the strip:

Animal rights groups try to halt Mirage from importing dolphins

Groups filed complaint prior to last week’s death of dolphin Sgt. Pepper

Justin M. Bowen

Sgt. Pepper (right) swims with his mother Dutchess in September 2008 at the Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Sgt. Pepper died Wednesday June 3, 2009 of complications from a lung infection.

By Amanda Finnegan (contact)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | 1:50 p.m.

The Mirage's newest addition (Sept. 2008)

You need to upgrade your Flash Player

Mirage dolphin dies from lung infection complications (6-4-2009)

In the days before a dolphin named Sgt. Pepper died last week at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, two animal rights organizations had filed a complaint against the Mirage’s request to import two more dolphins for its habitat.

Part of the complaint, ironically, said more dolphins shouldn't be brought in because other dolphins had died in the past at the habitat, which the two groups claim is being used as a money-making entertainment enterprise, rather than for educational or conservation purposes.

On April 15, the Mirage placed an application with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service to import two captive Atlantic bottlenose dolphins — one female and one male — from Bermuda for breeding purposes. (See the Mirage application)

Animal rights organizations Born Free USA and The World Society for the Protection of Animals filed a complaint against the Mirage’s petition to import during the NMFS month-long public comment period, citing the lack of educational and conservation value and the compromising of animal welfare. (Letter sent by Born Free and The World Society for the Protection of Animals)

MGM Mirage spokesperson Gordon Absher said the purpose of the breeding would be to increase the habitat’s number of dolphins “to continue our study and research” at the dolphin habitat.

“As with every endangered or protected animal, the more we can observe and the better we can understand their situation in the wild,” Absher said.

But animal rights activists see a different motive for the Mirage's request — it wants more dolphins solely to produce a profit, says Born Free senior program associate Monica Engebretson.

“They want additional performers and they want to try to breed new performers. Of course baby dolphins are especially attractive to people so they like to have that constant,” Engebretson said.

The Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden Web site cites the dolphin habitat’s purpose “is to provide a healthy and nurturing environment for dolphins, as well as to educate the public about marine mammals and their environment” where guests can “see the dolphins in a naturalistic environment, exhibiting natural behaviors.”

The Born Free and WSPA letter disputes those statements. Their complaint says “The educational information provided by The Mirage … Web site is little more than thinly veiled public relations propaganda disguised as education, consisting of superficial taxonomic information and vague references to conservation.”

The Web site for the Mirage’s dolphin habitat says it hosts educational programs for K-12 students, guided tours throughout the day and a “trainer for a day” program where visitors are given an opportunity to play, train and feed the dolphins.

According to the Importation for Display or Research criteria (Sec. 104) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a facility requesting importation of marine animals for display must “offer a program for education or conservation purposes that is based on professionally recognized standards of the public display community.”

Engbretson says that's not the case at the Mirage.

“More of their research has to do with how to keep dolphins in captivity, which has nothing to do with conservation, it has to do with entertainment. They’ve already demonstrated that they can’t keep dolphins in alive in their tank,” Engebretson said.

Two-year-old Sgt. Pepper died Thursday of complications of a lung infection. MGM Mirage spokesperson Monet said the Mirage’s animal care staff and veterinarians had been actively treating Sgt. Pepper for the lung infection for months after being diagnosed in December 2008. A necropsy will be performed on Sgt. Pepper to determine further information on his death.

Sgt. Pepper was the 14th to die at the Mirage dolphin habitat since the attraction opened in 1990. Five of the 14 dolphins were stillborns or died shortly after birth.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has initiated an investigation into the latest dolphin death at the Mirage, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The department completed an investigation into the death of Sage last year and the results of lab tests were "inconclusive," the USDA report said. There is no enforcement action planned from the 2008 death investigation, the spokeswoman said.

Though the date of import stated in the Mirage’s petition was June 1, the NMFS has not yet approved the request.

The animal care team at the Mirage said the death of Sgt. Pepper should not slow the application process unless NMFS find issues at the facility that need to be investigated.

