October 23, 2007
Belize Swim-with-the-Dolphins Attractions
Update, August 2010: The dolphinarium in Belize, operated by the Hugh Parkey Foundation, was closed in 2008 when the dolphins who had been imported from Honduras were returned there because the facility needed additional construction done. As of August 2010, the facility was still non-operational.
There is bad news from Belize. The situation: The Hugh Parkey Foundation, a Belizean conservation organization, was founded in 2003 by Teresa Parkey. Teresa is the widow of Hugh Parkey, a diver and explorer who was much admired in Belize. Unfortunately, Teresa Parkey was persuaded by a dolphinarium in Honduras, Anthony's Key Resort, to finance the environmental education center she wished to establish in her husband's name—a laudable project—with the proceeds from a swim-with-the-dolphins attraction. A concerted effort by local and international NGOs, including the Belize Audubon Society and HSI, failed to convince her that these two operations were not ethically consistent. The government permitted the dolphinarium to be built—requiring the dredging of a mangrove area—on Spanish Caye, adjacent to the education center, and it opened for business in 2006, exhibiting four captive-born dolphins imported from Honduras.