Blackbeard's Cay
By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
LOCAL environmental activists are up in arms over the alleged separation of a dolphin mother and her recently born male calf at Blackbeard’s Cay, an “unconscionable” act they claim will adversely affect the health and lives of both creatures.
Sam Duncombe, director of ReEarth, along with Kim Terrell, a retired zoologist who worked in The Bahamas for years, both condemned the alleged premature weaning of a dolphin calf on the Balmoral Island facility, further charging that the “outrageous” separation of the two, just under three months after the calf’s birth, could result in death for the dolphin calf.
They called on the government to intervene on the matter, with Ms Terrell stressing that something must be done soon before “this little male dolphin dies due to the stupidity of taking him from his mom before he can survive.”
On Tuesday, Mrs Duncombe claimed the calf, which The Tribune understands was born in May, was allegedly separated from his mother for breeding purposes.
She later told The Tribune that the calf had allegedly already begun to eat “solid food,” which she said is “outrageous” given that dolphin calves typically nurse for up to three years after their birth.
Ms Terrell also put out a statement on the matter, the details of which mirrored the claims made by Mrs Duncombe.
“I have remained quiet about the horrible things that happen at the Balmoral dolphin facility in Nassau, Bahamas, but due to recent events I can no longer keep quiet,” Ms Terrell said.
She stressed that the Bahamas Marine Mammal Protection Act must be upheld and its rules enforced.
“Something must be done, and must be done soon. Please do it before this little male dolphin dies due to the stupidity of taking him from his mom before he can survive.”
Repeated attempts to contact Samir Andrawos, the St Maarten-based businessman who is Blackbeard’s Cay principal, for comment were unsuccessful up to press time. Additional attempts to contact Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V Alfred Gray were also unsuccessful.
Mrs Duncombe, meanwhile, said it is “unconscionable that you would separate a mother from her calf.”
“I just don’t understand what they think they’re doing,” she said. “If they supposedly know what they’re supposed to do in terms of animal care, they should know that cannot happen. That pair should remain together for a minimum of two years.
“It’s ridiculous in this day and age with all the science that is out there that talks about keeping those animals together in their pods and their families and friends and we’re doing this still today in 2016?”
This is the latest round of controversy to hit the Balmoral Island facility, particularly with regards to the dolphins kept on the property.
On August 31, 2015, Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs issued an order reinforcing his July 27, 2014 judgment in favour of reEarth’s judicial review application to challenge the permits/approvals received by the Blackbeard’s Cay project.
The order required both Prime Minister Perry Christie and the Town Planning Committee to mandate that Blue Illusions cease developing the island and restore the land to its original condition.
And Mr Gray, as minister of agriculture and fisheries, was required to remove the eight dolphins at the facility to a new, “appropriate location.”
Then, in a December 17, 2015 ruling, Justice Milton Evans found that the eight dolphins belonged to their Honduran supplier, Instituto De Ciencias Marinas (IMS), and not Mr Andrawos.
However, the government has yet to act on both Justice Isaacs’ order and the subsequent ruling by Justice Evans.
Comments
Economist 8 years, 3 months ago
And we wonder why we have such a high crime rate when we have a Government that leads by not abiding by the law.
PLP Government message, by its leadership, is that it is ok to break the law.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 3 months ago
The real question to be answered here is why haven't Justice Isaacs and Justice Evans issued contempt of Court citations and bench warrants against the government officials responsible for failing to act on their rulings and, as a consequence, allowing the Court to fall victim to being held in disrepute in the eyes of the public? At some point both Justice Isaacs and Justice Evans become a duplicitous part of the contempt shown the Court by their own inaction which should in and of itself warrant referral to the ethics and disciplinary arm of the Bahamas Bar Association. The Court is being allowed to be held in disrepute, plain and simple. Like parliamentarians, sitting judges are not above the law of the land, the very laws they have sworn to apply and uphold.
Sickened 8 years, 3 months ago
The utter disrespect that this government shows to our legal system and each and every Bahamian (except the criminal number boys) is sickening.
I no longer recognize the PLP as our government.
D_Love 8 years, 3 months ago
It's completely outrageous what their doing by separating such a young dolphin from its mother. They can be only one of two things. Either stupid or heartless, or even both. It is from my understanding that Mr. Andrawos has Mr. Christie in his pocket. Therefore the injustice and the horrible actions being done by Mr. Andrawos and his team is going to be a hard fight to end. Corrupt politicians sicken me, along with weathly people who want to start a business in which they know squat about. Why involve dolphins if you have no idea what your doing or have no love for the animals. Pure BS!
Wwelbourn 8 years, 3 months ago
If the Bahamian's had any respect for their own rule of law the Dolphins would no longer be there. Shame to see their own judges being ignored to the detriment of these lovely creatures.
sealice 8 years, 3 months ago
Sorry Lady and Sorry Dolphins this is the Bahamas and our gov't only good for talking crap no real action ever especially when it's White Women bitching about something no one in the Gov't cares about anyways......
ThomasLewis 8 years, 3 months ago
This is horrendous and callous!
The importance of preserving nature and the specie as such seems not to be taken seriously by the powers that be. I really long and hope for the day that the cries of those who are sincere will be heard especially considering the unborn and future generation.
RUKiddingMe 8 years, 3 months ago
Why is there always one village idiot who makes their statement a racist one? sealice you need to come into this century!
Reality_Check 8 years, 3 months ago
As Mudda_take_sic observes in his comment above, judges who are content not to hold in contempt those who have clearly decided to disobey the Orders of the Court as set out in their rulings should be made to resign. Justice Isaacs and Justice Evans are apparently two such judges. This particular matter appears to be but one shining example of numerous other instances where these two judges appear to have "conveniently" failed to discharge their sworn duty to uphold the laws of our land. By failing to do so, they are showing the Bahamian people and the whole world that we have sitting judges who contribute to the current dysfunctional nature of our legal system thereby jeopardizing our entire system of government. It is bad enough that the corrupt Christie-led PLP government and the current Attorney General (Allyson Maynard-Gibson aka the Wicked Witch of the West) have repeatedly abuse our judiciary in most unseemly ways for their own political purposes; we certainly do not need to add to the woes of our legal system sitting judges who simply refuse to discharge their duties by allowing individuals (whoever they may be) to hold our Supreme Court in contempt! It is shameful that not one of the QCs in our country today, nor any senior representative of the Bahamas Bar Association, is willing to speak out loudly about the harmful effects that untimely court rulings and unenforced court orders are having on our legal system and the public's trust and faith in it.
DDK 8 years, 3 months ago
Sadly, it's all about money and people playing at politics. Another disgrace in the Bahamas. Wish the dolphin would rise up and bite the unconcerned in their collective derrieres!
DDK 8 years, 3 months ago
Eloquently put Reality Check! Corruption in the highest order allowed to flourish at will.
Justicenow 8 years, 3 months ago
Why and how is this allow to happen? It leaves me sickened to think of the suffering these animals have been forced to endure at the hands of people who obviously have no regard for their physical or emotional well-being. This is blatant cruelty to animals and arrogant dismissal of the law. The animals should be returned to their rightful home in Honduras per ruling of the court!! Justice needs to be served now and the law upheld before any further damage is done or God forbid a life is lost due to their greed. Shame.
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