Solomon Star 23 Feb 11;
GERMANY will not allow any dolphin imports into their country.
This is according to the Federal Agency for Nature and Conservation (FANC), the CITES agency in Germany.
In an email the Solomon Star, Earth Island Institute affiliate German dolphin conservation society Ulrike Kirsch said she had spoken with authorities from FANC and they confirmed that there will not be any dolphin exports into Germany.
“There are no requests for any dolphin exports into Germany and if there was one, authorities here said that there would be no permits granted,” Mrs Kirsch said.
This followed media reports that local dolphin exporter Robert Satu had plans to fill an order from Germany, along with orders from other European countries and Dubai.
Robert Satu, the director of the Marine Mammal Educational Centre, could not confirm the exact number of dolphins each country ordered but hoped to begin hunting at the end of June.
Mr Satu said the other European countries did not want their identities publicised.
“After Germany then I’ll go back to Dubai and get the other contract from Dubai, which is, they have to complete their tourism place again before I’ll send them but they already put their order in.”
However, Mrs Kirsch said Germany was very strict on the issue of dolphin imports and there would be no requests for dolphin imports into the European Union stronghold.
“The person from the German CITES agency assumes that the whole thing might be a trick to divert attention from dolphin imports into Arab countries and maybe China. China's amusement park industry seems to be booming and apparently China may be the new market for dolphin exports,” he export.
Mr Satu said he was ready to begin hunting again after Earth Island failed to live up to an agreement made with Satu.
The Earth Islands regional director Lawrence Makili reaffirmed that there were no agreements made with Mr Satu.
By DOUGLAS MARAU
