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Researchers from the Slovenian Marine Mammal Association Morijinos found the dead dolphin near Stronjan in late June, and an autopsy showed it had been shot. Since dolphins are a strictly protected species in Slovenia and Europe, this is a criminal act, which is why the association reported the case to the police.
As the association reminds, their research team found a dead male finless porpoise near Strjan at the end of June, a species that occurs frequently in the northern Adriatic and, therefore, also in the Slovenian Sea. After the first field examination of the animal, they found that the carcass of the dolphin was already decomposed, so it was not possible to determine whether it was one of the identified dolphins monitored by the association in the northern Adriatic.
The association said that, as is customary, a thorough necropsy was carried out the next day at the National Veterinary Institute of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Ljubljana, and samples were taken for additional diagnostic tests. “After all analyses were carried out, the necropsy results showed that the dolphin had been shot,” they stressed.
As the association’s president said Thielen Genovawhich is the first recorded example of a dolphin being shot in modern times. “Our colleagues in Croatia have come across several such cases, but this is the first of its kind,” he said.
According to the words Tomislav Paler According to the report of the State Veterinary Institute, which conducted the autopsy, the animal was shot in the left side of the chest. “After entering the body, the pellet penetrated the left chest wall, pierced both lungs and exited the body through the right chest wall. Among the vital organs, the pellet damaged the lungs, so the animal most likely died of respiratory problems. I will leave the answer to the question of what kind of gun was used to shoot the animal to the weapons experts. We found pellet fragments at the scene of the gunshot wound, which we preserved for the needs of the ballistic investigation,” he explained.
The association warns that since dolphins are a strictly protected species in Slovenia and elsewhere in Europe, this case is a criminal offense. Therefore, the case has also been reported to the police. “The decomposition of the body suggests that the animal had been dead for at least a few days when it was found, so it is not known where it was shot. “Given that the Gulf of Trieste is shared by Slovenia, Italy and Croatia, the crime could have occurred outside Slovenia,” they explain.
At the same time, they point out that dolphins and other large marine predators are important components of marine ecosystems, helping to ensure a balanced marine food web. Therefore, protecting them has broader implications for the long-term preservation of a healthy ocean, which is also important for humans.
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