The Mirage imported Lighting, Sgt. Pepper’s father, from a captivity facility in Florida more than three years ago.

Sun reporter Mary Manning contributed to this report.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By CynicalObserver

6/10/09 at 5:04 p.m.

Suggest removal

Pretty fishy. No return address, phone number or email address for the two groups whose signators claim are objecting to this permit for the Mirage.

I like mammals as well as the next person.

However, there are a lot of shadowy "animal rights" and "vegetarian/animal rights" groups operating in the United States, many of them funded by the daughter of a now-deceased criminal lawyer who defended many mafiosa of old and who the Dept. of Labor said controlled a very large union pension fund which lent money to Strip Casinos in Las Vegas mob hey day.

Old timers know who I'm talking about, and would be shocked to hear what daughter dear is up to with money inherited from mom and dad.

It's nice to use money inherited from dirty daddy to save the animals. However, by having minions do it using front groups, deceptive tactics, sophisticated public relations campaigns, and when all else fails using strong arm tactics like daddy taught his junior consigliere, the public and the U.S. Government need to know who is behind all of the cloak and dagger animal rights manipulations.
By NevadaFive

6/10/09 at 8:24 p.m.

Suggest removal

I can only say how "calm" I am when a picture or a video of the now decrepted Mr. Horn flashes across the tv screen. You play with fire - you get burned. It is a shame his suffering was so brief as it gives incentive to others to follow in his footsteps in torturing wild animals for fun and profit. It's right up there next to kiddie-porn.

Keep the dolphins where they belong - in the oceans! NOT, in the middle of the desert.

Perhaps Mr. Horn and his partner will see the light of their "entertainment."
By Brianlv

6/10/09 at 9:33 p.m.

Suggest removal

Having been behind the scenes at the dolphin habitat and secret garden. I can assure everyone that all the animals are well taken care of. The amount of attention given all of the animals whether dolphin or tiger is abundant. I've heard people say that the care given is better than a lot of zoo's or aquariums give.

Having known the people that staff the dolphin habitat, no one was more heart broken than they were over the death of Sgt Pepper.
By NevadaFive

6/10/09 at 11:20 p.m.

Suggest removal

I rarely get so angry as to post as I did earlier this evening. I do not want any more ill to befall Mr. Horn. My hope is he can live for a long time - BUT get out of the animal torture business.

To Brianlv: whilst you may have been "behind the scenes" at the habitat and the animals are "well taken care of" - they are NOT domesticated like cats and most dogs. I am not convinced they are somehow better served at the Mirage - then being in their own natural habitat.

I abhor places like Marineland - and I visited there in 1961 as a little boy - and could not get out of there fast enough and never went back. I think its called Sea World or something like that now. Ditto for the Bronx Zoo and the San Diego Zoo. While such places may assist humans to understand more about the animal world and in some regards - necessary for research - it's not a place for fun and profit. The Mirage is purely for profit. Put young, naked women in the tanks instead - that's fun and profitable. The "Mermaid Habitat" - sounds good to me. Or, being politically correct - throw in some guys, too. I mean not all of us are attracted to the opposite sex, eh?
By Brianlv

6/11/09 at 6:22 p.m.

Suggest removal

NevadaFive- All the dolphins were born in captivity. You don't like zoos or aquariums, thats your right but I honestly believe that if people didn't get to see these animals close up that they would care even less about the survival of the animals in the wild. Also the white tigers and lions would be extinct without facilities that keep them going. They would have been hunted into oblivion a long time ago.

Also to say that Mr. Horn "tortures" those animals really shows that you don't know what you are talking about. You obviously have no experience with animals if you think those animals are being tortured. Those cats do exactly what cats in the wild do; eat, poop, and sleep 18hrs a day.
By GreggGervais

7/10/09 at 8:26 a.m.

Suggest removal

Brianlv, perhaps you are the one who doesn't know what you are talking about.

White tigers and lions are not a species, not even a subspecies, but produced by a rare genetic trait. There is no reason whatsoever to protect these animals specifically from "going extinct" because they are just regular lions and tigers with a rare coloring. By protecting all lions and tigers you are protecting the chance there will be white ones.

