----- Original Message -----
 Viv wrote:

> Media barred as dolphins to depart
> By Jim Baynes in Honiara
> July 21, 2003
>
> SOLOMON Islands police today locked down Honiara airport and ordered media
> not to film as a cargo jet arrived to fly up to 200 dolphins to Mexico.
>
> Australia has been trying to block an international syndicate from selling
> the dolphins =96 caught in Solomons waters =96 to aquatic parks in Mexico.
>

I would like to take my son to see dolphins at one of these aquatic parks,
there are many that allow you to swim with them. Chad's favorite animals are
dolphins, and he has said many times that he would love to swim with
dolphins. But I know the down side of keeping dolphins (and other animals)
in captivity. It's just wrong.

>
> But today a Brasil Air Cargo DC-10 jet landed and started unloading
coffin-
> like containers on to a truck. The truck was understood to be collecting
> the dolphins from holding pens elsewhere in the capital.
>
> Police, who stopped all vehicles arriving at the airport, told media their
> cameras would be confiscated if they filmed proceedings.
>

It seems this syndicate has powerful connections in the government, because
they were able to get police help.  This made me wonder about the type of
government, so I looked, and the CIA describes Solomon Islands government as
"parliamentary democracy tending toward anarchy".
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bp.html  ...I hate to say it, but
this looks like another failed attempt at installing a democracy. ;-/

>
> Yet it appeared the people behind the dolphin trade couldn't have
organised
> a more public time to perform the controversial operation.
>
> It coincided with the high-profile arrival of an Australian military
> Hercules carrying advisers ahead of the looming 2000-strong intervention
> force later this week.
>
> The dolphins are among hundreds sold by villagers to the syndicate for
> about $400 each.  Potential buyers from Mexico, Taiwan and Thailand have
> reportedly inspected the dolphins, which can be sold for hundreds of
> thousands of dollars as performing animals.
>

The good news is, that when dolphin populations have become threatened,
CITES will slow down this kind of trade. ...A little bit. (Sorry, couldn't
resist the jab at CITES.)

>
> Last week, Australia's Environment Minister David Kemp said he had asked
> his diplomatic post in Mexico to urgently call on the Mexican Government
to
> block the import of the dolphins.  The Mexican Government has since said
it
> planned to allow for the import, despite Australia's complaints.
>
> The attempt to muzzle the media today followed an alleged assault on a New
> Zealand television crew's boat driver at the weekend by guards working for
> the dolphin sellers.
>
> "They beat him non-stop for more than five minutes and blood was coming
out
> of his mouth," New Zealand cameraman Frank Atu said.
>

The syndicate's guards should have been charged with assult, or even
attempted murder. But I doubt it.

>
> Atu said he was with two Solomon Islanders in a boat he had hired to film
> more than 30 dolphins in a makeshift pen on the main beach at Honiara.
>
> AAP


Brad ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸¸><((((º>