Solomon Is. To Block Kerzner Dolphin Import: "The government sent a team to the Solomon Islands to inspect a facility from which Kerzner International plans to bring in a pod of dolphins, but it looks like that export will never happen.
The owner of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island is developing a new dolphin attraction facility as part of the resort?s Phase III expansion, but a law passed in parliament recently prevents dolphins from being taken out of Bahamian waters.
It means that Kerzner will have to bring the friendly mammals in, but at this point it?s not clear where the company will get them from.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday that the Solomons government said it has never changed its decision to ban exporting dolphins.
The report said the ban on the export of live dolphins from Solomon Islands is due to be officially legalised and the permanent secretary of Fisheries confirmed that it was do to be gazetted this week.
It was also reported that international environmental groups have threatened to ban the import of tuna from the Solomon Islands if more dolphins are exported.
Kerzner International has had little to say on the issue, except that its dolphin attraction facility is in the planning stage and international reports on the planned import are inaccurate.
Earlier in the week Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V. Alfred Gray said that he was satisfied that the facility where the dolphins are being kept in the Solomon Islands are up to standard and he said once the mammals are transported to the Kerzner facility in The Bahamas 'they would not even know where they are', meaning they would also be well cared for at the Kerzner facility.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals blew the whistle on the planned import, saying that it was illegal under international law and pointing to the Solomons ban. "
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