I understand where Ric O'Barry is coming from. He believes his dolphin (Flipper) committed suicide because it no longer wanted to live in captivity. True or not, this is what he believes. The man loved that dolphin, and I don't think anyone would dispute that fact. Being human, it's easy for the rest of us to feel his pain, and feel the need to "make it right". Unfortunately, this isn't something that can be made right simply by outlawing captive dolphins. What he, and his followers, fail to see, is what society was like before Flipper was pipped into every living room across this country. The reality is that no one cared about dolphins back then. Most Americans thought they were just big fish that wouldn't bite a hook. We surely didn't care how they were treated. Flipper, the captive dolphin, changed all that. A whole generation of Americans fell in love with Dolphins because of this captive animal named Flipper. Now, Americans are appalled by the thought of mistreating one of these animals, and are willing to go to bat to protect them. Which would not have been possible without captive dolphins.
It's hard for us humans to care about something we don't understand, or that we can't relate to. If we want people to care about these animals, we MUST get them up close and personal with them. The first time a young dolphin brings you a toy because he wants you to play with him, like a dog or a small child would do, or an adult swims up to you, stops, rolls over, and looks you in the eye, your life will be changed forever. You can't help but to come to the realization that these are special creatures. Things like this are taking place across this country every day. None of which would be possible without captive individuals.
If we are going to protect these animals around the globe, we need places like Seaworld, shows like Flipper, and movies like A Dolphin Tale. We need to expose society to these animals every chance we get. To do this we need captive dolphins. We humans have short memories. If we did away with captive dolphins (and many other animals) we would soon forget just how incredible they really are. Society would go right back to the way we were before we met Flipper.
Just my opinion
Peace
EC