Outcry by animal welfare group over Singapore casino’s dolphins
Court battle to release dolphins taken from the Solomon Islands
Twenty-seven dolphins destined for a Singapore casino resort are at the centre of a court battle after an animal welfare group accused it of contributing to the depletion of the species.
The mammals, from the Solomon Islands, have been purchased by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and are currently in the Philippines for training, where they will remain until they are shipped to its marine park next year.
The Singapore-based Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) released a video on Friday on the depletion of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the islands as it intensified a campaign for Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to release the animals – two of which have already died.
RWS acquired 27 dolphins from the Solomons between 2008 and 2009 despite the availability of information “advising against the purchase”, ACRES said in a statement.
It cited a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature which said that catching dolphins from the islands would be detrimental to the survival of the species there.
This week a Philippine court temporarily blocked their transport to Singapore following a civil suit filed by animal rights activists.
They alleged the dolphins’ capture from the Solomon Islands violated an international treaty on the trade of endangered animals and plants.