So, I'm walking through a well known toy store chain the other day, and I am looking through the "educational science section" and BAM... I see it on the shelves, and I almost fall over. I can't even believe what I'm seeing! It's actually a toy, where kids can play "captivity"! The set comes compete with 2 "happy" dolphins, a trainer and her hoop, and some dead plastic fish treats. Sick!
I stared at this thing for a good 15 minutes. Here's a closer pic of the trainer with her dead fish treats.
Not knowing what to do, and being alone in the store, I did the only thing I could think of at the time. I took the 3 boxes off the shelf, and hid them in the store, hoping some kid wouldn't find them. It just made me sick to my stomach. If I had a child with me, my actions would have been different. I would have discussed the toy with the child- but being alone, I just felt sickened.
Upon coming home, I did a little research on "Playmobil". I came to find out that although this particular store only carrier this one box, the maker actually has quite a few sets of dolphin/trainer/captivity toys. There's one with just a trainer/hoop/ and a dolphin... one that's a bit more elaborate, called a "dolphin zoo" that you can even fill with water. To see the images of these toys, I suggest going to either Amazon or Google Images, and just typing in the words "Playmobil dolphin" together. The toy images should pop up.
I am urging you, and others who feel like you do, to please join me in contacting Playmobil. Please ask them to remove these toys from their shelves, as it teaches children from a very young age that captivity is okay... and even a happy thing. Take a close look at the toy... the trainers, the dolphins, and even the dolphin on the flag on have on that smile... the look that dolphins have, that makes them appear as though they are always happy. How about a playset for children with marine animals in their natural habitat? That would be a LOT more educational, could include more animals, and wouldn't be teaching our young ones that captivity is a happy place for dolphins to live.
Children are our most captive audience.
Their minds are like sea sponges, soaking up knowledge.
Let's teach them early about sea life captivity, and how in the end, the best homes for dolphins are in the ocean.
Contact info for Playmobile is:
Until Next Time......
I stared at this thing for a good 15 minutes. Here's a closer pic of the trainer with her dead fish treats.
Not knowing what to do, and being alone in the store, I did the only thing I could think of at the time. I took the 3 boxes off the shelf, and hid them in the store, hoping some kid wouldn't find them. It just made me sick to my stomach. If I had a child with me, my actions would have been different. I would have discussed the toy with the child- but being alone, I just felt sickened.
Upon coming home, I did a little research on "Playmobil". I came to find out that although this particular store only carrier this one box, the maker actually has quite a few sets of dolphin/trainer/captivity toys. There's one with just a trainer/hoop/ and a dolphin... one that's a bit more elaborate, called a "dolphin zoo" that you can even fill with water. To see the images of these toys, I suggest going to either Amazon or Google Images, and just typing in the words "Playmobil dolphin" together. The toy images should pop up.
I am urging you, and others who feel like you do, to please join me in contacting Playmobil. Please ask them to remove these toys from their shelves, as it teaches children from a very young age that captivity is okay... and even a happy thing. Take a close look at the toy... the trainers, the dolphins, and even the dolphin on the flag on have on that smile... the look that dolphins have, that makes them appear as though they are always happy. How about a playset for children with marine animals in their natural habitat? That would be a LOT more educational, could include more animals, and wouldn't be teaching our young ones that captivity is a happy place for dolphins to live.
Children are our most captive audience.
Their minds are like sea sponges, soaking up knowledge.
Let's teach them early about sea life captivity, and how in the end, the best homes for dolphins are in the ocean.
Contact info for Playmobile is:
| Address: | Playmobil Malta Ltd. HF80, Industrial Estate, Hal Far, BBG 3000, Malta, EU. |
| Telephone: | (+356) 2224 2445 |
| Email: | info@playmobilmalta.com |
Until Next Time......
done - see below, feel free all who want to copy:
ReplyDeleteDear Sir/Madam,
I am an avid buyer of Playmobil locally, however, I recently noticed that Playmobil carries a few sets of dolphin/trainer/captivity toys, There's one with just a trainer/hoop/ and a dolphin, one that's a bit more elaborate, called a "dolphin zoo" that you can even fill with water
Children are our most captive audience. Their minds are like sea sponges, soaking up knowledge.
Let's teach them early about sea life captivity, and how in the end, the best homes for dolphins are in the ocean. I urge you to stop manufacturing and selling such toys, to remove such toys from shelves.
How about a playset for children with marine animals in their natural habitat? That would be a LOT more educational, could include more animals, and wouldn't be teaching our young ones that captivity is a happy place for dolphins to live.
For myself, I will no longer purchase Playmobil toys until this item is no longer fabricated and I can speak for many others who will follow, as we all strive very hard to teach our children proper values and captivity is NOT a good value.
Sincerely,
Yael Hanna Chitrik
Awesome. Thanks Yael!
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