AR-News: (US-fl/hi) Government slow to enforce laws meant to protect marine animals

[Animalconcerns]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (KRT) - By last November, it was too late. Four
times in the previous 15 months, federal inspectors had cited Sea Life
Park on the Hawaiian island of Oahu for not providing its aging and frail
marine mammals with adequate veterinary care.

By the time of their fifth visit, Laukani, a pregnant 24-year-old dolphin,
had died after three days of labor with no medical care, federal records
say. Her calf was dead, too.

"The calf was never completely expelled. (Laukani) continued to weaken and
died," U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector Elizabeth Lyons wrote in a
Nov. 19 report. "At no time during her travail did she receive any on-site
veterinary examination or treatment. The egregious lack of concern for
this animal's extended distress, pain and suffering does not constitute
adequate veterinary care."

A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found that the federal
government is slow to enforce laws meant to protect marine mammals and has
allowed violators to continue operating for years even after documenting
contaminated water, starvation or deaths such as Laukani's.

Sea Life Park, according to its lawyer, had made an arrangement with a
local vet before the dolphins died. He said Laukani "was under constant
observation by experienced staff, including one veterinary technician"
during her labor, and veterinary specialists the park consulted advised
against removing the calf. The park would not provide records of the
incident to the newspaper.

full story:
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/8744189.htm

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