Occasionally you see white buffalo in the American West but nobody is clamoring to start breeding them to save them from extinction because it's understood it's just a genetic fluke. To suggest we are doing white lions and tigers a favor by breeding them in captivity is ludicrous. They are extremely rare in the wild in the first place and there is no reason why humans would need to artificially keep the trait going in order to somehow better the ecosystem.

Also, as NevadaFive has said, these animals are not domesticated. They do not benefit from human companionship like a dog or a cat might. Dolphins especially are very intelligent, and benefit from the stimulation found in their natural environments.

Finally, maybe keeping all these animals in captivity isn't causing people to care more about them, but causing them to see animals as commodities, toys or playthings with no value beyond entertainment and display.
By Scott_C

7/10/09 at 9:48 a.m.

Suggest removal

Brianlv, you really shouldn't speak on topics you know little to nothing about.
Having ANY animal in captivity for entertainment purposes is wholly contrary to conservation of that animal species in the wild - it is now a scientifically proven fact.
Tigers for example, have greater numbers (approx. 7000) in captivity WITHIN the US, than the entire wild population, so what does that say about their survival by being captive.
The current plight of captive animals, especially dolphins, who are considering not only the most intelligent animal in the marine environment, but also one of the most intelligent animals in the world is well documented by the lack of "research" from zoos and aquariums across the world.
Imagine being one of the smartest humans in the world, and being relegated to a studio for the rest of your life with constant noise and distractions, with the same chemically treated air circulating throughout, all day, every day. Oh and add the fact that you would have no toilet in which to eliminate waste from within your captive environment, and then give us your expert opinion.
Google Richard O'Barry, the trainer for the original 5 dolphins who portrayed Flipper, and see what you find. His expertise and background should be enough for any uninformed visitor to learn that their participation in captive animal attractions, is only encouraging those industries to continue in their support of demeaning, endangering and eradicating these animals from their natural behaviors and way(s) of life.
By Scott_C

7/10/09 at 10:29 a.m.

Suggest removal

And CynicalObserver, who really cares where the money comes from in regards to funding animal rights or veg/animal rights issues because at their core, they are humanity issues for ALL living species, of which humans are only 1/3.
You want to talk about front groups, deceptive tactics, and sophisticated public relations campaigns, then one has to look no further than the tobacco, alcohol or oil/gas industries!
None of which by the way, do one bit of good for the breadth of humanity, but on the contrary cost us billions in dollars due to health and insurance costs & issues, pollution of land, air and water sources and the degradation of our natural lands (which our tax dollars pay for) and are meant for future generations.
Cloak & dagger animal rights manipulations that the US Government needs to know about? Seriously, please...they are so "scared" of animal and environmental rights groups that they've enacted (more like sneaked)legislation through that eliminates First Amendment Constitutional Rights and has enabled the use of 'terrorism enhancement' charges to be placed on unselfish individuals whose "crimes" are unjustly prosecuted in relation to other violent, racially motivated acts which have actually caused loss of life or injury - something that has never happened in the history of animal and environmental protection. And solely for pushing a political and corporate agenda to instill fear and chill dissent - much like the Red Scare of the McCarthy era.
And if you want to talk about deceptive funding and front groups, one has to look no further than The Center for Consumer Freedom, which Rick Berman is the head of and which was formed by Philip Morris, has been directly linked to funding terrorist groups including al Queda!
By Pinkdolphin57

7/10/09 at 10:56 a.m.

Suggest removal

Starting with CynicalObserver-not being a mafia history buff puts me at a disadvantage...forget there ever were any animal activist groups-wild animals/mammals belong in the wild, where they were BEFORE someone of the "human race" placed them in captivity. Brianlv: it doesn't matter that those dolphins were born in captivity, they don't belong there. I'm not a scientist, oceanographer or anywhere close but I think those kinds of people observe animals/mammals in their native habitat for educational and other purposes. That should be good enough.