St. Maarten Private Eye

The planned Dolphinarium is clearly something many people oppose, the problem is that St. Maarten is small and there is clearly a fear of political persecution or intimidation amongst people opposed to this project. If you stick your neck up too high or make too much noise then theres a good chance you will suffer somehow in the future for it, the fact that most of those opposed are "foreigners" and most of the locals are unconcerned about the issue doesn't help much.

The person who stands out most in this whole issue and has bravely decided to take a stand is a lone warrior, Mercedes De Windt. Mercedes is Antillian and she is fearless and relentless in her opposition to this project, she writes letters to the government and the local press and she keeps in contact with various Animal rights and welfare organizations around the World. She deserves commendations and she absolutely deserves the help of all those opposed to the establishment of a Dolphinarium in St. Maarten.

The Saga of the Dolphinarium really started about 2 years ago when Theo Heyliger, (Commissioner of Tourism) floated the idea in the local press. Clearly he and his backers did not expect the opposition they encountered and a retreat was made using excuses such as "studies still have to be made". The opposition relaxed, thinking that any planning and studies would include their input and expertise, as any normal democratic thinking person might. This was not to be.

For a while the project disappeared from public view and thought, but not elsewhere. Behind the scenes deals were being made, plans being drawn and a program to counter the opposition launched. Flipper has it from an insider that some members of one of the animal foundations were actually good friends with Theo and his circle, in fact a relation of one of them was in line for a good job at the planned park. On top of this, both the Animals R Friends and Animal Welfare Foundation have been promised a small piece of land by government to build a shelter, it is not clear if this is the same piece of land but it probably is. I'm not saying that these two Foundations are corrupted or influenced by this offer because I know both are firmly against the Dolphinarium, it's just that it is an example of how the other side play. The other thing is that all these foundations are seeking to have legistlation enacted, they know if they get too vocal or proactive then doors will close to them. It is interesting to note that the AWF has been promised this piece of land for many years now, at least a decade.

Another example is how the Tourism Office recently sent over 200 children to the Dolphin Fantasies park in Anguilla on a "fact finding" project, no ulterior motives there right Theo?

I don't have all the details, but I also understand that the Netherlands Antilles have opted out of certain clauses in the CITES treaty allowing the importation of wild dolphins and the establishment of such parks. Does anyone know more and care to explain it?

The planning continued, the government Departments were bought into line and the NGO's and local professionals were shut out and not consulted. Mercedes sent many letters requesting information but little was forthcoming. Then, mid February early in the morning, a big brown envelope was dropped off anonymously at The Daily Herald, inside were the Dolphinarium Plans, over 500 pages I understand. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of these plans, however the Daily Herald revealed some of the key points in this article.

We will examine this article and the information revealed in my next post as time runs short for me now. We will also look at how you, if you oppose this project, can help. For the moment if you wish to help immediately then the biggest need that Mercedes has is funds. She does have documentaries that can be shown on local TV such as this one but it costs to get them played, also an organised media campaign in the way of informational articles and advertisements could be created. The end result of this will be to encourage those opposed to speak out and to confront individuals, organizations and companies where they stand on the issue. If for example you knew Maduro and Sons supported the project would you give them your business? The only way to stop this project is to have an organised resistance and to play a little dirty if that's what you want to call it.

Mercedes De Windt can be reached here: almewi@caribserve.net

Other articles found online relating to the Dolphinarium project on St. Marten can be found here and here. You can read about Atlantida here and about how on March 24th Dolphin Discoveries butted into the issue here. The Nature Foundation opposition can be found here. Traveltalk Online have a discussion going on here.

Flipper

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