Channel NewsAsia: AVA admits 4 Underwater World dolphins are wild

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

It has now been firmly established that 4 of the dolphins at Underwater

World Singapore were caught from the wild, and were imported into Singapore

based on captive bred permits. (See press report below, mistake on the part

stating that the gorillas went back to Nigeria)

 

The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore has now said that

the Underwater World can still keep the dolphins because it's classified as

a zoological facility, which is allowed to import wild endangered species

and Thailand had given the go-ahead for their export.

 

I'm quite shock by AVA's statement. Does this mean that as long as one is

registered as a zoo, one can take any species from the wild regardless of

whether they are CITES appendix I or not?

 

Could someone on the list please comment on this statement?

 

These dolphins were taken from Thailand where the IUCN has stated with

regards to the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins that " the demand for live

specimens in Thai oceanaria has recently led to the development of a

directed fisheries there and that the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins are

no longer present in large parts of their former home range in inshore

waters of Thailand. "

 

This species of dolphins are appendix I and this trade to marine parks is

clearly detrimental to their survival and their population is depleting,

yet the import and export of wild caught dolphins can still be approved by

CITES?

 

Any help on this would be deeply appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Louis

President

ACRES

www.acres.org.sg

 

 

AVA admits 4 Underwater World dolphins are wild

By Yvonne Cheong, Channel NewsAsia

5 February 2004

 

SINGAPORE : Not all the six dolphins at Singapore's Underwater World were

bred in captivity as stated on the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA)

permits.

 

The AVA, which regulates the import of wildlife, said there was a clerical

error.

 

The government agency said the Underwater World had informed it that " a

number of the dolphins " were bred in captivity (in Oasis Sea World in

Thailand) when they applied for the permits, but AVA wrongly stated that

all the six dolphins were captive bred.

 

In fact, only two were bred in captivity.

 

AVA said the mistake arose because Underwater World did not fill in a

required field on the permit application form for the source of the animals.

 

Local animal welfare group ACRES said this means the endangered pink

dolphins from Thailand should be returned to the wild.

 

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has been

lobbying to free the dolphins at the Underwater World, arguing that the

animals are under great stress.

 

This time, ACRES said that since four of the six endangered pink dolphins

at the Underwater World were wild, they should never have been imported.

 

ACRES' Louis Ng said: " In this case, it is very clearly detrimental to the

survival (of the dolphins) and we're asking that the export permits not be

issued for the wild caught dolphins, basically that they be repatriated

back to Thailand and released back to the wild where they came from. "

 

The animal rights group cited the case of four gorillas from Taiping Zoo in

Malaysia.

 

The endangered animals were repatriated to Nigeria after they were found to

be wild caught despite having permits based on falsified documents.

 

If released, the dolphins will need to be rehabilitated.

 

Mr Ng said: " We would, ACRES along with WSPA which is World Society for the

Protection of Animals, will be involved in the whole rehabilitation process

and the release process. "

 

But the AVA said the Underwater World can still keep the dolphins because

it's classified as a zoological facility, which is allowed to import wild

endangered species and Thailand had given the go-ahead for their export.

 

Haw Par Corporation, which owns Underwater World, declined to comment. - CNA