11-19-2012, 08:17 AM
MOBILE, Alabama -- Someone has been shooting Gulf Coast dolphins, cutting off their body parts and mutilating them, according to officials who are asking folks in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to be on the look out for such cruelty.
Within the last two weeks, four dead dolphins have been recovered in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana waters.
A female dolphin, recovered in Mobile Bay near Fairhope, had its tail cut off. That was apparently by a straight knife cut, indicating that a human did it, said Moby Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss., which has performed non-human autopsies, known as necropsies, on the dolphins.
One dolphin off Ship Island in Mississippi had its lower jaw cut off.
One near Ocean Springs, Miss., had a bullet in it, as did another recovered off Elmer’s Island, Louisiana.
“It looks like there is someone, a person, who is perpetrating the dolphins” Solangi said. “It’s not only cruel; it’s illegal.”
Harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Those found guilty of breaking the law can be fined up to $100,000 and be sentenced to up to a year in jail per violation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.
“It’s repugnant. It’s cruel. It’s illegal. It’s senseless,” Solangi said. “These dolphins are already under stress from the oil spill, Hurricane Katrina, and the dead zones. A number of dolphins have died in recent years. There’s no reason for this.” More Of The Dolphin Killer Story