CANCUN, Mexico (27 Aug 2003) -- A dolphin of Mexican origin has died at the Cancun water park that received 28 dolphins from the Solomon Islands in July, the Mexican environmental prosecutor's office reported this week. The journey of the Solomon Island dolphins halfway around the globe by plane to Cancun's Parque Nizuc sparked an international debate about the growing entertainment industry surrounding the marine animals. One of those dolphins died in Cancun in late July, and the report on Monday that a local dolphin had died rekindled concern among animal welfare activists that the imported dolphins might transmit an illness to the local population. The bottlenose dolphin died late Sunday night, according to the environmental prosecutor's office said. A veterinarian employed by Parque Nizuc reported that several ulcers had appeared on the marine mammal and that the cause of death was "stress," a government news release said. Parque Nizuc had no one available to comment Monday night. | | An independent autopsy will be performed by the wildlife division of the Mexico's environmental protection department and faculty of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said Manuel Gallardo, a spokesman for the environmental prosecutor's office. Sara Rincon of the World Society for the Protection of Animals said she feared that whatever caused the death of two dolphins at the park may be endangering other dolphins there. Mexico may not have people with the proper training to perform the autopsies and should consider contacting experts in the United States, Rincon said. The Australian government asked Mexico to block the arrival of the dolphin shipment from the Solomon Islands, where foreign peace-keeping troops arrived July 22 to quell widespread violence by rebel warlords and their heavily armed militias. But officials from the Mexican environmental protection agency said the privately operated Parque Nizuc had met all legal requirements. Following a public outcry, the Mexican government pledged this month not to allow the importation of any more dolphins from the Solomon Islands. SOURCE - eNews |
