Five dolphins arrive in Phuket for new tourist attraction

PHUKET: Five dolphins and two seals for the highly-contested Nemo Dophinarium have already arrived in Phuket, confirmed Pitsanu Na-Anan, chief of the Phuket Fisheries Office.

“The company has 60 days from issuance of the import permits to inform us that the animals are settled into the new facility and are ready for a final check,” Mr Pitsanu told the Phuket Gazette.

Despite the new tourist attraction being regularly railed against by expats here and foreigners abroad, Mr Pitsanu said that his office could do little more than ensure that the venue was following all the rules and that the animals were healthy and living in a good environment.

“Since all permissions and permits have been dealt with by the central government in Bangkok, we are just awaiting orders to check on the venue and the dolphins,” he said. “All we can do is to check on them regularly to make sure the company follows all of the rules.”

Nemo Dolphinarium’s project manager, who asked not to be named, stated last month that the company expected to open the attraction in time for Phuket’s high season, which starts next month.

“We are now working on importing the animals for the show. However, we have yet to confirm how many will be allowed for the performances,” he said at the time (story here).

The manager declined to comment to the Gazette when questioned today.

— Chutharat Plerin