To: National and International desks

Contact: Chris Cutter of IFAW, 508-744-2066, e-mail: ccutter@ifaw.org

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The International Fund for Animal Welfare ( http://www.IFAW.org ) today called on the Government of Mexico to immediately place recently imported wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands in protective quarantine. IFAW also announced it is considering legal action based on information the group has collected over the last weeks, and the
refusal thus far of the Mexican Government to respond to IFAW's request for documentation under the Freedom of Information Act.

Twenty-eight wild Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands were imported into Mexico on July 22 for use in entertainment facilities. Arriving in Cancun, Mexico after a 17-hour flight, the dolphins were placed in a mesh pen in the open sea together with 15 native bottlenose dolphins. One Indo Pacific dolphin has since died and the condition of some others
has caused concern.

Amidst an international outcry over the plight of the dolphins late last month, an IFAW veterinarian conducted a visual assessment of the animals and their current enclosure. Based on this assessment, IFAW urged that sanitary tests for disease and pathogens be carried out and that the imported dolphins be placed in immediate quarantine to reduce risks to native dolphin populations
and the marine environment.

IFAW also filed a formal request to obtain information on the case from the Mexican Environment Ministry under the Freedom Of Information Act. The Ministry has yet to respond to this request. Information gathered independently by IFAW indicates the importation of the dolphins contravenes a number of Mexican and international legal provisions, including the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Bettina Bugeda, director of the IFAW Latin America office said: "This sorry situation has arisen thanks to an very questionable deal aiming to profit from illegally imported wild animals. We urge the Mexican Government to immediately place these animals in quarantine and avoid further risks to our native species. The Government should also immediately release all the information it has on this case and seek advice from internationally recognized experts to address the long-term needs and welfare of these dolphins."

Thus far the Government has been unable to produce CITES -- required documentation demonstrating the removal of these dolphins would not threaten the long-term population of Solomon Islands dolphins. It also appears no environmental impact study was conducted on the potential effects of introducing exotic dolphins from the Indo Pacific into a Mexican marine protected area (Parque Marino Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancun y Punta Nizuc) and its native dolphins.

Questions have also been raised regarding the private aquarium, Atlantida, which intended to take the dolphins. The facility is currently under investigation for procuring five endangered sea turtles (despite a CITES trade ban on the species) without any documentation as to their origin.