SANTO DOMINGO. - The Dominican Academy of Sciences denounced that the Ocean World Adventure Aquatic Park, located in the resort city Puerto Plata (north), is preparing to import 12 dolphins  captured in "a criminal manner in Japan," and for this reason has asked president Leonel Fernandez to prohibit the entrance of those marine mammals.

The newspaper El Dia reports today that the Academy of Sciences, together with the Dominican Marine Studies Foundation (Fundemar) and the Dominican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Sodopreca) stated that the Dominican authorities don’t have to allow the dolphins’ entrance because their capture violated international conventions regulating the activity with those animals.

The Dominican institutions were joined by 43 foreign environmentalist organizations to ask Fernandez to interpose his authority to avoid that the aquatic amusement park promotes the capture of dolphins, "through hostile and violent methods."

They say that if the import of the mammals is allowed it would be supporting the slaughters which take place in Taiji, Japan, whose fishermen allegedly conduct that practice, including sacrificing thousands of the animals.

Dominican and foreign environmentalists affirm that each dolphin is sold between US$45,000 and US$10,000.

"The members of the aquarium industry take advantage of this macabre scenario and select some units for sale to the world’s delfinariums, arguing that they save them from death, but the truth is that with this trade their slaughter is perpetuated,’ they said.

The organizations announced that they will begin an international campaign to boycott the visit of tourists to Ocean World.