Cruel beyond belief, readers say

Dubai: When it stumbled into the shallow waters off Atlantis hotel, little did "Sammy the Shark" know that trespassing would land it into a glass-walled cage. But is it time for amnesty?

Gulf News readers think so. They demand so. Each of them who spoke to the newspaper said the same thing: "Free Sammy!"

Residents around the UAE are pressurising Atlantis hotel to release the whale shark from the aquarium in which it was placed recently.

Originally held back for medical care and observation, Sammy is now undergoing 24-hour monitoring by the hotel authorities, to gather data on swim patterns, feeding and behaviour.

However, such news did not go down well with most Gulf News readers.

Michele Al Khatib, an active diver and Sharjah resident, said in her Web post on www.gulfnews.com that the hotel's objectives seemed contradictory.

She said: "The whale shark is being kept in an artificial tank, so what data could be gathered on swim patterns and feeding behaviour?"

Phil, a Dubai resident, wrote in with a similar reservation. He said the behaviour of "such gentle creatures" could not be ascertained "if they are not monitored in their natural habitat".

Cathy Pickering, a Gulf News reader said: "To keep such a giant creature in a tank is cruel beyond belief."

According to Pickering, no amount of ready food supply or medical care can replace "the open waters of its natural habitat".

The fact that the whale shark is listed under "vulnerable" species by the World Conservation Union, adds to the urgent need for Sammy to be returned to the ocean.

For Gulf News reader Adel Khatib, the co-owner of Arabian Diver, a scuba diving and sailing excursions organisation based in Ras Al Khaimah, the issue was clear-cut.

He said: "Unlike domestic pets, whale sharks cannot be conditioned to remain in such an artificial environment." As a regular diver, he added he was against keeping marine animals in captivity for longer than necessary.

With petitions springing up on social networking Web sites such as Facebook, residents around the UAE are joining the protest against the continued captivity of Sammy the Shark.

Chindhu Ravindran, an Indian expatriate, said he would join such petitions if it would help ensure the freedom of innocent animals.

Growing awareness

Two community groups have been formed on the social networking website Facebook to support the release of "Sammy the Shark", who was captured in UAE waters and placed in the Atlantis hotel aquarium, initially, for medical care.

The two groups are "Free the Palm Atlantis Whale Shark!" and "Set the Whale Shark free from the Atlantis aquarium Dubai".

Together, they comprise more than 600 members, with new voices from within the UAE and the international community adding their support by the hour. The groups are hosting forums to find solutions to free the four-metre-long juvenile whale shark.

"We need to have this magnificent baby female whale shark released so that it could live and breed in its natural habitat," one of the group members said. A petition is also being planned by the groups to create awareness among people across the UAE.