“Keeping the whale shark at a hotel, which is not an educational or scientific institution, does not increase the potential for conservation of the wild population,” said environmentalists in an open letter on the whale shark kept at Atlantis.
Activists last year questioned the rationale for catching the shark, which the hotel said was sick and confused. Atlantis characterised the capture as a rescue. Atlantis since has remained silent. The controversy subsided by the end of November, after the opening of the opulent hotel.
Yesterday, a group of environmentalists tried to remind the public about the creature’s welfare by releasing an open letter to “the management and decision-makers” of the hotel.
Atlantis did not respond to media requests for comment.
The open letter was signed by Susan Lieberman, director of the global species programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature; Azzedine Downes, vice president of the International Fund for Animal Welfare; Habiba al Marashi, chairman of the Emirates Environmental Group; and Razan al Mubarak, managing director of the Emirates Wildlife Society.
Full open letter and media reports on wildsingapore news.
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