The National Aquarium opened its marine mammal pavilion in 1990. Seven of our nine Atlantic bottlenose dolphins were born in American aquariums, six of which were born right here at the National Aquarium. Two were collected in the late '70s or early '80s from U.S. waters by other aquariums when the practice was still approved by the U.S. government agencies.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about the inhumane killing of dolphins that occurs during the Japanese drive fisheries, and it has created some confusion: none of our animals were acquired this way—we do not support, fund, or acquire animals from these drives, and neither do any other zoos or aquariums in the U.S. that are accredited, like we are, by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.
We are opposed to the inhumane slaughter of dolphins and applaud the creators of "The Cove" for raising public awareness of this terrible practice. Join the National Aquarium and other zoos and aquariums around the U.S. to ACT FOR DOLPHINS and speak out against it. Go to http://www.actfordolphins.org/ and make your voice heard!
