FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 7, 1997
CONTACT:
Christine Wolf, (301) 585-2591, ChrisW@fund.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, from 10:30 to 11:30 A.M., at "Upper Senate Park" on the corner of Louisiana Avenue N.W. and D Street N.E., 300 middle school students from the West Chester School District in suburban Philadelphia told Members of Congress: "Keep Dolphin-Safe Safe for Dolphins! Defeat the Dolphin Death Act!"
The sixth and seventh grade students told Members of Congress to vote against H.R. 408, a bill that would gut current dolphin protection laws and redefine the term "Dolphin-Safe" to allow tuna fishermen to chase and encircle dolphins in their nets. Similar legislation failed in the Senate last year, but the House is scheduled to vote on H.R. 408 next week.
Joining the students at the rally will be Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), Congressman George Miller (D-CA), and "Flipper," the giant 20-foot inflatable dolphin.
Several years ago, Senators Boxer and Biden fought hard to pass a prohibition on the import of tuna caught by encircling dolphins in nets. American consumers have come to expect the "Dolphin-Safe" logo on their tuna. Efforts by the Clinton Administration, Mexican interests, and five "environmental" groups to pass the "Dolphin Death Act" (H.R. 408 in the House and S. 39 in the Senate) would undo years of dolphin protection and the "Dolphin-Safe" logo.
"These students are rallying on Capitol Hill to protect their dolphins for future generations," says Christine Wolf, Director of Government Affairs for The Fund for Animals. "The children of America will not tolerate political attempts to turn back the clock on dolphin protection."
The Fund for Animals is one of the nation's largest animal protection organizations, with headquarters in New York City and hundreds of thousands of members nationwide.
Addendum -- The House of Representative approved H.R. 408 by a vote of 262 to 166. The legislation will be considered in the Senate very soon.