Two major tour operators have joined the campaign against the new Dolphin Swim Attraction that plans to open in the popular resort of Hisarönü near Olüdeniz, Turkey this summer.

The construction of a new Dolphin Therapy Attraction in Hisarönü has created a great deal of opposition.

Campaigners against the development say the pool, which is only slightly larger than a tennis court (22 x 11 metres) and some 300 metres above sea level and inland, is ‘A cruelty pit’.

Now two tour operators, Holidays4U and Thomas Cook, have taken decisive action in support of the opposition.

They have said that they will boycott the areas latest tourist attraction by not promoting or selling tickets for it.

The boycott is likely to cut off a significant source of income for the operators of the new attraction.

Holidays4U managing director Karen Vyse said:

“It [the pool for the dolphins]] is much too small and not at all suitable for purpose. They are building it up in the mountains and not even pumping in fresh sea water. I don’t see the dolphins living very long.”

Meanwhile Turkish representatives of the World Wildlife Fund, based in Antalya, visited Hisarönü last week to inspect the pool that will be the home of two Dolphins.

Their leader, Tuncay Cesur, told the press they wanted to see the site for themselves and now they would consult before deciding what action to take.

Lesley Robinson, a local woman who is fighting to stop the development, urged everyone to keep up the pressure on Ölüdeniz Belediye who controls the land on which the pool is being built.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has already branded swimming with Dolphins as ‘barbaric’.