Our colleagues with Blue Voice, filmmaker Hardy Jones, reports that the government of Peru is finally taking action to prosecute fishermen for illegally slaughtering dolphins in that country.
Killing dolphins has been illegal for several years in Peru, but the government has been lax on enforcement, and thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dolphins have been killed for shark bait, local consumption and possibly other reasons like perceived competition with fishermen. (Large numbers of dead dolphins have washed up on Peru’s beaches, without any sign of why they were killed.)
Hardy reports: “Thanks to the undercover video funded by BlueVoice, the Peruvian state's attorney has brought criminal charges against the fishermen who killed dolphins in front of our cameras. Stefan Austermuhle, who courageously took the video, has been called as a witness. This is the first case of prosecution of fishermen for killing dolphins, and is a major breakthrough in our efforts to end the slaughter of 15,000 dolphins per year in Peru.”
Furthermore, Maria Elena Foronda, a close ally of efforts to end the dolphin and shark slaughters in Peru, has been elected to the Peruvian congress, giving the public and the dolphins a legislator who can propose laws to ban dolphin-killer harpoons and end this tragedy.
In addition to Blue Voice, the local Peruvian group Mundo Azul has also been documenting the illegal slaughter of dolphins. Blue Voice and Mundo Azul have been pushing Peru to outlaw the use of the harpoon used to spear the dolphins, which would effectively end the cruel hunting.
Hardy Jones is seeking donations for Blue Voice to help finish his documentary film about the dolphin killing in Peru and further put pressure on the Peruvian government to enforce the law.
Photo credit Blue Voice.