The public has been misled by the Flipper image. The bottom line is, these are wild animals and they should be treated with respect. On the sunny Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, a small group of children gingerly pet Shaka under her trainer's watchful eye. Swimming with dolphins can be stressful for the dolphins.
New regulations seek to protect the animals, but they've come under strong criticism.
In the confines of a 2 million-gallon seawater lagoon at a luxurious hotel, the program's 11 bottlenose dolphins seem happy to interact with the children. Critics, however, claim the new policies have only made matters worse. The regulations fill a legal loophole that opened up in 1994 when the USDA took jurisdiction over the programs. The HSUA is considering mounting a legal challenge to try to stop the programs. The industry, however, says the regulations have become too restrictive and impractical.