Airline slammed for dolphin flights
Hong Kong Airlines, which is planning to start all-business class flights from the UK next month, has come under fire for its transportation of live dolphins.
An internal memo to airline staff describing its recent delivery of dolphins from Japan to Vietnam was leaked to the China Daily newspaper, causing outrage in Hong Kong.
The five dolphins 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.
The 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," said the memo.
"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".
By TravelMole Asia
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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