People of Sevastopol defended the Dolphinarium

On May 25, a month after hostile takeover, Sevastopol Dolphinarium in Artbukhta resumed its work. Research supervisor of the Dolphinarium Oleksandr ZHBANOV told The Day that an agreement to extend the lease for a term of three years was signed on May 24. Zhbanov also said that the staff and residents of the Dolphinarium will present free program in the period from May 29 to June 12 as a sign of gratitude for the residents of the city, who have defended the place. Inspirer of Sevastopol Dolphinarium in Artbukhta thanked the residents of Sevastopol and journalists for their support.

An employee of the dolphinarium Anna LEVINA said: “It turned out that people care about the dolphinarium much more than anyone could expect. People’s opinion influenced many of the decisions that were made. Turns out – people of Sevastopol are a great force that must be taken into account. We are very grateful to people for their support. People who work in the Dolphinarium love their job, do it well, professionally, and with love.” Local residents and tourists had a chance to see it on their own during the first performance of the season presented by talented artists with fins. Mischievous and blatant seals opened the program. The number of bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales under the guidance of coaches – this was a union of man and marine mammals, left no one untouched. By the way, as Anna LEVINA told The Day’s journalist, there is another great piece of news in the dolphinarium: black Australian swans are expecting their offsprings any time soon now.

On April 26 the Dolphinarium in Artbukhta was captured by raiders. The same day people of Sevastopol organized a rally in support of the Dolphinarium. The activists demanded that Mayor of Sevastopol Volodymyr Yatsuba intervened in the conflict and helped to understand the situation. A day after the incident the raiders left the facility and starting from April 26 the staff of the Dolphinarium began collecting signatures in support of the facility. They collected more than 7,000 signatures and the local authorities promised to solve the problem in a month. As we all have seen they kept their promise.