What to do when witnessing dolphin kills

We estimate that at present up to 3000 dolphins are illegally killed every year in Peru for human consumption. Mundo Azul’s volunteers are engaged in undercover investigation of illegal sales of dolphin meat. We then provide any intelligence we gather to the Peruvian police and are actively supporting the implementation of police raids. Raising public awareness and environmental education are further activities of our dolphin conservation campaign. We are engaged in dolphin research that provides 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.

Stay in touch with Mundo Azul! Sign up to our google group “Mundo Azul International” and receive news about our work and nature conservation in Peru, Web site updates, action alerts, suggestions on how you can participate or help, volunteer opportunities, internship and job openings and much more.

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Page author: Stefan Austermühle

Reviewed by: Sharon Hernandez Mestre

Last updated: 2010.06.01

You did find a dead dolphin on the beach?

If you find a dead dolphin on the beach, please take pictures of the body and send us digital copies to mundoazulorg@gmail.com. Please provide in your email the following information:

name of the beach and the nearest town or harbor
date, when you found the dolphin.

If the dolphins’ body still has the dorsal fin, please take a picture of each side of the fin and send it to us.

This information provides us with a better idea about the occurence of natural deaths and the dimension of the black market of dolphin meat in Peru. It helps to identify priority areas for future conservation activities. If you give us written permission to use the information sent by you, we could incorporate the material in our awareness campaign. If you prefer, your name will not be mentioned in case we use your information.

You did witness illegal sale of dolphin meat or you have been offered meat?

If you are visiting Peru’s coast and you find restaurants or markets that sell “muchame” or “chancho marino”, or if you see people killing dolphins or transporting dead dolphins or dolphin meat, you have two options:

Tell us what you witnessed by sending a written report to mundoazulorg@gmail.com containing all the necessary information, such as your name and permanent address as well as phone numbers and email address, the location, where your observation took place, date, description of involved people, any names known to you, license numbers of cars or boats, as well as any additional information that may be helpful. Having this information, we can follow up or inform the Police Department for Ecological Crimes in Lima.
File an official complaint to the local police, to the marine post at the nearest harbor and/or to the mayor’s office. In order to make your complaint stronger, it is good to have an additional witness. If you were alone while witnessing the violation of the law, you may have the possibility to take pictures. Try to note down names or detailed descriptions of the people involved in the violation as well as names and plates of cars or boats involved in the violation.

Local officials may deny their jurisdiction over the topic. This is because there is still little awareness and knowledge about the laws for dolphin conservation. Many times you will find officials arguing that this would be an administrative problem of the Fisheries Ministry. In fact dolphins are protected by a national law. Killing a dolphin or selling its meat is an ecological crime. It is a good idea to print out the legal summary on this web-site and have it with you when traveling along the coast. Don’t give up, whatever local officials may say in order to NOT accept your complaint. Insisting on compliance with the law is a good way to raise awareness about the importance of dolphin conservation.

Tell us about your experience while filing the complaint and if possible, send us a copy of your complaint, so that we may follow up if an investigation was undertaken by officials.

What you can do to stop the dolphin slaughter in Peru

Stay informed and connect to our various social network profiles, RSS-feeds and/or the newsletter
Spread the word: share this web-page with your social network friends (see our add-it function) or send out the link by email.
Become a dolphin conservation volunteer in Peru.
Go whale watching and dolphin watching in Peru with Nature Expeditions: This way you are directly supporting Mundo Azul’s research and conservation work and you are showing the Peruvian public that tourism can be an economic alternative to dolphin killing.
Adopt a dolphin
Baptize a dolphin
Sign on to the various action alerts and signature lists published regularly in Mundo Azul’s web site.

Stay intouch with Mundo Azul! Sign up to our google group “Mundo Azul International” and receive news about our work and nature conservation in Peru, Web site updates, action alerts, suggestions on how you can participate or help, volunteer opportunities, internship and job openings and much more.

Become a member of our Facebook group “Mundo Azul International“

If you have any questions, comments or want to support us, please contact us.

Related links:

Whale and dolphin species of Peru

Go whale watching in Peru

Go dolphin watching in Peru

Whale watching as an alternative to dolphin killing

Be a dolphin conservation volunteer

Adopt a dolphin

Baptize a dolphin

Stop dolphin slaughter in Peru

Mundo Azuls whale and dolphin research