Two Black Sea dolphins illegally exported to Morocco

A businessman from Russia’s Krasnodar Territory exported two Black Sea dolphins to Morocco, using forged documents.
The customs of the southern region of Russia stated that a criminal case had been opened in this regard, explaining that “the personnel of the Department of Combating Dangerous Species of Smuggling, in particular in the Customs of Southern Operations, had uncovered illegal movement across customs borders of CITES facilities for Black Sea dolphins.”

For example, it was reported that a businessman from the Krasnodar Territory signed a contract with the Dolphinarium from Morocco to supply him with a species of Black Sea dolphins, for environmental education and extension programs for marine mammals, and issued a temporary export permit for two bottlenose dolphins from Russia. When he declared them, he provided information that a female Black Sea dolphin named Marie was born in a specialized tank in the Krasnodar Territory, and another, called Cleo, had been keeping it for more than 20 years in a dolphinarium.

The local Russian customs report said that the investigations revealed that the businessman “participating in foreign economic activity had forged the birth certificate of the Black Sea bottle-nose dolphin named Mary, and the declaration of the source of the Black Sea dolphin named Cleo was proven to be falsified.” It is noteworthy that the cost of two dolphins, according to experts, is more than 2.5 million rubles, which is approximately 34 thousand dollars.

Black Sea dolphins are included in the list of strategically important resources, and they fall under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Source: Novosti