Inside '90s dolphin sex scandal - 'his penis hooked over my arm, it was normal'

20 September 2023 , 10:13

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The true story of the '90s wild dolphin sex scandal is the subject of a new podcast, Hooked On Freddie (Image: Neil Hope)

In the north-east of England during the late 1980s, Alan Cooper was known by locals as a passionate animal rights activist who devoted all of his energy into freeing captive dolphins. He would post leaflets about veganism and animal cruelty through letter boxes, organise marches to enlist more supporters to try disrupt leisure attractions like Flamingo Land.

But it wasn't until Cooper was accused of taking his passion way too far that all eyes and ears finally fell on him. The animal campaigner had an unusually special bond with a bottlenose dolphin, called Freddie, who arrived in Amble, a small fishing port on the coast of Northumberland, in 1987. The pair of them would swim together for hours in the harbour.

Then in 1990, a boatload of people including the owner of the Flamingo Land dolphinarium, Peter Bloom, claimed to have witnessed Cooper masturbating a dolphin in the water and a complaint was filed to the police. The animal rights activist was arrested and the rumour of him molesting the mammal quickly gathered nationwide attention, with people outraged by the alleged perversion.

Animal campaigner Alan Cooper was accused of sex offences with a male dolphin and later found not guilty in court (PA)

Cooper's friendship with Freddie was turned against him, and while he was later found not guilty at a trial in the crown court, the effects of the accusation hugely impacted his reputation as an animal protector. Now, three decades later, the true story of the '90's wild dolphin sex scandal is the subject of a new Wondery six-part podcast series, called Hooked On Freddie. Podcast host and journalist Becky Milligan, who actually swam with Freddie back in 1990 as part of university research, has brought the topic back into the spotlight, focusing on the one incident that was reported to police by a boatload of people.

On Cooper's website, he describes the moment in his own words: "Freddie was his usual self, sometimes hooking me with his penis to the leg or arm, it was all perfectly normal, to me at least. It was only later when I was provided with the police statements that I realised otherwise. Bloom, the 'expert', had been speaking to people on Easton's boat. Part of Bloom's police statement read, 'you won't get near, he is w***ing off the dolphin'."

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Freddie the dolphin arrived in Amble during 1987 and became famous amongst locals in the harbour (Neil Hope)

Speaking about the effects of the claims on Cooper, podcaster Milligan told The Guardian: "Alan had a reputation in the northern animal rights movement and to be accused of that was the most damaging thing. It's difficult to express what that did to him, to be accused of abusing the very thing you're trying to protect." Milligan had the opportunity to speak with Cooper one-on-one and explained that his whole reason for being was "helping people and looking after animals", though said listeners will have to make up their own minds about what happened out at sea that day.

Rich Knight, head of podcast content at Wondery, told Variety: "'Hooked on Freddie is an extraordinary story which is both joyously uplifting and deeply poignant. It's about a magical friendship between species and a bitter rivalry between humans. At its heart, it is a story about how we should treat wild animals. We're delighted to work with Becky Milligan, who has followed the story from the very beginning and tells it with sensitivity and wit." The first two episodes of the series by Wondery and Blanchard House are now available to listen on Wondery and other podcast platforms.

Nia Dalton