All parties need to help save Maui’s dolphins

Wellington, 30 July 2014 – Forest & Bird is urging all political parties to adopt the recommendations of scientists - and the International Whaling Commission - in order to save to save the Maui’s dolphin from extinction.

This follows the release of the Green Party’s policy on Maui’s dolphins this morning. The World Wildlife Fund will also deliver a 102,000 signature petition to Parliament, which calls for urgent action to save the animals, at 1230 this afternoon (Wednesday).

“Presumably none of the parties contesting this year’s general election would want New Zealand to be only the second country in the world – behind China – to let a dolphin species go extinct,” says Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell.

“We hope that all the political parties will adopt similar policies to what the Greens have released today. Protecting these dolphins should be a bi-partisan issue.

“The science is clear. If we are going to save the Maui’s, we have to stop using the types of fishing methods that are killing them, where the dolphins live. And seismic testing and oil and gas prospecting in Maui’s habitat needs to stop,”” Kevin Hackwell says.

Forest & Bird has been campaigning for several years for the creation of a marine mammal sanctuary that would include all Maui’s habitat, and for central government to help fishing companies make the transition from using gill and trawl nets to dolphin-friendly fishing techniques.

Forest & Bird is New Zealand’s largest independent conservation organisation, with 50 branches nationwide. It protects our native plants, animals and wild places, on land and in our oceans. Forest & Bird is a non-partisan organisation. We encourage all political parties to have strong policies that support conservation and the environment.

ENDS

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