A campaign by a coalition of marine mammal scientists and animal protection NGOs has successfully ended the filming of a new reality TV show, “Dolphins with the Stars” in Portugal.
 
The show, which tasks celebrities to train individual captive dolphins to perform choreographed routines and tricks before live audiences, has angered the Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition that works tirelessly to end the exploitation of dolphins and whales in captivity. Already broadcast in Lithuania and currently being filmed for broadcast in Portugal, the TV programme concept of “Dolphins with the Stars” has reportedly been sold across Europe.
 
Margaux Dodds, spokesperson for the Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition explained, “It is deeply concerning to find that dolphins would be used in a TV reality show. There are regulations in place relating to the welfare of captive animals and in this case we sincerely believe that both national laws and regulations laid out by the captivity industry themselves were contravened on this occasion. Dolphinaria-Free Europe immediately approached the relevant authorities voicing our concern about Zoomarine allowing this show to be filmed at the facility, and we are delighted with news received that the Portuguese broadcasters SIC have taken the decision to suspend this show pending further investigations.”
 
The Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition will continue to monitor the situation and act in the interests of the captive dolphins should Portugal, or another Europe country choose to broadcast “Dolphins with the Stars”.