Solomons Dolphins Held in Mexico Raise Welfare Concerns

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, August 14, 2003 (ENS) - The Mexican branch of an international animal welfare organization today called on the government of Mexico to immediately place recently imported wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands in protective quarantine. “This sorry situation has arisen thanks to an very questionable deal aiming to profit from illegally imported wild animals," said Bettina Bugeda, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare Latin America office.

Mexico imported 28 wild Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands on July 22 for use in entertainment facilities. Arriving in Cancun, Mexico after a 17 hour flight, the dolphins were placed in a mesh pen in the open sea together with 15 native bottlenose dolphins, Bugeda said.

One Indo Pacific dolphin has since died and the condition of some others is causing concern. A veterinarian from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) conducted a visual assessment of the animals and their current enclosure late last month.

Based on this assessment, IFAW urged that sanitary tests for disease and pathogens be carried out and that the imported dolphins be placed in quarantine to reduce risks to native Mexican dolphin populations and the marine environment.

The dolphins are reported to be lying still in shallow water and sun blisters on their backs have been observed. Some have been injured in transit.

Playful by nature, bottlenose dolphins are popular in amusement parks. (Photo courtesy Cetacea)

On Sunday, the Mexican Department for Natural Resources, the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, said that the Mexican government would not authorize any further import of dolphins from the Solomon Islands and is acting to ensure the welfare of 27 dolphins remaining alive in Cancun.

IFAW has filed a formal request to obtain information on the case from the Mexican Environment Ministry under the Freedom Of Information Act. The ministry has yet to respond to this request.

Information gathered independently by IFAW indicates the importation of the dolphins contravenes a number of Mexican and international legal provisions, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The CITES Secretariat is monitoring the situation closely. On May 15, the CITES Management Authority of Mexico requested advice from the CITES Secretariat about two export permits that had been issued by the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Conservation in the Solomon Islands. These authorized the export of 120 bottlenose dolphins.

Some 170 dolphins are being kept by local fishermen off the island of Guadalcanal near the Solomon Islands capital city, Honiara. (Photo courtesy Solomon Islands Department of Commerce, Employment and Tourism)

This species, Tursiops truncatus, is listed in Appendix II of the Convention, which means that it can be traded internationally if the export is found not to be detrimental to the survival of the species by a designated scientific authority.

The Solomon Islands is not a Party to the CITES treaty, but has advised the CITES Secretariat that its Ministry of Forests, Environment and Conservation is competent to issue documents comparable to those required by CITES. The Solomons has also designated a scientific institution capable of advising that an export is not detrimental to the survival of the species, the Secretariat said in a statement.

If evidence is received that the requirement of CITES have not been met, the Secretariat said it "will not hesitate to recommend rejection of export permits issued by the Solomon Islands."

Australian Environment Minister Dr. David Kemp says he has asked the Solomon Islands government to release 170 additional dolphins that are being held in net pens in waters off the island capital Honiara.

Kemp told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation today that the remaining dolphins are being held in overcrowded conditions, and he has asked the Solomon Islands Fisheries Minister to order their release.

"The Australian government has been concerned about trade in live dolphins captured from the wild in the Solomon Islands and about the welfare of dolphins still held there and our diplomats have been making representations to Mexico and the Solomon Islands on the issue," the minister said.