Marine park shows fall out of public favor.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

Watching dolphins and killer whales perform tricks in small tanks no longer is on the travel bucket list of the average tourist, maintains a survey by Censuswide on behalf of ResponsibleTravel.com and international wildlife charity Born Free Foundation, Washington, D.C. Growing public awareness of the ethical issues and physical implications of keeping dolphins and whales in captivity is changing public opinion, as 86% indicate they do not wish to patronize such displays.

"For too long the travel industry has buried its collective head in the sand on this issue," says Justin Francis, managing director at ResponsibleTravel.com. "Just as there was a point when circuses' time was up, the same is happening with orca circuses. It's clear that many travelers are not interested in these shows for ethical reasons. The time has come for travel companies to face the facts and stop supporting this irresponsible form of tourism."

Dolphins and whales are highly intelligent, social animals. In the wild, they live in family groups, called pods of up to 100 individuals; have considerably higher life expectancies than their counterparts in captivity; can swim 130 or more miles in one day; and are capable of diving to depths greater than the height of Niagara Falls and hunting live fish...