© Provided by WWSB Tampa A dolphin was found with a stab wound on Fort Myers beach.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WWSB) – The Animal Legal Defense Fund is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the successful identification, arrest and conviction or civil penalty assessment of the person or people responsible for stabbing and killing a dolphin off the Florida Gulf Coast.
The dolphin was found recently on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. A necropsy revealed the dolphin was impaled in the head with a spear-like object while alive.
On March 24, NOAA and marine mammal experts received a report of a dead bottlenose dolphin.
Further examination indicated the wound, above the right eye, was inflicted before the animal died. The dolphin was an adult lactating female. The animal appeared to have died from the trauma, which occurred at or near the time of death.
Based on the shape, size and characteristics of the wound, it is suspected that the dolphin was impaled while in a begging position. Begging is not a natural behavior for dolphins and is frequently associated with illegal feeding. People can help prevent future harm to wild dolphins by not feeding or attempting to feed them. Dolphins fed by people learn to associate people, boats, and fishing gear with food, which puts dolphins and people in harmful situations.
NOAA law enforcement officials seek information from anyone who may have details of this incident. Please call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. Tips may be left anonymously.
Violent incidents toward dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico continue. Since 2002, at least 27 dolphins (including this one), have been found with evidence of being shot by guns or arrows, or impaled with sharp objects.
Under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is prohibited to harass, harm, feed, or kill a wild dolphin. The maximum penalty is a $100,000 fine and a year’s imprisonment.
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