Legal protection of dolphins in Peru

On March 29. 1996, the following species of small cetaceans were officially declared protected by law No. 26585:

Dusky dolphin
Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis + Delphinus capensis)
Bottlenose dolphin
Tucuxi
‘Burmeister’s porpoise
Amazon river dolphin

The law prohibits the extraction of these species, the processing of it’s meat and it’s commercialization.

On 14 July 1996, the President of Peru declared by Supreme decree No. 002-96-PE the following regulations based on the law:

Article 3 prohibits the consumption of fresh or processed dolphin meat of these species.
Article 4 declares that animals, being caught alive in nets of local or industrial fisheries, have to be returned to the sea alive.
Article 5 declares that animals, stranded alive with any chance to survive have to be returned to the ocean.
Article 6 prohibits any harassment, injuring or intentional mutilation of individuals of the previous mentioned species.
Article 16 prohibits the landing of dead animals or their parts with the intention of consumption.

Violations of these regulations can be punishable with the suspension of concessions, authorizations, permits or licenses for 180 days and one to three years in jail.

We are estimating that at present each year up to 3000 dolphins are killed illegally in Peru for human consumption. Mundo Azuls volunteers are engaged in undercover investigation of illegal sales of dolphin meat. We are then providing the collected intelligence to the Peruvian police and are actively supporting the implementation of police raids. We are also supporting the Peruvian police thru capacity building. Raising public awareness and environmental education are further activities of our dolphin conservation campaign. We are engaged in dolphin research providing us with important baseline information for conservation planning. Finally we are promoting whale and dolphin watching as a sustainable economic alternative to illegal dolphin killing.

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Page author: Stefan Austermühle

Last updated: 2010.06.11

What you can do to stop the dolphin slaughter in Peru

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