Dubai's dolphinarium

Dubai's dolphinarium — what the experts say.

The planned dolphinarium in Dubai's Creek Park has got many animal-lovers in a flap — but for experts the crucial issue is where it recruits its performers.

"The first question I would ask is where the dolphins are coming from," says Robert Baldwin, a marine mammal expert who worked in the UAE for many years before moving to Oman.

"Dolphin societies are quite complex," says Baldwin.

"Taking away a key member of a group, such as a mature female could compromise a population — so if the dolphins come from a wild population, it's important to know enough about that population to predict the effects of taking a member away."

"If the dolphins are captive-bred, I think it's much less of an issue," he says. "Although research does point to a lot of dolphins in captivity getting ill and dying."

"For me, if a dolphin is taken from the wild, you can't help but be emotionally affected — the procedure is horrific," says Laura Bates, a Dubai-based marine scientist.

"But if the dolphins are bred in captivity, and that's all they've even known, then it's almost impossible to consider releasing them into the wild," she says.

"There may even be some educational value to watching them — although I think you are just as likely to get that from observing dolphins from a beach."