It’s cruel! Anger at Walliams’ dolphin ‘kiss’ snap
DAVID Walliams has faced a backlash from animal activists after sharing a picture of himself kissing a dolphin.
The comedian and children’s author was holidaying in dubai when he nuzzled up to the mammal in a pool.
He posted the image on Instagram yesterday with the caption ‘kiss’.
But within hours the Britain’s Got Talent judge was bombarded with comments from angry fans, who claimed the picture was promoting animal cruelty.
one Instagram user wrote: ‘This is so disappointing to see. These creatures should not be kept in captivity and tortured!’
Another said: ‘Too sad. dolphins should be in the wild and nowhere else. What a shame.’ The star was told ‘shame on you’ in a further post, while another added: ‘I don’t agree with having dolphins trapped. Wouldn’t it be nicer to be on a boat watching them in the ocean where they belong?’
recent scientific research has suggested that tourists paying to swim with dolphins can leave the marine mammals trauma-
‘Should be in the wild’
tised and the activity can prevent some from feeding and resting. A study published last year revealed that dolphins that swam with humans were less responsive to dangers and at greater risk of death when out in the wild.
The authors, writing in the journal royal Society open Science, found that ‘ conditioned animals were more likely to be injured by human interactions when compared with unconditioned animals’.
The Whale and dolphin Conservation runs a campaign called Pledge never to Plunge which encouraging holidaymakers to boycott the activity.
‘Swimming with captive dolphins and having “close” encounters may seem like fun, but the harsh reality is kept well hidden,’ the charity’s website reads. ‘dolphins and whales in captive settings suffer from their confinement, have high levels of stress, and often have dramatically shortened lives.’
But other fans of the Little Britain star, whose charity work has helped raised cash for Sport relief, saw no harm in the holiday snap. Many jumped to the comic’s defence, joking that the dolphin made a poor substitute for BGT co-judge Simon Cowell.
one simply wrote that the kiss was ‘ so romantic,’ while another said: ‘ Simon Cowell has changed quite a bit lol’.
A representative for Walliams declined to comment.