Four face trial in Bahrain for catching wild dolphins
Chief of the Ministries and Public Entities’ Prosecution said that the Public Prosecution had completed its investigations into the dolphin catching case at the kingdom’s territorial waters, and referred four defendants to trial.
Case documents reveal that the Public Prosecution had received a notification from the Coast Guard Command, indicating that some suspects had caught dolphins at Bahrain’s territorial waters in order to hand them over to a dolphin-show facility, in agreement with the latter’s manager.
The Coast Guard Command also indicated that it had monitored the handover of one dolphin to the facility’s staff and that it had found three dolphins at the facility during its visit to it.
The Public Prosecution interrogated the suspects, and requested a report by the specialists of the Supreme Council for Environment. The report said that it had visited the facility six months ago and found no dolphins there. It also affirmed that no permits to import dolphins have been issued to the facility over the past six months.
The Public Prosecution ordered the seizure of the boat used in catching the dolphins and the vehicle used to transport one of the dolphins. It also ordered the four defendants to stand trial on June 2.
The Chief Prosecutor asserted that fishing dolphins at the kingdom’s territorial waters is banned as per the Constitution in order to protect the environment and natural resources.
