Animals, Anthropomorphism and Agency: Captive Dolphins and the Tourism Industry

Abstract

In this paper I examine the practice of keeping dolphins (T. truncatus) as captive specimens for display to tourists in Korea. The display of live marine mammals to human audiences raises numerous ethical questions about how humans utilize animals for profit and for entertainment. In this paper I address two aspects of social practice. First, I examine the practices of care for the animals which are displayed in Ulsan, South Korea, at the Dolphin Ecology Experience Hall which is operated by the municipal government. Second, I address the belief that dolphins are intelligent beings equivalent to humans, and how this belief or perception influences the politics of captivity. Drawing upon recent contributions by ontological anthropology, semiotics, actor network theory and biopolitics, I conceptualize some recent social and cultural changes in Korean attitudes toward the animal as sentient Other.