Legal measures to protect dolphins in dolphinarium: a comparative study of foreign and Thai laws

Abstract

This research article is a part of the thesis titled “Legal measures to protect dolphins in dolphinarium: a comparative study of foreign and Thai laws”. The purpose of this research is to study the legal measures relating to the protection of dolphins in the dolphinarium in Thailand to determine whether legal principles for the protection of dolphins in the dolphinarium are sufficient and the law should be amendments or not. Furthermore, this purpose of research is to place emphasis on developments in the law on the protection of dolphins in dolphinarium and how it can be developed. A comparative study was conducted on the protection of dolphins in foreign dolphinarium, including the United Kingdom and the United States, in order to analyze the legal measures that are suitable for Thailand in the protection of dolphins in dolphinarium and suggest guidelines to determine the legal measures of Thailand to protect dolphins in the dolphinarium appropriately.

A comparative study of legal measures to protect dolphins in dolphinarium in both Thailand and abroad found that although Thailand has the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act B.E. 2557 (2014), which aims to protect animals from being abused and to provide animal owners with appropriate welfare arrangements and has the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), which contains requirements regarding the rules and conditions for establishing and operating the dolphinarium by a license system, Thailand does not have any legal measures to protect dolphins in specific dolphinarium like other countries. Furthermore, the existing legal measures in Thailand still have some issues with the vagueness of the provisions or the absence of certain requirements that should be set as a minimum standard for the dolphinarium for the proper welfare of dolphins.

Therefore, the researcher has introduced some provisions in foreign laws that are useful for amending the domestic law by proposing to amend the legal provisions under the Cruelty Prevention and Welfare of Animal Act B.E. 2557 (2014) and the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) and to enact other subsidiary legislations about definition of exhibitor and performance criteria for a license to operate the dolphinarium, animal display facility, minimum standards for a dolphin show facility and liability for the dolphins in the dolphinarium to have good welfare and appropriateness.