Is Lake Worth Mayoral Candidate a Dolphin Trafficker?

• I did a search

• I think it is great that Rene Varela is running for mayor! As mayor & with his connections, he may be able to help the city of Lake Worth prosper. He could find buyers for all those pesky Sea Turtles that lay their eggs on our beach. That way we don't lose valuable beach space to those obtrusive turtle nest! This would leave more beach space for tourist to sun and fun! Tourist spend $ turtles don't! It is a win-win. Oh yeah and while we are at it how about get a big money investor like Ocean Embassy to tear down the old casino building and put up a beautiful Dolphin park where the tourist could spend even more money looking at all our well taken care of dolphins. And we can breed them and sell them! Oh I am getting so excited, I think Rene could really turn this town around and in just short order with all the profits Rene @ company could take their vast experience in making dolphins live longer in captivity and use that on the people of Lake Worth. Rene could set up a commission that would monitor our diets, make sure that our habitats are kept clean, keep us parasite free, exercise us properly and allow us just the right amount of interaction that we too will live much longer! I love it! A vote for Rene is a vote for longer life!

• I knew what the response to Obarry's long argument was going to be before I even read it. "Whacko!" Call the person crazy and dismiss him instead of actually dealing with his arguments. So you're not an animal rights activist. OK. But just calling the person crazy and not addressing their arguments shuts down debate and kind of just makes you look like a jerk. Also, I don't hate our government, but they don't always make the best decisions or policies. For instance, they allow for a certain (admittedly small) amount of rat droppings and other such heinous things into our food supply. (US FDA/CFSAN Defect Action Level Handbook) Why? Because at big food factories it's literally impossible to keep ALL the rats and insects out. (And I capitalized to emphasize not create word association.) The solution might be to have smaller factories, make smaller batches of food that can be more carefully monitored. This however would increase the cost of the food. The government looked at the situation and made a decision. And now we have affordable food with a "safe" amount of rat droppings in it. Maybe it was the right decision - people need to eat. But I ask you this, if someone was holding up two hot dogs. One was $1 and had rat droppings in it. The other was $5 and rat dropping free, which would you pick? And yes, I know, there are people who can't afford to make that choice, hence the FDA's decision. But maybe that's a sign we should be doing more to fight poverty - not feeding people rodent feces. My point is the government is not the end all be all of perfect moral/safety decisions. Don't glorify the politicians who make these policies. They're not evil but they are humans, capable of mistakes and bad choices. The fact is, keeping dolphins on public display brings in lots of money. Kind of like cheap hot dogs with rat droppings in them. The difference is we NEED to eat. We don't NEED to be entertained by dolphins or ride around on them. And I'm not disparaging Disney or Sea World. I love those places. I have friends who work with dolphins and they don't do it to exploit them - they do it because they love them. But just because the parks aren't evil doesn't mean they aren't making decisions based on money or greed. And we're accustomed to seeing dolphins in captivity, more than that, we enjoy seeing them up close, so we don't see it as cruel. But if you step back... And as to this mayoral candidate. He helps make wild dolphins not wild anymore. Whether he thinks it's wrong or not isn't relevant. If a voter thinks it's wrong, they should vote for someone else. And writing a story about it isn't defamatory. It's journalism. He wants to be a public figure, welcome to the public. Also - you can disagree with me on any point you want, but it doesn't make me a whacko. It just means we are two different people with minds of our own who have come to divergent conclusions.

• Found this too... http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/laws/mmpa.pdf "16 U.S.C. 1371, Sec. 101 (1) Consistent with the provisions of section 1374 of this title, permits may be issued by the Secretary for taking, and importation for purposes of scientific research,public display..." 2 tired...good night.

• oops...sorry...last post was me!

