The issue goes back when the dolphin stranded last November on a beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama and was rescued by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS), since then the dolphin's health has improved but Moby Solangi, director of IMMS,is stating that the dolphin's chances of surviving in the wild are slim. Time and time again, captive facilties state that their rescued dolphins cannot be released - and it seems to be a more common occurrence when the animal in question is a young male of breeding age - is this a co-incidence or an excuse to keep males in such facilities to refresh the gene pool.

The dolphin (which has not been named but, as in the military, is issued with a number), swims alone in a tank at IMMS and NMFS wants the animal to have the company of other dolphins and had planned his transfer to a facility where other dolphins are housed however Solangi maintains NMFS has no jurisdiction over the dolphin. In the meantime, IMMS and NMFS have agreed the dolphin will be transferred to a Naval facility until the courtcase is resolved.

Regular readers of the Marine Connection website will recall the story of Cliffy the friendly dolphin which was taken into SeaWorld, Australia to recover from a fishing wound but was sadly never released, despite a worldwide campaign led by the Marine Connection. It would appear that sadly this type of incident along with dolphin strandings can be an ideal opportunity for the captivity industry to obtain animals.