For Anyone Interested in the Wildlife of the U.K.
The number of people who want to swim with dolphins is at an all time high, fuelled in part by a spate of TV programmes showing TV personalities getting in the water with them. The programmes reveal how friendly dolphins can be, and as a result many people now want to experience this for themselves. If you've ever thought how great it would be to swim with dolphins read on...
An understandable love for dolphins may encourage people to want to get close to them. This desire may stem from the belief that close contact with these special animals can provide, at the very least, a release from day-to-day stresses and boredom and, at the other extreme, some sort of alleged miracle cure for physical / mental illness / disability. Such beliefs have helped encourage the growth of "Swim with Dolphins" interaction programmes by both commercial interests and alternative therapists.
This popularity has resulted in dolphins being cruelly taken from the wild and kept in captivity, purely for our entertainment and the "swimming with dolphins" experience. It's become a multi-million pound industry generating huge profits for the owners. Before booking a swimming with dolphins experience be sure to find out how the dolphins arrived at the resort you choose.
Swimming with Wild Dolphins
It's important to remember that the dolphins which swim around the coast of Britain and Ireland are wild animals. Although they will allow us to get very close to them, their actions can be unpredictable. While we may get a short term fun fix from being in the water with them, they may not see things the same way. They're trying their best to survive in less than perfect seawater and competing for less and less fish against trawlers which have nets big enough to swallow a jumbo jet.
Dolphin numbers are not what they used to be. In fact it's amazing there are any dolphins here at all. The reason for their decline is as a direct result of human activities, so it's really our responsibility, and altogether much kinder, to just give them some space and appreciate them from a distance.
Instead of riding on the back of a wild dolphin as if it were some sort of theme park attraction, consider taking a dolphin watching safari instead. You'll still get close to the dolphins, but without totally freaking them out. In case you're wondering we're not connected with any boat operators and we receive no commission for recommending them.
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