• U R getting very annnngryyyyy --(and ugly BTW). Why do u capitalize ur words like that? R U trying to train people to associate? Duh!!! I found this on the internet from: United States House of Representatives: "The Committee commends the public display community for its role in the conservation and management of marine mammals. Activities sponsored by public display facilities--research, educational programs, and presentations, animal husbandry, breeding, and rescue and rehabilitation--are important aspects to the conservation of marine mammals...these facilities play an invaluable role for the general public[and]are the only place for many Americans to view marine mammals and learn about the conservation needs of these animals. The Committee believes the interaction provided at these facilities generate the general public's good will toward marine mammals and develops their support for conservation and management measures for these and many other ocean creatures."

• Here's the bottom line. Varela is an accomplice to a wildlife traffiker. Varela and his parters are no better than the poachers who ravage the Amazon Rainforest to sell exotic birds, reptiles or mammals. He could NEVER get away with assisting wild dolphin traffikers, if he were doing this in the US. No wild dolphins have been caught in US waters since 1989. It's a federal offense to harass, capture or even approach wild dolphins, and Varela and his wildlife traffiking partners at Ocean Embassy know this. That's why they are working in a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY, a politically tumultuous, semi-anarchic nation (the Solomon Islands) that pretty much dismisses environmental law. This is ALL ABOUT MONEY. What is Varela's cut in all this? Hmm, he's not talking, I wonder why. Because he has a lot of unethical behavior to HIDE. By the way, the Solomon Islands' people do not benefit from Ocean Embassy's wild dolphin captures. It's Varela and his partners that are cashing in big from selling wild dolphins. What city would entrust its political leadership to a character that essentially thinks he's ABOVE THE LAW, or one who prefers to go where the laws DON"T APPLY TO HIM? What will happen to Lake Worth if he becomes mayor? VARELA is BAD for the environment, BAD for equitable commerce, and BAD for LAKE WORTH.

• 4 real??? LOL. maybe we should blame him 4 global warming too???

• Rene Varela should not be elected as mayor of Lakeworth. Other than his help in dolphin trafficking which is apparent in the documentary "Dolphin Dealer" and noted on the website of Ocean Embassy, he has also contributed to horrific situations here, in South Florida. Rene Varela was the head veterinarian for the Miami Seaquarium, one of the most dilapidated marine mammal parks in the United States. He has cleared many animals, including their lone orca whale, to live in a tiny outdated tank that doesn't meet the minimum dimensions listed by APHIS. He concluded as head veterinarian that a 22 foot long, 7,000 pound orca whale is content and well, living in a pool that is only 65 feet x 35 feet and 20 feet deep at the deepest point. Not only has Rene Varela soiled his name by supervising the transport of wild dolphins to captive facilities around the world purely for monetary gain (if it was for conservation they would be breeding endangered cetaceans like the Vaquita in captivity not Bottlenose Dolphins), but he has also done so by being negligent to the living conditions of the animals at the Miami Seaquarium.

• ...wow...is this bizarro or what? Can u say "whacko"?

