The of whether we should allow marine parks to stay open has been widely debated in our community recently. It is an issue because it concerns fundamental moral and economic questions about the way we use our native wildlife. A variety of different arguments have been put forward about this issue. This will consider arguments for having marine parks and point to some of the problems with these views. It will then put forward reasons for the introduction of laws which prohibit these unnecessary and cruel institutions.

One in favour of dolphin parks is that they provide the only opportunity for much of the public to see marine mammals. Most people, so this argument goes, live in cities and never get to see these animals. It is claimed that marine parks allow them to appreciate marine wildlife.

, there are more places where dolphins, whales and seals can be seen in the wild than places where they can be seen in captivity. Moreover, the majority of animal lovers would have to travel less to get to these locations than they would to get to the marine parks. In , places where there are wild marine mammals do not charge an exorbitant entry fee - they are free.

In argument presented for marine parks, Dr. Agnes Tam (1993), the director of the Asian Marine Science Institute, contends that we need marine parks for scientific research. She argues that much of our knowledge of marine mammals comes from studies which has been undertaken at marine parks. This can be useful in the planning of conservation strategies for different species of marine mammals.

This is contended by Geraint Jones (1991) who explains that marine park research is only useful for understanding captive animals and is not useful for learning about animals in the wild. He points out that dolphin and whale biology changes in marine park conditions pointing out that their diets are different, they have significantly lower life spans and they are more prone to disease. In addition, marine mammals in dolphin parks are trained and this means that their patterns of social behavior are also altered. Therefore research at marine parks is generally not reliable.

A assertion made by supporters of marine parks concerns tourism. It is the contention of the Global Marine Park Association (2003) that marine parks attract a lot of foreign tourists. This position that these tourists spend a lot of money, increasing foreign exchange earnings, assisting national balance of payments and providing employment and prosperity for communities.

However, there is a as to whether foreign tourists would still visit places like Hong Kong for example if the marine centre at ocean Park was closed down. Most research seems to indicate that tourists rarely visit places because of this reason. In they are more likely to travel in order to see wildlife in its natural environment and not in cages and cement pools as they can often see animals in those conditions in their own countries.

The argument against these parks focuses on cruelty. The dolphins and whales in these parks are kept in very small, cramped pools, whereas in the wild they are used to roaming long distances across the seas. Furthermore, the concrete walls of the pools interfere with the animals' sonar systems of communication. In addition, keeping them in pools is a terrible restriction of the freedom of fellow creatures that may have very high levels of intelligence and a sophisticated language ability. Moreover, there are many documented cases of marine mammals helping humans in danger at sea or helping fisherman with their work.

As can be , there are a number of arguments both for and against marine parks. Those in favour include greater access to the public, for mammal research and as a tourist attraction whilst the opinions raised against dolphinariums include cruelty to the mammals, the inaccuracy of research data in such artificial environments and the fact that these beautiful animals are a greater attraction in the sea than in a pool.

From my own point of , I strongly that these parks should be closed, or at the very least, no new animals should be captured for marine parks in the future. Society should no longer be prepared to tolerate unnecessary cruelty to animals for science and entertainment. If we continue with our past crimes against these creatures we will be remembered as cruel and inhuman by the generations of the future.