Groups seek to stop re-export of dolphins still at Subic

MANILA, Philippines - Following the export of some dolphins to Singapore last week, environment and animal rights group urged a Quezon City court to stop any move to re-export the remaining dolphins at the Ocean Adventure park in Subic, Zambales.

In a very urgent motion and manifestation filed before the Regional Trial Court Branch 101, the Earth Island Institute led groups in asking the court to issue a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) or order the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in Singapore to maintain the status quo to prevent the re-export of the remaining dolphins while the court is still hearing the pending motion for reconsideration of the petitioners.

The urgent motion was filed after the RWS Marine Life Park announced on Monday that some dolphins from the Philippines have already arrived in Singapore.

“Preliminary verbal reports from petitioners’ sources in Subic Bay where the dolphins were kept provided information that respondents had spirited out the animals in two flights, one on Nov. 17, 2012 and the other on Nov. 19, 2012,” the motion said.

“Even before and while the Honorable Court was conducting a hearing on the Motion for Reconsideration on the TEPO, the respondents had already flown out 11 dolphins from the country in full defiance of the administration of justice in the Philippines,” it added.

The petitioners noted that the respondents failed to inform the court of the re-export of some of the dolphins during the hearing on Nov. 19.

The court was hearing the motion for reconsideration filed by the petitioners regarding the re-issuance of a TEPO, which the court declined in October.

The petitioners are asking the Court to stop the re-export of 25 dolphins which the RWS imported into the Philippines from Solomon Islands in 2008, 2009, and 2011.