• Of Dolphins and Decency by Richard O'Barry, Marine Mammal Specialist, Earth Island Institute. In situations of great stress in captivity they (dolphins) have been known to commit suicide by starvation, battering against walls, or drowning.�The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition 2001-05. When you consider that dolphins and other whales have been around on this planet for at least 50 million years, compared with much less than a single million years for us human beings, you have to wonder how we got control so quickly over them. They have larger brains than we have. They�re bigger and stronger, faster, sleeker and altogether more perfectly formed than we are. And yet, just as we have come to dominate 30 per cent of the world (that which is above water) in the short time we�ve been around, we could say that dolphins and other whales are the dominate species in the other 70 percent, which is water. The bottom line is that we�re both at the top in our separate worlds, cetaceans in their watery domain, we on land. When we scan the horizon for similarities, we have a moment of recognition because we�re actually very much alike. We�re both mammals, for instance, mammals of a high order for we�re both self-aware, and we�ve both adapted almost perfectly to the world we live in. As mammals we both breathe air, mothers in both worlds suckle their young in loving family groups around which is woven a way of living that fosters social rules maintaining a balance like the golden mean of ancient Greece. At least that�s true of dolphins and other whales. Where did we go wrong? What happened in our world to make so many of us rush with such abandon into the exploitation of our counterparts in the other 70 percent of the world? Why do we capture these beautiful fellow creatures and make them objects of fun? And oddly enough the most fun we seem to have is capturing them, pinning them up and making them pull us through the water, one after the other,. Why would anyone who understood what was actually going on enjoy this? How can we, who do understand what�s going on, tolerate it? And how can those who exploit dolphins and other whales do so without a ripple of conscience, as if they had a right to? Well, as we all know, the short answer is that we have a history of this. You may recall that slavery was only recently put aside as an okay thing to do. Almost certainly that happened because it was no longer economically feasible. Indeed where it is feasible, as in enforced prostitution of children and things like that, it still goes on like crazy. Maybe at the heart of all this is our sophisticated world-wide economic system whose goal is to maximize profits regardless of collateral damage. But the history of slavery in general is a clue to how we can stop this travesty. If we stop it from being profitable, it will go away. The first so-called dolphinarium began in 1938 at Marine Studios in St. Augustine, Florida, USA. Now there are scores of dolphinaria all over the world, and more all the time are being established. If you could collect all the abuse to dolphins and other whales, the pain, the horror, frustration, the dolphin suicides, the cries for help�if you were to gather all these atrocities from over the years it would be like a thousand hells. Most countries would not permit this abuse for the real reason they exist: money. Most countries have laws against cruelty to animals, laws that began early in the 19th Century. But obviously these laws have a loophole because, despite all our efforts, displaying dolphins publicly for money is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Hunters of dolphins, suppliers and shippers, marketers, park construction workers, trainers�this list goes on and on and they all cash in. Some nations allow it because they�ve got bigger problems. Some nations see nothing wrong with it. The rest allow it for the wrong reason: that it�s educational. They say that many people would never get to see a dolphin except for the dolphinaria. But what about all the people who will never see a snow leopard? saber-toothed tiger? Or the do-do bird? On and on. Taken even at face value, their argument is a fraud, because these dolphinaria are not educational, they�re anti-educational. They show not a dolphin in his own world but a trained dolphin, a dolphin trained to act like a clown, in our world. And then they have the unmitigated gall, the chutzpah, to tell us, �Look! See how they smile? They love doing tricks for us!� Don�t be fooled. Those dolphins are not smiling. If one of those dolphins were to fall dead on the dock, he would still wear that look and it would still not be a smile. It may be tempting to point out that we are not personally to blame for what is happening to dolphins and other whales. And that�s true. We don�t personally capture them and put them in what to them are tiny torture chambers, and we don�t withhold food till they perform silly little acrobatic tricks to our liking. We�re not to blame, not a single one of us, in the same way we�re not to blame for the world�s murders, arsons, kidnappings and so on. We�re not to blame because (1) we don�t personally do these things and (2) we�ve helped pass laws against them, laws with good stiff penalties that express our desire to make the world free from such abuse. We pass laws against murder, kidnapping and all the rest not because of some abstraction about society or the rule of law, but because we�re sick of it. We�ve had enough. Just like now we�re revolted by those who capture dolphins in the wild and imprison them for the rest of their lives. They capture dolphins in the wild but claim to replace them by letting them breed in captivity. This too is a fraud. Dolphins born in captivity never learn to catch a live fish in the wild and are unequipped to live there. A lot of misguided talk surrounds another similarity between human beings and dolphins in captivity: their committing suicide when stressed. When dolphins in captivity are greatly stressed, they sometimes obviously feel the need to escape by whatever means. This is a big problem because they don�t have guns or poison as we do in such circumstances. What can they do? Some of these dolphins batter themselves to death against the walls of their prison. Others refuse to eat until they waste away and die. Dolphins and other whales are not like any other mammal in the way they breathe. While humans and all the other mammals breathe automatically, dolphins don�t have that automatic reflex; every breath they take is deliberate. When human beings fall into deep water, we drown because we lose consciousness and then, when the automatic reflex kicks in, we breathe water. Not so the dolphin. The dolphin will kill himself by drowning if he deliberately breathes water, but, more likely, he dies for lack of oxygen in his blood caused by not breathing at all. This suicide option the dolphin takes is another proof of his self-awareness, without which suicide would never even occur to him If words alone, if logic, reason, facts and history were enough to destroy the dolphin industry that has warped our lives, they would be long gone now. We need more than words, we need laws to stop them. We know that it cannot be done overnight. It may take many years. We may even have to compromise a little. But now is the time to start eliminating this evil or it will never happen in our lifetime.

