The Indonesian government has cracked down on a Bali restaurant illegally keeping dolphins for the amusement of diners.
Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Zulkifli Hasan, visited the Akame Restaurant located near Benoa harbour to investigate reports that dolphins were being mistreated and held captive.
Quoting a report by Kompas.com, Bali Online (www.balidiscovery.com) reported that the minister found two dolphins were kept at the restaurant to entertain diners. They were reported to be in poor condition.
After discovering that the restaurant’s permit to keep the dolphins was not valid, the minister ordered that the pair should be sent to a dolphin rehabilitation centre on Karimunjawa island, north of Java.
The minister said that the dolphins would be rehabilitated before being released back into the ocean.
However, his office has yet to work out how the dolphins will be moved the considerable distance to Karimunjawa.
