The Last Dolphin King - film

The Last Dolphin King is a 2022 documentary film directed by Luis Ansorena Hervés and Ernest Riera. The film traces the career of renowned Spanish dolphin trainer José Luis Barbero. It examines the commercial exploitation and alleged mistreatment of wild animals.

José Luis Barbero was a Spanish dolphin trainer who worked with dolphins for over three decades. In 2015, a video was released by the animal activist group SOSdelfines, which showed blurry footage of what was purported to be Barbero hitting and kicking the dolphins he was training. There was a huge outcry on social media and he reportedly started getting death threats. Barbero denied that it was him in the video, and said it was the work of revenge from some former employees. However, tensions continued to run high, with abuse being sent to Barbero, while others debated the ethics of animal theme parks itself. The scandal culminated in him reportedly taking his own life.