Celebrities at the Dolphin Death Pool

Celebrities at the Dolphin Death Pool

The Mirage Hotel is amping up their celebrity endorsements this year. We have seen several posts by people of significance promoting the casino and their exploitative dolphin program. A few of the celebrities make money off of the Las Vegas strip, so it is important that we continue to reach them in a polite, factual matter. We must show these celebrities compassion in our messages if we want them to show the same for the dolphins.  People will not take our campaign seriously if we are hurling insults back and forth. We need the campaign to succeed for the sake of the dolphins.

Britney SpearsBritney Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Britney Spears visited the habitat on the same day as our research team, and the same day as our protest on the strip to raise awareness for Maverick. This is the second time that Britney Spears has visited the dolphin habitat at the Mirage Hotel. Britney has visited the hotel in 2010 and 2015. Britney Spears is currently a resident performer at the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino, just a couple properties away from the dolphins. It is understandable that she is looking for family friendly entertainment to take her children to while they are in town, but she should be teaching her children to have compassion and respect for animals. You can’t do that while exploiting them in photo ops and swimming while latched onto their dorsal fin.

  • .@britneyspears Please don’t support dolphin cruelty @TheMirageLV Learn the truth about captivity #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/HJa2HIN2t7 (Tweet This!)
  • .@britneyspears Don’t become captivated by captivity @TheMirageLV theres no beauty in stolen freedom #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/CYBGWwgIoS (Tweet This!)
  • .@britneyspears Imagine your kids being kept in a 117°F vegas summer with no shade protection. #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/N5IJR8GvvU (Tweet This!)
  • .@britneyspears Take the pledge to boycott @TheMirageLV due to cetacean exploitation in the desert #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/ZAA2ezkVKv (Tweet This!)

CakebossBuddy Valastro Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Buddy Valastro is the face behind TLC’s hit show, Cake Boss. Buddy has both a bakery (Carlo’s Bakery) and restaurant (Buddy V’s) at the Venetian on the strip in Las Vegas. He had the young children in his family visit the dolphin habitat on April 8th 2015. These young minds are highly impressionable, and deserve to know the truth about dolphins and how places like the Mirage continue to exploit them for monetary gain, without providing them the simplest of shade structures. Most children would feel heartbroken for the dolphins conditions if they were enlightened to the truth behind the dolphin smile.

  • .@CakeBossBuddy Please don’t support dolphin cruelty @TheMirageLV Learn the truth about captivity #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/cp14PYd455 (Tweet This)
  • .@CakeBossBuddy Don’t become captivated by captivity @TheMirageLV theres no beauty in stolen freedom #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/CYBGWwgIoS (Tweet This)
  • .@CakeBossBuddy Imagine your kids being kept in a 117°F vegas summer with no shade protection. #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/N5IJR8GvvU (Tweet This)
  • .@CakeBossBuddy Take the pledge to boycott @TheMirageLV due to cetacean exploitation in the desert #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/ZAA2ezkVKv (Tweet This)

GNRGuns N Roses Facebook, Twitter

Guns N Roses promoted the Mirage Hotel and their dolphin exploition program on March 18th 2015. Former member Slash has been a musical guest with Kings of Chaos at a benefit for Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project. Former member Matt Sorum is on the Dolphin Project Board of Directors. Matt even has a music video dedicated to dolphins and the ocean. The video for the song “Estranged” by Guns N Roses relied heavily on cetacean imagery, and lead singer Axl Rose was quoted as saying “The dolphins assimilate a state of peace or grace.” A band like this who has been around for several decades has legions of fans, spanning around the entire globe. If Guns N Roses were to get on board with our campaign, the dolphins would get instant worldwide exposure, and the Mirage would be faced from extreme amounts of pressure.

