Cuba

Dolphinariums and swimming with dolphins

The National Aquarium of Cuba has a popular dolphinarium (one of the six present on the island) that offers shows with dolphins and seals for crowds of people. The stress, unfortunate living conditions of in captivity and the fact of having to participate in anti-natural activities have very serious consequences for these intelligent animals. So before attending these shows we invite all people to read more information at SOS Delfines and in this link.

Marine protected areas

Named in honor of Queen Isabel of Spain 500 years ago by Christopher Columbus, the Jardines de la Reina archipelago is a chain of hundreds of mangroves and islets that extends over 150 kilometers along the southeast coast of Cuba. Still almost devoid of human footprints, the area is "a window to the Caribbean as it was in Columbus's time," says Dan Whittle, the director of the Cuban Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) program.

In the 1990s, the Cuban government made the gardens into a 1400 square kilometer marine reserve, the largest one in the Caribbean, as part of a planned network across the island designed with the help of EDF. With commercial fishing and other harmful activities restricted, the area, now a national park, offers a baseline to compare the health of marine life and its habitat with that of adjacent areas, where such activities are not restricted.

Stray cats and dogs

There are large numbers of stray animals in Cuba, which often live in very bad conditions. The stray cat and dog populations are controlled by unregulated mass slaughter which usually involves very cruel slaughter methods. If you find these animals, you can help them by giving them some food or water, but avoiding close contact with them in order to avoid contagious illnesses. Before traveling you can find the contacts of local animal protection NGOs to inform them in case you find very ill animals or victims of animal abuse, or in case you want to make a donation. More information.

Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or find an animal that needs help in Cuba:

Protección Animales de la Ciudad - PAC Cuba

ANIPLANT- Asociación Cubana para la protección de animales y plantas