The recent sighting of a dolphin in Adelaide’s Port River which appears to have a gunshot wound has raised concerns that these animals could still be the target of either fishermen or simply people taking pot-shots at them for “fun”.

The male dolphin was found in the Port River sanctuary with two clearly-defined holes in the middle of its dorsal fin. Mike Bossley from the Australian Dolphin Research Foundation and Aaron Machado, President of Project Dolphin Safe, said they believed the dolphin was shot at close range with a shotgun some time last year. Mr Machado also reported discovering a bullet during an autopsy he was carrying out on another dolphin just over a year ago. Whilst going through the brain cavity a .22 calibre bullet came out.

Despite this, the local authorities claim that there have been no reported shootings confirmed in the sanctuary since the late 1990s, however Mr Bossley reported that many commercial fishermen do carry guns on board and that, whilst not irrefutable proof, would give them the opportunity to shoot at dolphins. In 1998 the bodies of six dolphins were found washed up on the shoreline after being killed by humans, however the general consensus was that no-one could be sure that the wounds had been caused by a gun an no-one was ever charged with the killings.