Hong Kong Airlines is under pressure to stop its live dolphin cargo business after an internal memo describing a recent delivery from Japan to Vietnam was leaked to the China Daily newspaper.
Five dolphins being transported from Osaka to Hanoi are believed to have come from the Japanese town of Taiji, the scene of an annual dolphin slaughter depicted in Oscar award winning documentary The Cove.
An internal memo to airline staff described the flight as a success that earned $110,000 in cargo revenue.
“The smooth handling of such special cargo which is time sensitive and vulnerable demonstrates that Hong Kong Airlines cargo handling capability has further improved,” says the memo cited by China Daily.
“Based on the experience we have obtained this time, Hong Kong Airlines cargo will develop the business onwards.”
It included a photograph of the dolphins lying in shallow, narrow
containers inside the belly of a Boeing 733F cargo plane.
Animal rights’ groups in Hong Kong are calling for an end to the transport of live dolphins by air.
An online petition alleging that the mammals are transported in “flying coffins” further claims that “dolphins are neither cargo, nor commerce, nor entertainment”.
Hong Kong Airlines is due to launch an all-business class service between Hong Kong and London in March.