• Wait a minute! The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition is you Ric Obarry! Here is what you did according to NOAA/Fisheries Service... O'Barry and Good released the two dolphins, named "Luther" and "Buck," approximately six miles off the coast of Key West, Fla., on May 23, 1996. The day after the dolphins were released, Luther appeared in a congested Key West marina with deep lacerations, approaching people, and begging for food. Buck, found two weeks after his release over 40 miles away, had similar deep lacerations and was emaciated NOAA Fisheries determined that the dolphins were in need of medical attention. With the help of members of the southeast marine mammal stranding network, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Marine Patrol, NOAA Fisheries successfully rescued the animals and provided veterinary care.

• You know it just keeps getting weirder and weirder in this town. The crazy plastic bag/tomato ladies who plan to bring Publix to their knees are now warning you about a veterinarian who would hurt Flipper. It�s all just a ridiculous ploy to keep any sane person off the Lake Worth City Commission. Golden voted to designate 95% of our beach parking to county residents. McNamara told me he supports the same plan. Last time I checked Flipper resides at the beach. So who really loves Flipper? Certainly not Ms. Golden nor Mr. McNamara. Rebecca Hinson

• Dolphin Lover (that's weird BTW)...If capturing dolphins, kills dolphins, why does NOAA/NMFS, Universities like Miami, FSU, Florida State and other research institutes do it? Why does the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act specifically allow this for "Public Display"? They say it actually saves dolphins. I don't think Sea World, or Disney, or Marineland, or Dolphin Research Center would ever hurt animals and I think you are just trying to hurt them. These are the only places where animals can be cared for when they are sick! My goodness...what should we do when wild dolphins get sick? Let them die? You are very strange!

• Eric Jackson: Is this article about you too??? Who are you guys??? Are you a Florida Resident? Lazy, Incomplete, Biased, and Inaccurate - The Trademark of Eric Jackson Saturday, November 10 2007 @ 09:08 AM EST Contributed by: Don Winner By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Eric Jackson, the owner and editor of The Panama News, is what I consider to be a "serial slanderer." He has a tendency to become obsessed with a particular point, issue, or individual, and once he latches on he will never let go, no matter what. And you can forget about trying to use truth, facts, and logic - it they go counter to Eric's preconceived notions of reality he will ignore them, change the subject, counter attack, or assume some other victim posture. I reached the conclusion long ago that Eric is simply incapable of discerning the difference which is sad in its own way. But still if Eric decides to focus his muddled brain on you for whatever reason don't even waste your time trying to talk to him or trying to shake him off using intelligence, truth, facts, or logic. He's obsessive in a pit-bull kind of way, but also in a way that is not at all healthy. Panama-Guide.com: Eric Jackson has been slandering me since August 2004 when I launched my website. Obviously, he is, has been, and continues to be worried about having a competitor. I met with him and we agreed to work our own respective areas of interest but again, he proved himself simply incapable of self control and had been attacking me personally and professionally for more than three years now.

