Pink dolphins caught in wild but they can stay

February 6, 2004

The Straits Times

6 Feb 2004

by Lee Hui Chieh

A LOCAL animal rights group campaigning for the release of pink dolphins

on Sentosa, has uncovered evidence that some were caught in the wild and

not bred in captivity as they were said to be.

When shown the evidence, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) put

it down to an administrative error.

It also said it is still legal for Underwater World Singapore to keep the

highly endangered creatures, which are also known as Indo-Pacific

humpbacked dolphins.

Still, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said it

will not give up its fight and has asked the secretariat of the Convention

on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

(Cites), an international conservation agreement, to take up the case.

Underwater World, owned by Haw Par Corporation, set up the $3-million

Dolphin Lagoon in 1999 with six pink dolphins it had acquired from a Thai

marine park.

Acres said that when the park was raided last December, documents found

showed it got its first dolphins in 1988, 16 years ago.

Since at least four of the dolphins here are more than 16 years old, this

means they weren't bred in captivity, said Acres president Louis Ng. One of

the four has since died.

He added that this means the convention has been breached, because it

disallows the export of animals when this will affect their survival in the

wild.

In a statement yesterday, the AVA blamed the mistake on a clerical error

and said the Cites convention has not been contravened because the dolphins

were brought in for educational and breeding purposes, not trading. It also

said the park has other wild specimens of endangered animals on display,

such as marine turtles, and there is no ban on the export of wild dolphins.

The AVA will liaise with its Thai counterparts to correct their records,

but will not repatriate the dolphins.

Undeterred, Mr Ng has written to the Cites secretariat in Switzerland to

ask it to investigate the case.

Haw Par Corporation and Underwater World declined to comment.

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