Richard O’Barry

Richard O’Barry Instagram – A new blog by Helene O’Barry on our website: DolphinProject.com It’s about a momma dolphin named Veera who was captured in Pine Island, Florida by Jay Sweeney and Dolphin Research Center (DRC). The dolphins were trucked from the capture site to DRC for training. They were being prepared for a job in show business. Eventually, Veera and the other victims were trafficked to Finland by Sweeney and DRC. We met Veera years earlier in Finland during a protest. Veera and I are both Floridians. In this video she is in a small stadium tank at the Attica Zoo in Greece—this was before she was shipped off to yet another concrete tank in Europe. Diehard dolphin trainer, Steve McCulloch of Dolphins Plus, a “swim with captive dolphins” tourist trap in Key Largo. McCulloch hauled the dolphins into Greece from Finland. My family and I were at the Attica Zoo attending meetings with the owners to discuss the possibility of creating a sanctuary in Crete, Greece for Veera and the others. And while we were trying to empty the tanks at the zoo and create a proper sanctuary, McCulloch was there earlier filling the same tanks with yet more captive dolphins. Back in the 1980’s Jay Sweeney and DRC worked together on capturing, selling, training and the trafficking of Florida dolphins to Europe. All of the original captive dolphins in Europe came from Florida or Cuba. These are warm water dolphins. Veera was eventually shipped out of the Attica Zoo, dragged kicking and screaming to yet another concrete tank, this time in Italy—separating mother and son forever. Veera died less than a year later in the last concrete tank that would hold her. Call me anthropomorphic, but I believe Verra died of a broken heart. 💔 Veera’s son is still in the Attica Zoo stadium preforming for tourists even though animal shows are banned in Greece. Veera should never have been separated from her child. Actually, she should never have been captured by DRC and Sweeney. Shame on Sweeney. Shame on DRC. Shame on the Attica Zoo. Shame on McCulloch, and all the sleazy dolphin dealers who fly under the radar while shuffling dolphins from tank to tank. #emptythetanksworldwide. *Helene’s BLOG at DolphinProject.com | Posted on 11/Jan/2024 02:07:00