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Dolphin Dies After Swiss Techno Party Published: 10 Nov 2011 A dolphin has died at a Swiss amusement park just weeks after conservationists warned that loud noises could cause extreme distress to the cetaceans at a dolphinarium in the eastern town of Lipperswil. Shadow, an eight-year-old dolphin, died on Tuesday, 20 days after a huge techno party was held only 50 metres away from Connyland, the amusement park where the aquarium is located. Conservationists say the animal’s immune system may have been damaged by loud music at the 16-hour party. Vets at Connyland were surprised by the death of the mammal on Tuesday, since Shadow had performed his daily training room with enthusiasm that morning, park director Erich Brandenberger told reporters. Soon though, the dolphin became agitated. Despite efforts from his trainer to calm him down, Shadow stopped breathing and his pulse disappeared. Connyland has requested that the authorities carry out an autopsy to establish the cause of death. The results should be “ready in three or four weeks”, cantonal vet Paul Witzig told newspaper 20 Minuten. Two animal protection groups had previously warned authorities of the dangers of holding such a loud event so close to the dolphinarium. “ "We fear the dolphins will suffer from stress,” said ProWal and Delfinschutz Forum in a joint statement before the party. But the Veterinary Office from canton Thurgau saw no reason to ban the party, arguing that the facility where it would take place was built in such a way that the noise from outside would not prove a disturbance. In a pre-party statement, the office said there was no proof that exposure to loud noises for a few hours would affect the well-being of the dolphins. “This is the seventh dolphin to die in this amusement park in only three years,” said animal welfare organisations Oceancare and Swiss Protection for Animals. According to them, the living conditions for dolphins at Connyland are “unacceptable.” “It is unacceptable for the well-being of animals to be sacrificed in favour of profits with the blessing of the authorities,” said Sigrid Lüber, president of OceanCare. In 2010, the organisation pressed charges against Connyland for an alleged serious violation of the Animal Protection Act. That case is still pending. Management: Conny Gasser (†), Roby Gasser Connylandstraße CH - 8564 Lipperswil (TG) Telefon: +41 52 - 762 72 72 Telefax: +41 52 - 762 72 73 info@connyland.ch |
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Submarine
Sonar Gives Startled Whales and Dolphins the Bends Deafening sonar booms are giving whales and dolphins fatal doses of the bends, according to research. Scientists believe they may be startled by the sound from submarines and forced to ascend too quickly. Researchers have shown for the first time that deep diving marine animals can suffer from decompression sickness - a potentially deadly condition experienced by divers who resurface too quickly. They are calling for more research into the dangers of sonar and tighter controls on its use. Post mortem examinations on 14 whales stranded during a naval exercise in the Canaries last year revealed bubbles of gas in their blood and holes in their internal organs - symptoms of the condition. Tests on dolphins and whales stranded on Britain's coasts over the past decade have revealed similar damage. A team at the Zoological Society of London and the University of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, studied beaked whales and Risso's dolphins stranded on Britain's coasts between 1992 and 2003. Dr Paul Jepson, from the society's UK Marine Stranding Project, who reported the findings in Nature, said: "We discovered that a small number of stranded animals had gas bubbles and associated tissue injuries. "Although decompression sickness was previously unheard of in marine animals, we concluded that a form of marine animal decompression sickness was the most likely cause. "This new evidence from our study of marine mammal diseases in the UK challenges the widely held notion that cetaceans (whales and dolphins) cannot suffer from decompression sickness." The link with sonar emerged when 14 beaked whales were stranded in the Canary Islands four hours after a Spanish-led naval exercise in September 2002. Ships in the area were using mid frequency sonar. The exercise ended when the stranded whales were discovered. Post mortem examinations of 10 whales revealed more evidence of the bends. |
US Agrees to
Save Whales by Limiting Sonar Use American whale-lovers claimed yesterday to have forced the US navy to abandon the peacetime use of a new submarine-detecting sonar system in virtually all the world's oceans. The National Resources Defence Council argued that the sound of the sonar was deafeningly loud to marine mammals, startling them and making them ascend too quickly, giving them the "bends". The NRDC, which sued the military over the use of the sonar, said it had struck a deal under which the navy promised to use the system only in specific areas along the eastern seaboard of Asia. In November 2000, 16 whales and two dolphins beached themselves on islands in the Bahamas after the US navy used its existing, less powerful, sonar in the area. Eight whales died and hemorrhaging was found around their brains and ear bones. In other cases studied by scientists from the Zoological Society of London and the University of Las Palmas bubbles were found in the bodies of beached cetaceans similar to those from decompression sickness in human divers. A US magistrate had issued a preliminary injunction restricting the sonar's use and ordered the two sides to negotiate a final settlement. The agreement apparently largely mirrors the magistrate's original injunction. The US Navy declined to comment yesterday. Joel Reynolds, the director of the marine mammal protection project at the NRDC, said: "This agreement will prevent the needless injury, harassment and death of countless whales, porpoises and fish, and yet allow the navy to do what is necessary to defend our country." In addition to limiting testing to areas near Asia, where deep water is believed to limit the extent of any damage, the navy agreed to seasonal restrictions to protect whale migrations. None of the restrictions would apply in time of war.
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