Boston - - A cargo plane arrived in the Solomon Islands on Monday to pick up approximately 30 dolphins wild dolphins, believed to be headed for a captive facility in Cancun, Mexico.

WSPA is urging officials in Australia and New Zealand, which are sending interventionist forces to help restore order to this nation in chaos, to prevent the plane from leaving the Solomon Islands until questions about the legality of these captures can be resolved. The dolphins are from an estimated 60 - 200 that have been taken from the wild by local fishermen in recent weeks, in response to a bounty of $400 per dolphin. The sheer size of the captures is of great concern to experts, who fear that this operation could have a devastating effect on wild dolphin populations.

Further, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is asking both governments to use their influence to ensure that immediate action is taken to return all the dolphins back to the wild, subject to any necessary health checks.

Foreign business interests are believed to be collecting and training a number of the dolphins for shipment to Mexico and other countries, where a single captive dolphin can be worth up to $30,000. WSPA is concerned at reports that a Mexican business plans to import a number of these dolphins for use in controversial captive swim with the dolphin programmes, at the very time when a ban on the capture of dolphins from Mexican waters is going through the legislative process.

Philip Lymbery, WSPA's Director of Communications, said, "This is an animal welfare tragedy and we are calling on Australia and New Zealand to use their influence to stop the captures and set these captive dolphins free. Time is running out if we are to save these dolphins from being consigned to a life in captivity. WSPA is opposed to the use of animals for entertainment and believes that the nature of the dolphins' capture, transport and holding is unacceptable on welfare grounds."

According to local media reports, fisherman have been taking the dolphins from the water and holding them in small sea cages on the island of Gela, off the capital, Honiara. Once caught, dolphins often travel for hours by open boat before reaching these cages; journeys that are excruciating for these marine mammals, as their internal organs are susceptible to being damaged by their body weight once out of the water.

A crocodile has already killed one captured dolphin and WSPA fears that the death toll could rise further as stress-induced illness, improper care and malnutrition take their toll.

All species of dolphin are protected from illegal trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The Solomon Islands has not signed up to CITES. However, the Convention, to which Mexico is a signatory, restricts international trade in dolphins where it is detrimental to wild populations, and also requires proper licensing and regulation.

Dolphins have long been a cherished part of the Solomon Islands' cultural heritage. Many of the animals are being taken from waters off the island of Malaita, where dolphin teeth are part of traditional bridal dowry ceremonies. In other areas, it is taboo to harm a dolphin, based on the ancient belief that humans with mystical powers could transform themselves into sea creatures.