Animal rights activists are outraged by a Solomon Islands businessman who has virtually imprisoned eight totally stressed dolphins in a tiny pool for months while he tries to sell them to marine parks in Australia and the US.
Despite opposition from both the Australian and New Zealand governments, Solomons dolphins are captured and sold to aquariums, marine parks and even hotels around the world, sometimes fetching close to 180 thousand US dollars.
Solomons dolphin activist Lawrence Makili, who is the Earth Island Institute's Pacific Regional Director, says that despite the institute's tireless efforts to end the live trade, another dolphin dealer had emerged.
The American-based Earth Island Institute earlier this year began paying Solomon villagers to stop hunting dolphins.
