Bangkok--14 Nov--BRAINASIA COMMUNICATION
The Regent's Schools, Thailand’s leading school of holistic education where students are educated to have a good head and a good heart, founded by Dr. Virachai Techavijit, welcomes Mr. Richard O’Barry, the Oscar award winner and campaigner to free captive dolphins. His special trip to Pattaya aims at presenting knowledge on dolphins which are one of the most intelligent species on Earth and the plight of dolphins in captivity, to Thai society. Moreover he has joined hands with The Regent’s School in launching Save the Sea & Free Dolphins Project initiated by students of The Regent’s School which will be a network to his Dolphins Project. Moreover ,he will compile public and supporters’ signatures on “Say No To Dolphin Captures ” cards to the Prime Minister Miss Yingluck Shinawatra.
Richard "Ric" O'Barry (born c. 1939 in Florida) is an American first recognized in the 1960s for capturing and training the five dolphins that were used in the well-known TV series Flipper. O'Barry made a radical transition from training dolphins in captivity to assertively combating the captivity industry soon after Kathy, one of the Flipper dolphins, died, committing suicide in his arms, according to O'Barry . In 1970 he founded the Dolphin Project, a group that aims to educate the public about captivity and, where feasible, free captive dolphins. He was featured in the Academy Award-winning film, The Cove (2009), which used covert techniques to expose the yearly dolphin drive hunting that goes on in Taiji, Japan.
Richard O’Barry mentioned his work on both sides of Dolphin Street, “I started out capturing and training dolphins for the Miami Seaquarium and through the 1960s became the head trainer for the five dolphins who collectively played Flipper on the popular American TV show. When Kathy, the dolphin who most often played Flipper, died in my arms, I realized that capturing, displaying and training dolphins to perform tricks was wrong. On Earth Day in 1970 I founded The Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the plight of dolphins in captivity. I also pioneered work to demonstrate rehabilitation and release as a viable alternative for captive dolphins. We have since rescued and released many captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, The Bahamas and the United States. “
For the last 40+ years he has shared his first hand knowledge of the harmful effects of captivity on dolphins at numerous lectures and conferences around the world. In 1991 in recognition of his contribution to the protection of dolphins O’Barry received an Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program. In 2007 he became a marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute and director of the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign. Working with Save Japan Dolphins, O’Barry leads an international effort to stop the killing of dolphins, end the trafficking in live dolphins to theme parks and captive swim-with-the-dolphins attractions and continues to lecture and speak out against the captivity industry.
O’Barry described on nature and behaviour of dolphins; “ They are social ,living in pods of up to a dozen individuals and some area with high food abundance forming a superpod; such groupings may exceed 1,000 dolphins. And they can hear frequencies ten times or more above the upper limit of adult human hearing. Hearing is also used for echolocation. Dolphins have naturally smiling face like elephants .But behind the dolphins’smile in the show or Fun Park ,it is torture of marine animals.” He asked Thai society not to buy tickets to dolphins’shows as it support dolphin capture and trade. During the shows ,dolphins have to suffer doing things their master wants and after the shows ,they are usually kept in tanks or concrete blocks .Any loud noises may be harmful to dolphins, increasing stress, damaging hearing, and causing decompression sickness.
O’Barry is featured in the Academy Award winning documentary film The Cove, which brought the world’s attention to the hidden connection between the killing, capture, trade and display of dolphins all over the world. O’Barry and his son Lincoln are also behind the Blood Dolphins TV show for Discovery’s Animal Planet, which continues on where The Cove left off.
Dr. Virachai Techavijit, Chairman of the Regent's Schools, said “We are honored to welcome Mr. Richard O’Barry, the Oscar winner who has devoted himself to free captive dolphins from killing, trade and shows. This is a good opportunity for youth and the Thai community to know more about this marine mammal and to free them to their ocean home. Mr. Richard O’Barry’s presentation through The Cove film and lectures have inspired his audiences’ awareness of dolphins conservation which will lead to reducing the threat of sea creatures and better marine resources management. The Regent’s School of Pattaya ACRES group (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society), which works on studying animal life in the environment together with the young Gold Fish Plc., the model company doing business for society will launch the project ofSave the Sea & Free Dolphins in Thailand. The Regent’s School is ready to support educating students and communities on dolphins and sea creatures conservation, creating awareness for the students to cherish the environment and help maintain and restore marine resources. Education will help the survival of the dolphin population which is an index indicating the abundance of our marine ecosystems.”
O’Barry is co-author of three books, Behind the Dolphin Smile, To Free a Dolphin (both with Keith Colbourne) and most recently Die Bucht about dolphins and the making of The Cove published in Germany with Hans Peter Roth. Richard O’Barry is a Fellow National in the Explorers Club and he lives with his wife and daughter in both Denmark and Miami.
Today, O'Barry is the Marine Mammal Specialist for Earth Island Institute and Director of the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign www.savejapandolphins.org. To recognize his contribution, in 1991 O’Barry received the 'Environmental Achievement Award' presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program (US/UNEP).
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