• Capturing Dolphins KILLS Dolphins - see press release below from The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: David Phillips (415) 788-3666 x145 April 2, 2008 Mark J. Palmer (415) 788-3666 x139 (530) 758-6022 Stop International Dolphin Trafficking Coalition Sponsors Ad in International Herald Tribune (see attached pdf copy) The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition and the Humane Society International are sponsoring a new advertisement in the International Herald Tribune today alerting the public that tourist shows with dolphins and swim-with-dolphins programs result in the killing of thousands of dolphins annually around the world. In several areas of the world, including the Solomon Islands and the town of Taiji in Japan, fishermen hunt and kill dolphins for meat and/or teeth. Dolphin traffickers, working with aquariums and swim-with-dolphins representatives, use these massive hunts to pick out the �best� show-quality dolphins. The ad notes that prices for wild-caught dolphins can reach $200,000 per dolphin, subsidizing the brutal slaughter of the rest of the dolphin pod left behind. �The dirty secret of popular tourist shows with dolphins is that many dolphins die in the process of capturing a few for the dolphin market,� stated David Phillips, Director of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute. �Tourists, when they swim with dolphins or watch a dolphin show in a tank, are unwittingly supporting the slaughter of dolphins in places like Japan and the Solomon Islands.� The ad features a photograph of dead dolphins, tossed into a garbage dump in the Solomon Islands after they died in captivity, awaiting sale to an aquarium. The ad calls upon governments to take responsibility and stop the cruel trafficking in live wild dolphins. The ad is also running in the Solomon Star, Solomon Islands, and La Prensa, Panama. The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition consists of Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, In Defense of Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute. In addition to the Coalition member groups and Humane Society International, endorsers of the ad include Born Free USA, Cetacean Society International, Marine Connection, and World Society for the Protection of Animals. For further information on dolphin trafficking and the dolphin slaughter, go to: http://www.SaveJapanDolphins.org

• Richard O'Barry: are you THIS guy? If so, aren't you the guy that's hurting dolphins??? Sorry...it just seems so ironic. NOAA 99-R134 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stephanie Dorezas 6/10/99 ACTIVISTS FINED $59,500 IN SUGARLOAF DOLPHIN RELEASE Former "Flipper" dolphin trainer Richard O'Barry, and his associate Lloyd A. Good III, have been found guilty of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act for releasing two captive dolphins off the Florida coast in May that were not prepared to survive in the wild and sustained life-threatening injuries. O'Barry, Good, and their respective corporate entities were ordered to pay civil penalties totaling $59,500, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today. "This case involved the reckless and intentional release of two captive dolphins by over-zealous activists who had not prepared the animals to survive in the wild," said NOAA prosecuting attorney Joel La Bissonniere. "We are very pleased with the judge's decision in this case.The judge's ruling supports our position that the release of captive dolphins to the wild needs to be conducted according to peer-reviewed scientific protocols and authorized pursuant to a MMPA scientific research permit, in order to protect the health and welfare of the animals."

• To: "Stop Dolphin Dealers: I am very well aware of what dolphin capture is. However, you are conflating dolphin capture with Rene� Varela�s work and compassion in caring for very ill dolphins that were captured. Those two things are wildly different. This, I suppose, is expected when an individual such as yourself ignores the facts and inserts political pot-shots and mischaracterizations in its place. Good day, Diana H. Demarest Former Secretary & Executive Board Member, Palm Beach County Democratic Party Web Master, Rene� Varela for Mayor of Lake Worth Campaign

• Dolphins deserve better than to be herded, corraled, packaged and shipped as commodities for some manufactured fad. It's time to find people who understand that dolphins already have a life as members of their societies, that they do no harm but have a vital role in nature, and should not be removed and brutalized as captive performers for a quick buck. Anyone with attachments to such an industry should not be elected to public office.

• Ocean Embassy tried to capture 80 dolphins from the wild in Panama for "research,education, and conservation." The people of Panama protested the captures and stopped Ocean Embassy. If the people of Lake Worth think that Ocean Embassy is about research, education, and conservation, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell you.

• That dolphin park project in Panama appears to be dead in the water. We got multiple different stories about what it was supposed to be, but there was every appearance that what it was mainly about was a center for the international trade in captured wild dolphins. When that issues was pressed and the government gave an assurance that this would not happen, work on the project stopped. And yes, any journalist who reports anything but fluff pieces about Ocean Embassy gets bitterly attacked. Guess that might not merely be something they picked up from the Panamanian political class or all the scam artists who come to this isthmus. An Ocean Embassy connection is an important fact to be considered when any political candidate has one of these.

