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constituency of over 2 million persons worldwide regarding the 

 issue of marine mammal public display and scientific research. 



I have with me today Dr. Naomi Rose, to my right, the marine 

 mammal scientist for the Humane Society of the United States, 

 and a woman who has spent the last 7 years studying killer whales 

 off the coast of British Columbia. She will be available, of course, 

 to help answer questions should you have any. 



We appreciate the committee's prompt attention to this issue and 

 look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman, to preserve the 

 principles of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 during its 

 reauthorization process. 



I will as, is customary, summarize my statement and hope that 

 my entire statement will be part of the record. 



Senator Kerry. Without objection all statements will be put in 

 the record as if read in full. 



Dr. Grandy. Thank vou. First, the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act should be amended to prohibit the intentional feeding of ma- 

 rine mammals in the wild. We strongly supported the ruling by 

 NMFS that feeding marine mammals in the wild constitutes a take 

 under the MMPA, and fully endorsed efforts by NMFS to act in the 

 best interest of the animals by issuing regulations banning this dis- 

 ruptive practice. I have proposed language which I will submit for 

 the record as well. 



Point No. 2, the Marine Mammal Protection Act should be 

 amended to prohibit invasive and lethal research on marine mam- 

 mals unless it will directly benefit the species in the wild. I have 

 listened with interest to your discussion with Dr. Hofman a few 

 moments ago, and I look forward to discussing this issue with you 

 more during questions. 



No. 3, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Animal Wel- 

 fare Act should be amended to place sole responsibility with NMFS 

 for the care and maintenance of marine mammals in captivitv. The 

 reasons for this are fully set forth in our statement and I will leave 

 those there. 



I will concentrate the bulk of my remarks on the last three 

 points at issue here before us today. Point No. 4, the Marine Mam- 

 mal Protection Act should be amended to prohibit all forms of di- 

 rect contact between humans, other than facility animal care- 

 takers, and marine mammals. We believe that petting pools, mon- 

 itored feeding programs, and swim with dolphin programs do not 

 constitute public display, and as such they should not be exempted 

 from the MMPA. 



Indeed, these interactive programs should be specifically, we be- 

 lieve, prohibited. Such programs pose unacceptable levels of risk 

 both to the animals through health hazards and stress levels, and 

 to the humans participating. 



There have been a disturbing number of reports of agression 

 and sexual behavior between dolphins and humans in swim with 

 dolphin programs. In fact, an increasing number of injuries to par- 

 ticipants have resulted in legal actions taken against program op- 

 erators and have opened the door to potential litigation against the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service. 



Regardless of the number of years in captivity, or even being cap- 

 tive bred, these are wild not domestic animals, large, powerful, pos- 