  • .@gunsnroses Please don’t support dolphin cruelty @TheMirageLV Learn the truth about captivity #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/Js5LDZSaJC (Tweet This!)
  • .@gunsnroses Don’t become captivated by captivity @TheMirageLV theres no beauty in stolen freedom #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/CYBGWwgIoS (Tweet This)
  • .@gunsnroses Take the pledge to boycott @TheMirageLV due to cetacean exploitation in the desert #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/ZAA2ezkVKv (Tweet This)

MirageEllenEllen DeGeneres Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TV Show

A few months ago, we blogged about Ellen DeGeneres giving away a trip to the Mirage during her Christmas special. On March 20th 2015, Ellen uploaded a promotion to her website for the Mirage Hotel. She describes the property, but leaves out the fact that animals are being used and abused for your entertainment. Back in 2010, Ellen was outspoken about asking her viewers to watch the heart-wrenching documentary “The Cove” about how dolphins are captured and slaughtered in Taiji, Japan, and how the entire round-up is fueled by the global cetacean captivity industry. The only excuse we can think of for her change of heart is the fact that Mirage (and several other MGM properties) have placed her new slot machines on their casino floor. Greed is the only thing keeping these dolphins from the life they deserve.

  • .@TheEllenShow How did you go from promoting #TheCove to advertising dolphin cruelty at @TheMirageLV? #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/ieWn3jUZTm (Tweet This)
  • .@TheEllenShow Don’t become captivated by captivity @TheMirageLV theres no beauty in stolen freedom #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/CYBGWwgIoS (Tweet This)
  • .@TheEllenShow Imagine your kids being kept in a 117°F vegas summer with no shade protection. #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/N5IJR8GvvU (Tweet This)
  • .@TheEllenShow Take the pledge to boycott @TheMirageLV due to cetacean exploitation in the desert #MojaveDolphins pic.twitter.com/ZAA2ezkVKv (Tweet This)

Please reach out to these people and ask them to show some compassion for the dolphins of Las Vegas, and join our campaign. It is imperative that you stay polite, professional, and factual in your outreach. Remember to mention the name of our campaign and the website to find more information at. If you are having issues thinking of what to say, we have provided a sample letter you can use below:

To whom it may concern,

I have recently been informed that you visited the dolphin habitat at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am writing to inform you that the morals and ethics of keeping dolphins in captivity has become controversial over the last year, and is increasingly being reflected in public opinion in part due to the popularity of the documentary “Blackfish”.

In case you aren’t aware, scientific evidence has found dolphins to be “self-aware” meaning that they see themselves as individuals, separate from the environment and other individuals. This trait has only been proven among great apes, elephants, orcas, dolphins, European magpies and of course, humans.

The dolphin brain is not only larger than the human brain, but they have a cerebral cortex that is about 40% larger than the human’s. This cortex concerns emotional control, objectivity, reality orientations, humor, logically consistent abstract thought, and higher creativity.Some say that the dolphins are even more emotional than humans. If this is so, how can we ethically confine them to such small living quarters? How would you feel if you lived your life enclosed in a small room?

In the wild, dolphins have complex social lives which cannot be recreated in captivity. Dolphins are wide ranging, intelligent and social animals and no holding pool can be adequate to fill their physical or mental needs, no matter how often they are “trained”.

There are numerous pictures of the #MojaveDolphins displaying unnatural and dangerous behaviors such as lying listless at the gates and beaching themselves. Beaching in the wild only occurs due to extreme stress. The dolphins have spent more than 4 years suffering from an extreme case of the pox virus, a condition that would normally go into remission in the wild.

The death rate of the dolphins at the Mirage Hotel and Casino since 1990 is 55%. 12 out of 22 dolphins have died (mostly from stress related illness). Wild dolphins can live into their 50’s, even 60’s. The average age of death at the Mirage habitat is 10.6 years of age.

Have you ever been to Las Vegas in the middle of summer? Temperatures regularly sore above 110°F, and we have hit the record of 117°F on more than one occasion. These dolphins do not have any protection from the harsh UV rays. The dolphin trainers have been videotaped applying sunscreen to the dolphins. The Animal Welfare Act states that cetaceans kept outdoors should be given a shade structure.

There is a growing grassroots movement in Las Vegas called “Free the Mojave Dolphins” which is focused on bringing attention to the plight of the dolphins trapped at the Mirage hotel. You can find their website at http://mojavedolphins.com.

Please consider joining their cause and becoming a voice for the 10 dolphins in Las Vegas. Thank you.


Ellen Degeneres and the Mirage giveaway.

Ellen Degeneres is known as a very kind and generous woman. She is always helping out wherever she can, and that includes helping animals.

Ellen has also been outspoken about wanting to get people to watch the documentary “The Cove”. She’s had Hayden Panettiere on her show, tweeted about The Cove, and mentioned the documentary on her movie pick on her website.