• Tia Tristen, I have heard the statement that dolphins live longer in marine parks than the do in the wild used many times in the defense of aquariums and dolphin encounter theme parks. It may be true, and most likely you would live longer in an artificial environment with closely controlled nutrition and a selective breeding program. However that was not the way you were intended to live. Would you be happy living that way? To put it simply the argument that they live longer in captivity is absurd. By the way I neither condone nor condemn Dr. Varela. I simply take issue with your comment.

• Actually Mr/Ms Stop: The incidents you speak of do not exist or else the U.S. would not issue permits for it. The oldest dolphin known lives a wonderful life at Marineland St. Augustine and dolphins live longer at marine life parks than they do in the wild. According to National Geographic, 300,000 dolphins drown each year in fishing nets around the world. According to ABC News, five children die in the U.S. from neglect and abuse each day. According to the EPA, 36,000,000 beef cattle are slaughtered in the U.S. each year. Are you seriously suggesting that marine life facilities don't care about their animals? Why would you publish comments that are completely untrue?

• A progressive Democrat should know more than Ms. Demarest. If she wants "truth to prevail" she should do some research on dolphin capture. To Jeanne, the protesters are not "imagining" dolphin suffering. Again, try doing some research on the number of dolphins who die during capture, in transport and while in captivity. Mr. McCauley's comment reinforces his continued racist bigotry. Mr. Turner is a partner in Ocean Embassy. In the film Dolphin Dealer he reveals his motive - the capture of wild dolphins is "worth it."

• Sorry Len, but the State of Florida does allow this, and conducts wild dolphin collections for research, education, public display and actually calls people like Dr. Varela to rescue sick and injured dolphins. This "business" you refer to, quality marine life parks, public display and breeding programs has saved millions of dolphins and provides invaluable information that helps wild animals. Nothing "dirty" about it...only your smear tactic. All of us who have worked countless hours helping animals are proud to be involved in marine life research, education and public display. The legal, authorized and permitted activities Rene Varela is involved in has saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of animals, many right here in Florida. He has never done anything that should be questioned, especially by the likes of you. Zoological parks and aquariums are supported by the United Nations World Conservation Union, European Union, SPAW protocol, the U.S. Animal Welfare Act and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, including Congress. What have YOU done to conserve and protect wildlife other than attempt to smear this good man. People can see right through your game and PETA tactics.

• This is Mark Simmons, Executive Vice President for Ocean Embassy. For the record, we were contacted via our web submission form by Mr. Willie Howard of the Post at 11:30 AM Monday, stating "I need to know whether Ocean Embassy sells or has sold dolphins for captive display." These submissions are compiled at the end of each day for response. The author posted this article at 12:52 PM the same day, exactly one hour and 22 minutes after sending the request via our web form. In response to your statement Mr. Howard, Ocean Embassy does not sell dolphins for captive display. However, we do proudly support the mission of quality zoological institutions world-wide. Without these institutions, those opposed to captive display would not know enough about dolphins (or other species) to care in the first place. I resent your blatant "use" of Ocean Embassy as a pawn in your political agenda. Manufacturing the appearance of journalistic research to support your conclusions is a cheap trick at best. Were I a reader of the Post, I would consider this article an insult to my intelligence.

• As a woman married to a former newspaper man, who wrote for credible publications for decades, I find this article to more editorial, less reporting. Objectivity and fact finding should be the ultimate goal for truth to prevail in reporting and to be credible as a journalistic publication. From what I have read in this piece, credibility is not what the goal is here. Political assassination is. As a Progressive Democrat, it is disappointing to me to see this type of political gamesmanship being the rule of the day. The voters of Lake Worth deserve more than this. Rene� Varela is not trying to hide a thing. He has been very forthcoming regarding his intervention for some very sick dolphins. It is because of him that guidelines, procedures and new thinking have instilled best practices in this industry. For Rene� to have stood by and watched dolphins die would have been negligent of him, at best. On a personal note, Rene� Varela is my own veterinarian. My dogs �Apollo�, a German shepherd, age 3, �The Pug�, a pug mix age 15 and �Sully�, a long haired cat, age 6, are in his care. These animals are as much of a family member to me as one of my own children. For me and my family, this is an ultimate bond and trust. Anyone who loves their animals as much as I do understands this. I invite anyone to contact Rene� directly and discover who he really is. He isn�t the person that is being spun by this post of the �Politics of Smear�. I believe we all have seen enough of this. Respectfully submitted, Diana H. Demarest Former Secretary & Executive Board Member, Palm Beach County Democratic Party Web Master, Rene� Varela for Mayor of Lake Worth Campaign

