Subject: Dolphins Retired!
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Mon, 12 Sep 1994 15:01:44
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Subject: Dolphins Retired!
From: SMTP%"MARMAM@UVVM.BITNET" 12-SEP-1994 14:48:12.34
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Subj: PENTAGON RETIRES FIRST U.S.
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 1994 10:53:00 UTC
Reply-To: Marine Mammals Research and Conservation Discussion
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From: r.mallon1@genie.geis.com
Subject: PENTAGON RETIRES FIRST U.S.
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PENTAGON RETIRES FIRST U.S. NAVY DOLPHINS
WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuter) - The first military-trained
dolphins from the U.S. Navy mammal fleet were being flown
Tuesday to a new home as part of a post-Cold War scale down, the
Navy said.
The two Atlantic bottlenose dolphins were on duty in San
Diego, California, home of the Navy's 125-strong marine mammal
fleet. They were headed for Gulf World, a marine park in the
northern Florida panhandle.
The transfer is part of the U.S. military scale down. Each
of the Navy's dolphins, sea lions and beluga whales costs an
estimated $15,000 to $20,000 to feed and maintain.
``We have 25 more dolphins than what we need to support our
programme,'' said Lieutenant Kenneth Ross, a Navy spokesman at
the Pentagon.
He said about 70 dolphins will remain on active duty, for
sonar-related research, to guard ships and help recover
underwater objects.
Earlier this year, the Navy began fishing for new homes for
the mammals after Congress authorised their de-commission. The
Navy concluded they could not simply be set free because they
may lack survival skills developed in the wild.