Peruvian vendor selling dolphin meat on the black market. Photo: Austermuhle/Mundo Azul

Peru - The owner of a beachfront home near Punta Hermosa was greeted practically at his doorstep with a horrifying sight recently -- the gutted and mutilated body of a dead dolphin. Investigators from Mundo Azul, a dolphin advocacy group working to stop the illegal slaughter of dolphins for their meat, promptly inspected the site and confirmed that the dolphin had been killed so that his meat could be sold for human consumption and his carcass dumped unceremoniously into local waters.

The killing of dolphins for human consumption has been illegal in Peru since 1996, but the practice of hunting, capturing and butchering these animals continues. Dolphin meat is a hot commodity on the black market and despite the fact that it is readily available and sold openly, a law enforcement officials don't have the resources to crack down on this crime.

Mundo Azul is working to put a stop to the illegal slaughter of dolphins and to keep dolphins permanently off the menu in Peru. But, they need your help. Please visit http://www.peru.com/mundoazul/ to find out how you can help Mundo Azul protect dolphins in Peru.

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