Georgia Aquarium applies to import 18 wild-caught belugas–who would be first to reach the U.S. in 20 years

July 1, 2012 juanitoG Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:

ATLANTA-The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has applied for a federal permit to import 18 beluga whales from the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Russia. They could be the first belugas to be captured in the wild and brought to the U.S. for exhibition since 1992, when the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago imported four from the vicinity of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Read more

BOOKS: Death at SeaWorld, by David Kirby

June 1, 2012 juanitoG Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2012:

Death at SeaWorld by David Kirby
St. Martin’s Press (c/o MacMillan (175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY
10010), 2012. 480 pages, hard cover. $26.99.

Marine mammal trainer Dawn Brancheau, age 40, was on February 24, 2010 killed at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, toward the end of a lunchtime show with Tilikum, known to most of the world these days as an orca, but still called a “killer whale” by SeaWorld.

Tilikum “had Dawn Brancheau in his mouth,” writes Death at Seaworld author David Kirby. “The orca would not release his trophy. Ten minutes later, workers pried the trainer’s lifeless body from the whale’s mouth. How could this happen despite corporate training and safety measures?” Read more

South Korean judge tells marine park to release dolphins

May 1, 2012 juanitoG Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2012:
South Korean judge tells marine park to release dolphins

JEJU, South Korea–-Jeju District Court Judge Kim Kyeong-seon on April 5, 2012 ordered the dolphin show promotion company Jeju Pacific Land to release five dolphins who were illegally captured from waters surrounding Jeju Island. Judge Kim Kyeong-seon also fined Jeju Pacific Land $9,000 and issued suspended jail sentences to the company president and one employee. The five dolphins who are to be released were among 11 who were allegedly captured for Jeju Pacific Land. The newsaper Dong-A Ilbo reported that five of the dolphins died. One was traded to a zoo for two sea lions. Read more

WTO orders change in "dolphin safe"

October 1, 2011 juanitoG Leave a comment

GENEVA, Switzerland–A World Trade Organization panel on September 15, 2011 ruled that the qualifications required for “dolphin-safe” tuna certification, enforced by the U.S. Commerce Department, “are more trade-restrictive than necessary” to inform buyers as to whether dolphins were harmed in tuna fishing.

What is delaying the promised release of 72 dolphins illegally captured in Indonesia?

September 1, 2011 juanitoG Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:

JAKARTA–Jakarta Animal Aid Network attorney Romy Daniel Tobing advised media on September 7, 2011 that JAAN is ready to pursue “the necessary legal enforcement measures” to ensure that the Indonesian forest ministry honors a memorandum of understanding to return 72 illegally captured dolphins of the wild.

“The commitment, which was signed in October 2010, was to involve a joint effort by JAAN, the forest ministry, and Earth Island Institute to implement a five-year plan for dolphin protection, rehabilitation and release,” summarized Ismira Lutfia of the Jakarta Globe.

This largest-ever planned release of captive dolphins remains “caught in a net of delays,” as Jakarta Post Central Java correspondent Maria Kegel put it three months ago. That was already three months after Dolphin Project founder Ric O’Barry, representing Earth Island Institute, announced that the confiscation and release of the dolphins was imminent. Read more

Ocean Park will not import wild belugas

September 1, 2011 juanitoG Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:

HONG KONG--Ocean Park chair Allan Zeman on August 29, 2011 announced that the Hong Kong exhibition facility had decided against importing six wild-caught beluga whales from Russia for inclusion in a Polar Adventure attraction scheduled to open in 2012. “Everyone can rest assured no belugas from the wild will be imported into Ocean Park–not from Russia or from anywhere else,” Zeman told media. Read more

BOOKS: The Dolphin in the Mirror

July 1, 2011 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2011:

The Dolphin in the Mirror
by Diana Reiss
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(215 Park Ave. S., New York, NY 10003), 2011.
265 pages, hardcover. $27.00.

Diana Reiss, Ph.D., shares her extensive experience with
dolphin intelligence in her first book, The Dolphin in the Mirror. A
Hunter College professor of psychology, and director of dolphin
research at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Reiss has studied
dolphins on the West Coast, in Europe, and in various other places
while earning her advanced degrees.

Throwing ships aground, tsunami left Japanese coastal whaling high & dry

May 1, 2011 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2011:
AYUKAWAHAMA–“There was Sea Shepherd, and now this,”
retired whaler Shinobu Ankai told Martin Fackler and Makiko Inoue of
The New York Times. “Whaling is finished,” Ankai assessed.
“This could be the final blow to whaling here,” agreed
fellow retired whaler Makoto Takeda.
‘”Whaling is impossible. Reviving it may take 20 to 30
years,” former whaling vessel stoker Yoshiya Endo told Japan Times
earlier.

Dolphins to be freed from traveling shows

April 1, 2011 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2011:
JAKARTA–“We have identified 73 ‘blood dolphins’ who were
captured illegally from the Indonesian national parks,” Dolphin
Project founder Ric O’Barry e-mailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE on March 26,
2011. Working with the Indonesian Foresty Ministry, O’Barry said,
“We will confiscate them in groups of three to five.”
The Jakarta Animal Aid Network and the Dolphin Project,
working in recent years under the auspices of Earth Island Institute,
expect to release back to the wild 70 dolphins from Karimun Jawa
National Park in Central Java and three more from Ujung Kulon
National Park in Banten.

« 1 2 3 4 5 … 55 »