They don't like it, and you could be hurt. By nature, dolphins are unsuited for captivity, and our desire to swim with them only contributes to their suffering. Dolphins forced to swim with humans have demonstrated agitated and aggressive behavior during these forced interactions.

Swim with the dolphin (SWTD) programs have become increasingly popular; 18 facilities offer this activity in the United States. By contrast, the Caribbean has seen a giant increase in the construction and operation of SWTD facilities in the past decade. Existing or planned SWTD facilities are already in many Caribbean nations, including the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.

Many of the customers who visit these programs in the Caribbean are Americans. Because U.S. facilities usually have greater financial resources, meet minimum standards for care and maintenance, and are often considered "state of the art," many Americans have enjoyed the fantasy of connecting with these wonderful creatures, and have therefore sought out SWTD facilities in other areas in the world. However, playing into these fantasies causes great harm.

The very nature of dolphins makes them unsuited to confinement. In the wild, dolphins live in large groups or pods, often in tight family units. Social bonds often last for many years. In some species, they last for a lifetime.

The sea is to dolphins what the air is to birds—a three-dimensional environment where they move up and down and side to side. Dolphins are always swimming, even when "asleep," and they are always conscious. You can imagine the tragedy of keeping these ocean creatures in captivity. Unfortunately, Americans who love dolphins are unwittingly contributing to the animals' inhumane treatment.

Many foreign SWTD facilities acquire or plan to acquire their dolphins from wild captures. Mexico recently enacted a moratorium on wild dolphin captures, which came after a widely publicized and poorly executed capture in December 2000 in which several dolphins were left bruised and bleeding. In fact, one dolphin died five weeks later after being wrested from her home in Magdalena Bay, Baja, California, and put in a pen in La Paz, Mexico. Japan captures dolphins in brutal drive fisheries, where pods of dolphins are herded to shore using boats and loud noise. A select few are sold to dolphin exhibits in Asia and the South Pacific; the rest are slaughtered for their meat.

SWTD programs also pose risks for the swimmers. Dolphins in SWTD programs have demonstrated agitated and aggressive behavior during forced interactions. These behaviors have resulted in serious physical injury to swimmers, including lacerations, tooth rakes, internal injuries, broken bones, and shock.

The Humane Society of the United States opposes the capture of all marine mammals from the wild for any type of public display or entertainment. We believe SWTD programs, even under strict regulation, pose an immediate threat to the safety of human and dolphin participants. For more information about captive marine mammals, call 202-452-1100; or write The HSUS, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20037 and ask for our book, The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity.