'Empty the tanks': Hong Kong's Ocean Park at centre of activists' battle to stop dolphin captivity

“Captivity kills,” they chant as a group of 50 activists protest at the entrance of Ocean Park, holding aloft a three-metre long model of a dolphin splattered with red paint.

A stocky Chinese man pushes to the front of the protest, confronting Ocean Park’s representatives who say they have no plans to end their dolphin shows or their research and breeding projects, regardless of mounting pressure from local and international groups.

“Why don’t you explain to these kids why you’re keeping dolphins in prisons?” the activist shouts, pointing at a group of girls waving placards. He is a member of local group Dolphin Family which has strong ties with activist movements in mainland China.

With its crayon-coloured roller coasters and vast, artificial sea experiences, Hong Kong’s 38-year-old entertainment complex has become a focal point in this region for the increasingly heated debate on whether marine parks and dolphin shows should become a thing of the past.

Twenty one bottlenose Indo-Pacific dolphins circle its tanks, feeding on dead fish and performing for audiences.

These dolphins have been procured on breeding loans from other parks or bred within the confines of Ocean Park’s own tanks overlooking the South China Sea on the lush, tranquil side of frenetic, built-up Hong Kong Island.