• Time is running out and we need to be doing much more to save our oceans. For the love of God, would these people focus on something positive and truthful. Maybe it feels good to imagine dolphins are suffering and falsely judge a good man; so they can wave some signs and do nothing.Everyone has a right to his or her own opinion about animals in zoological environments. But no one has the right to lie; play with the public�s mind in effort to fundraise or to claim authority on what and who should save our oceans and wildlife; or trash a person without researching even a little bit. What planet are these protestors from? Every person in the marine industry is a trafficker and a liar? Then every lawyer is crooked. Have these people who �disdain� Dr. Varela without ever meeting or working with him stayed up all night, in fact many nights, to save the lives of injured wild dolphins? Have they done health assessments in the blaring sun, for hours, with wild dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico where dolphin health is challenged like never before? (Yes, in the U.S.) Have they traveled around the world to ensure that the very best standards of care are given to dolphins? Have they written paper after paper about aspects of dolphin health that they have been spending decades studying? Have they been to Panama and Solomon Islands and seen what work was really done there? I'll bet not. Dr. Varela has. I am so sick of seeing good work and dedicated people get trashed because they're paid a modest wage to do amazing things in this world -- in Panama, in the US, in the Solomon Islands, in Florida. Yeah, let's try their approach...better to let them all be free? Google animal strandings for one month and see how a hands off approach is working. What we do know has much to do with the veterinarians who are committed to wild and captive dolphin care and study.

• nice, lengthy post read shorter: varela takes wild things and makes them captive <i>for profit.</i> what he manages to do for his personal riches else where would be illegal in u.s. waters. he knows this is wrong which is why he whines and obfuscates the issue upon inquiry. outside of this dolphin flap he has no record of anything ... and he wants to be mayor !?! he's a joke, but there's nothing funny about it. deirdra, your report is accurate and timely, rene is responsible for his own demise.

• This is the worst case of "reporting" I have ever read. Not only is this garbage supporting an animal extremist position (the likes of PETA, Humane Society, Earth Island and other weirdos who actually use images of the holocaust and compare it to the excellent efforts of institutions like SeaWorld, Disney and other Florida wildlife parks), but the "facts" in this story have been completely fabricated! Shame on you. No one tried to call our office today...I was there all day...the reporter fabricated this and other content. The truth is, Dr. Rene Varela has spent a career working with some of the worlds leading marine life institutions who dedicate themselves to animals, their rescue, breeding programs and conservation for future generations. Your friends, sons, daughters and neighbors work at these places. Rene Varela is a compassionate and caring professional and environmentalist who defends wildlife and understands the enormous need for zoos and aquariums, especially given the challenges of a threatened ocean and warming climate. He would not be involved in anything wrong, immoral or illegal. The activities of Ocean Embassy are absolutely necessary to protect wildlife, are supported by U.S. law, specifically the Marine Mammal Protection Act and various international treaties, and are essential for the conservation of species in the wild. Rene Varela is a steward of the environment and its creatures, like many other zoological professionals that have saved hundreds of animals and 19 species from extinction. C'mon Dierdra Funcheon, focus on fair and balanced reporting and PLEASE use your editors.

• Rene' is a classy guy and almost too good for this dysfunctional city that is now run by third world commissioners.

• The State of Florida would never allow Ocean Embassy to capture dolphins from Florida waters and sell them to marine parks, yet this dirty business is exactly what Rene Varela has been involved in elsewhere in the world. We can't trust this guy to be mayor!

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