Singapore - The developer of a resort on Singapore's Sentosa Island has given up plans to exhibit whale sharks in its marine park after raising the ire of animal welfare groups, media reports said Saturday. A spokeswoman for Resort World at Sentosa said the company wanted to back out of its original plan because it believes it might not be able to care for the whale sharks in its Marine Life Park, which purportedly would be the world's biggest oceanarium upon its completion.
"We are discussing and exploring an alternative proposal to having whale sharks," the Straits Times newspaper quoted spokeswoman Kris Boo as saying.
The decision was not governed by "fleeting public opinion" but "conservation of this species," she said.
Several animal welfare groups, including the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, opposed the plan and launched an online campaign, arguing that whale sharks had never done well in captivity and no manmade environment could accommodate their needs.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature included whale sharks, which can grow up to more than 12 metres, on its red list of threatened species, categorizing them as vulnerable.
