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"Dolphin News"
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Winning small battles like
this wins
wars:
COURT DENIES INTERVENTION OF MEXICAN
& VENEZUELAN TUNA COMPANIES IN
"DOLPHIN SAFE" LABEL LAWSUIT ~
Lawsuit Seeks to Overturn Bush Administration Decision
to Weaken
"Dolphin Safe" Tuna Label. (San Francisco) Judge Thelton Henderson issued a new ruling today
preventing Mexican and Venezuelan tuna industry millionaires from
intervening in the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label lawsuit. Earth
Island
Institute and other environmental groups filed "Earth Island
Institute v Evans" to prevent the Bush Administration from weakening
the standards for the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label. The foreign
tuna
companies want to label tuna cans exported to the US as "Dolphin
Safe," despite having caught the tuna by chasing, netting and killing
dolphins, and they attempted to intervene in the case. More than 7
million dolphins have been killed by this fishing technique since the
1950's.
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In an extensive opinion, Judge Henderson determined that the economic
interest of Mexican and Venezuelan tuna industries in selling tuna in
the US was not sufficient to allow their entering the case, and
further that the Bush Administration was adequately representing
their interests in weakening the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label standards.
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"We believe the Mexican and Venezuelan tuna industry have already had
too much political influence on the Bush Administration," stated
David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute's International
Marine Mammal Project. "Their only interest is in selling tuna in
the US, and they know they cannot sell it here unless they falsely
claim it is 'Dolphin Safe.' Judge Henderson rightly has kept them
out of the case due to their lack of any scientific or environmental
interest."
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"This decision means that the case will proceed to trial more
quickly," said Josh Floum of San Francisco's Holme Roberts & Owen,
lead counsel for all of the plaintiffs. "The Judge properly
recognized that economic interests alone do not allow Mexican and
Venezuelan fishing companies to intervene in this case. The statute
at issue is about protecting dolphins and providing truth in labeling
for the American consumer. It is not about advancing commercial
fishing interests," Floum added. "This is particularly true
because
the United States fleet is truly 'Dolphin Safe,' and our foreign
counterparts should be held to the same standard."
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Plaintiffs in the dolphin case include: Earth Island Institute,
Samuel LaBudde, Humane Society of the United States, American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Defenders of
Wildlife, International Wildlife Coalition, Animal Welfare Institute,
Society for Animal Protective Legislation, Animal Fund, and Oceanic
Society.
The case is expected to go before Judge Henderson in federal court in
San Francisco for summary judgment sometime this summer or fall.
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Earth Island Institute is a nonprofit educational organization
dedicated to protecting the diversity of life on Earth. The
International Marine Mammal Project works to protect whales, dolphins
and other marine mammals around the world.
VIDEO AVAILABLE: Broadcast quality video footage by Samuel LaBudde of
the devastating effects of tuna nets on dolphins is available by
calling Earth Island (415) 788-3666.
"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord,
make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."
--Voltaire
International Marine Mammal Project
Earth Island Institute
300 Broadway, Suite 28
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 788-3666 x139
(415) 788-7324 (fax)
www.earthisland.org |
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