Ellen Degeneres is giving away a trip to the infamous Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as part of her 12 days of Christmas special. She has also given away trips to other casinos like the SLS and Planet Hollywood. She is aware of what happens to dolphins in captivity, and why it is wrong.. but she is most likely oblivious to the fact that Mirage is housing dolphins in the desert in a facility that chooses not to provide them with any type of shade structure during summers of 117F because “there is no shade in the ocean”.

The 10 dolphins that are suffering here in the Mojave desert could really use someone with a voice like Ellen to speak up for them and make some noise. We are certain if Ellen saw the pictures of Maverick and his eye surrounded by poxvirus, the lack of shade, and how many of us are picketing outside the Mirage to get the dolphins better care that it would really pull at her heartstrings. This could be the big break the dolphins need.

We also ask that Ellen please reconsider changing the venue in her prize pack from the Mirage to another hotel that is more animal friendly. Sign the petition to show her how many people care: Ellen DeGeneres: Change MGM Mirage Prize-Mirage has virus infected dolphins in captivity

We need to reach her on all of her social media accounts. Please send in your own polite comments to Ellen in any way you can think of reaching her. We will provide some options below:

Please feel free to use any photos from our facebook account to help get your message across. Visual aides will show her what you mean when you say “poxvirus” or “pox”, etc.

Tweetsheet for @TheEllenShow 

  • .@TheEllenShow Happy Holidays! Can U plz change day10 gift 2 an animal friendly hotel?#MojaveDolphins are suffering.. pic.twitter.com/P6ZS5CzjeJ (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow remember #TheCove movie? #MojaveDolphins are suffering @TheMirageLV. Plz reconsider day 10 prize. pic.twitter.com/5dXicWWGZe (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Thx U 4 all U do 4 animals. Can U plz help the 10 #MojaveDolphins @TheMirageLV escape the desert? pic.twitter.com/HonDEb6kIy (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Can U spare 90 seconds to learn about 10 #mojavedolphins stuck @TheMirageLV that was on UR show? bit.ly/1p638mA (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Did you know that you gave away a prize to the same hotel that houses the American #DolphinDeathPool? pic.twitter.com/LZ3uXRHern (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Maverick #MojaveDolphin @TheMirageLV who is suffering from #poxvirus Doesnt that break ur heart? pic.twitter.com/Ys0HjqrzRI (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Have U ever been to Vegas in summer? It gets so hot! #MojaveDolphins have no shade. Can u help? pic.twitter.com/VdvIGucnkJ (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow PLZ don’t gift animal abuse this Xmas. Change UR @TheMirageLV prize. #MojaveDolphins need UR help! pic.twitter.com/Y3Ahjm6gFE (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow #MojaveDolphins are NOT happy! PLZ watch video & consider changing ur prize! youtube.com/watch?v=of3Dnz… pic.twitter.com/XkxVy7dhUn (Tweet This!)
  • .@TheEllenShow Local Las Vegas news reporting on the horrible conditions of @TheMirageLV. http://bit.ly/WdFZIx #MojaveDolphins (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Poxvirus is spreading rapidly throughout @TheMirageLV These animals NEED ur voice to speak out for them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msRn_ZKNqT8 (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Protesters gather outside @TheMirageLV due to animal abuse. Will u consider changing ur prize? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWV6RheAFUE&list=UUMr6GLn41E7-amgGr1v73dg (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Remember how touched U were about dolphins & #TheCove? Remember that when U promote @TheMirageLV! pic.twitter.com/R2SF0GrkZL (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Dolphins do not behave naturally in captivity. Plz reconsider your prize package with @TheMirageLV. pic.twitter.com/RUhJlQaZYw (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow plz consider a different hotel for ur prize pack. #MojaveDolphins are very stressed in the desert. pic.twitter.com/na3iJCEeL2 (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow See those spots? Thats #PoxVirus/#DolphinPox. Stress plays a big role. Learn more #MojaveDolphins.com pic.twitter.com/91cyuzu0Jq (Tweet This!)
  •  .@TheEllenShow Did you know that @TheMirageLV houses 10 dolphins in the MOJAVE DESERT? isn’t that absurd? Can u help? pic.twitter.com/WsyEGR4ezE (Tweet This!)