Nadine Chandrawinata Calls for Ban on Use of Dolphins in Circuses
31 October 2017 13:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Marine tourism ambassador Nadine Chandrawinata has called on a ban on the use of dolphins in traveling circuses.
“Dolphins should live in the ocean, not in traveling circuses,” Nadine Chandrawinata said in South Jakarta last week.
The actress once went undercover to get into a traveling circus area and observe how the animals were treated. She, among others, found out that the concentration of calcium hypochlorite in the water container where the dolphins lived was high.
The dolphins also stayed in a small pond. Their vision got worse and the skin had changed color.
Nadine said that dolphins that live in circuses on average have a shorter life expectancy at only 7 years compared to those living in the ocean that can live up to 40 years.
The 33-year-old woman believes that the use of dolphins in traveling circuses ought to be stopped. She has asked for help from Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar to issue regulations that ban the practice. As a result, a new policy will be issued in less than 6 months.
As she waits for the new regulation, Nadine Chandrawinata is collaborating with not-for-profit organizations, such as change.org and WWF, designer groups and musicians to voice their opposition to the use of dolphins in traveling circuses. “Let them speak up and voice their concerns over dolphins with their own ways,” Nadine said.
JENNY WIRAHADI