Sammy the whale shark in Atlantis aquarium
Over the weekend I heard from 2 ex-SCDC members about a juvenile whale shark that had been caught in Dubai and was put in an aquarium at the new Atlatntis hotel. This was ostensibly for medical care and the original plan was to tag it and release it. However it now looks as though they are planning to keep it as the Managing Director, Alan Leibman, has apparently said that there are no plans to let it go.
The Atlantis Hotel is on the Palm Jumeirah island and only opened last month. They have a large aquarium built to invoke the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis, and presumably see having a 4 metre whale shark as an additional attraction. However according to an article in the Gulf News, the hotel has not applied for a permit to keep it.
There are efforts going on to encourage Atlatntis to free Sammy, as the shark has been nicknamed, and you can get involved. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have an email campaign on their website. There is also a Facebook group you can join.
The BBC have also picked it up, so let’s hope that some bad publicity will encourage the hotel to see sense.
