to 'fix' our country -- made unilateral changes to the law that would allow for the importation of marine mammals for the purpose of 'display, exhibition and performance.'
This unilateral change to our laws goes against everything about Turks and Caicos. It flies in the face of the brand that our country has spent decades building and it ignores the cruel realities of dolphinariums and attractions.
Please support our cause and help us prevent the wild capture, abuse, forced performance and imprisonment of dolphins, whales and other marine mammals.
