The following photographs were taken during a commercial captivity industry Dolphin transportation in late 1995. The facility and company will not be identified due to ongoing work.
Of four dolphins filmed at this facility in late 1995 only one is known to be alive today, (December 1996).
Shows a Dolphin tied by it's tail, in a transport box full of water, with no stretcher.
These are two seperate pictures showing a starved Dolphin taken in late 1995. This was one of two animals in the same condition. Audio recordings with staff clearly prove the dolphins were starved and not ill.
Shows the results of a long delay at an airport in 1995... two dead Dolphins.
While ECO will never support or agree with the captivity of cetaceans, my visit to the military dolphin facility in Sebastopol did, for the first time, give hope that it may be possible to work with those involved in the captivity industry. The people we met, from trainers to top ranking officers were, in the main, open and honest. Virtually nothing was hidden and I was allowed access to nearly every corner of the bases visited.
I was even allowed and encouraged to film and photograph, something I know would not happen in similar American or European facilities. Even though my hosts were aware of my opposition to cetacean captivity before they invited me, their warmth, hospitality and the genuine friendship extended has made a deep and lasting impression. All they asked in return was for a viable alternative to what they were doing, something which would be accepted by the international animal welfare and conservation community.
It is my personal opinion that the failure of the international NGO community, to provide a viable alternative to the commercial use of Black Sea dolphins, will lead to a growth in their capture and international trade. This will only benefit a few people who have discovered how lucrative dealing in marine mammals can be. The majority of those struggling to make a living in the former Soviet states will not receive any of the massive profits earned on the backs of captive marine mammals.
The Soviet military dolphin programme began in 1966 when the flagship of the Russian Navy mysteriously exploded in Sebastopol harbour. Enemy divers were blamed for the attack on the soviet fleet in it's supposedly secure harbour. The dolphin division of the Soviet Navy was then formed.
Military dolphins can be put into two basic classifications, "search and recovery" and "swimmer diversion". The latter title hides the more sinister use these highly intelligent and social animals which have been press-ganged into performing for their human masters.
Dolphin guards were trained and deployed, 2 in a cage, at strategic locations in and around Soviet military bases. While "on duty" the dolphin had a saddle attached to it's dorsal fin, and a nose cone fitted onto its beak with a detachable titanium clamp on the end. Dolphin guard pens are automatic in operation, once a swimmer is detected by the dolphins they press a button which opens a gate. At the same time it alerts a shore base who dispatch surface vessels and divers.
The dolphin guards swim upto the diver, on pushing into him the clamp snaps shut, it locks onto the swimmer and release from the nose cone. Underwater sonar buoys were located on the seabed and the dolphin activated the nearest one. A signal was then transmitted to the shore base who directed surface vessels to the location.
Dolphin and human guards then combine, while being towed by the dolphin naval divers attempt to apprehend the saboteur. The first priority is to take the swimmer alive for interrogation. However if they were unable to locate him, and to prevent escape, a small Co2 charge located in the clamp is activated by remote control. 3000 pounds of compressed air is then injected into the unfortunate swimmer, this I was assured, "would bring him to the surface." While the saboteur was dead, and so of no use for interrogation, such actions ensured he did not escape with any secrets.
Official American military sources deny the use of "killer dolphins". However ex-military dolphin trainers provide numerous insights into the lethal use America has made of their captive military dolphins. Some of these include single shot 9mm and 12 gauge nose cone guns and compressed air hypodermic needles. While the Soviets have been honest enough to admit their uses of cetaceans, America still tries to deny they have not kept pace with the "enemy"…believe that and you could believe Watergate, arms for Iraq etc, etc are also just fairy stories. I'm sure Bill Clinton would want to get "a head" of (or from) the opposition.
Other military uses of cetaceans include locating, marking and retrieving test fired weapons and locating lost or discarded munitions from previous wars. Dolphins and whales have been trained to use their sophisticated sonar to locate and retrieve. According to Soviet sources dolphin sonar can penetrate sand and mud to a depth of nearly 1 meter, something man made equipment is not yet capable of. The marine searchers can also distinguish between metallic objects and normal fauna/flora. They mark the location with buoys for later checking by divers, if located too deep camera's are fitted to nose cones. The deep diving capabilities, speed of deployment, flexibility and vastly superior sonar makes cetaceans a handy tool to have. Shame we can't ask them if they mind being abused in such ways…but some say we CAN!
According to scientists who have worked on human/cetacean communication projects, captive marine mammals have been taught to describe, in detail, what they have found and much, much more. A vocabulary of thousands of words has been learned by both human and cetacean. Unfortunately this "breakthrough" is classified as top secret, so only a few chosen people will be able to tell if the military dolphins and whales are truly happy in their "work."
The deployment of military marine animals is carried out in many ways. One method I was shown sent a shiver down my spine. Parachuting dolphins may be something many consider science fiction. But this method has not only been tried and tested, it is presently promoted as a potential saviour in marine disasters. Dropping a dolphin out of an aeroplane at a height of 3km must cause untold stress. For many humans such an act would elicit heart failure. Imagine the injuries and deaths suffered while this inhumane military experiment was being tested. Having seen the harness, examined the equipment and read their reports, I can only guess at the horrors. But again, we are asked to believe that such acts of abject cruelty should be accepted, because it could aid mankind. Dropping life rafts or other survival equipment would do more to reassure me after a shipwreck than seeing dolphins falling from the sky, or a fin speeding towards me.
The use of non domestic animals in warfare must be viewed with deep concern. Not only do we abuse the animals once they have been captured and kidnapped from their families in the wild. Once in captivity we turn them into lethal weapons, whether they want to co-operate or not! Why do they co-operate I hear some say, well if I were to be given free unhindered access to any human I feel confident that after a period of time they could be made compliant to my wishes. Dolphin trainers have been known to starve their animals into submission. Ex-navy trainers admit to physical abuse of their animals. Wrapping them in nets and solitary confinement is also described in military manuals. It has also been suggested that drug dependency has also been employed to ensure compliance with their masters demands.
Once deployed on "active service" military marine mammals unwittingly place every wild cetacean is at risk. Consider the options open to "opposing forces" once they learn military cetaceans have been deployed. Can they take the risk that the dolphin or whale swimming by does not have a mine attached to it, that it isn't going to report their location, that it may expose their attempts to infiltrate etc, etc…so they open fire…killing every single whale and dolphin they see. Does it matter if its military or wild….all's fair in love and war…unless you're a dolphin who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!
In November 1991 some members of the U.S Congress raised concerns over the military use of marine mammals. It was decided the programme should be terminated and the animals released. Imagine the shock of those earning their livings from these projects. Imagine the commercial captivity industries shock and horror at the thought of over a hundred captives being released. It would blow their unsubstantiated claims that captive cetaceans can never be rehabilitated right out of the water. The response was a very expensive conference organised by the navy, all were present. All that is except ANY voice of opposition to their plans to scupper the proposed releases.
These two photographs show military dolphins equipped and working.