Post by LSDeep on Mar 31, 2006 9:28:13 GMT -5
By Piet Van Niekerk
Jeffreys Bay aquarium owner and wildlife trader John Visser is to resume exporting live sharks to Dubai despite the suspension of his export permit by the department of sea fisheries.
Visser decided to resume his activities after receiving legal advice that the verbal suspension of his permit by sea fisheries compliance officer Mloudeleli Blulane on March 20 was not carried out in accordance with Section 51 of the Marine Living and Resources Act.
Attorney Christo Swanepoel yesterday instructed Blulane in a letter that he had not acted in terms of the powers delegated to him by the Act when he raided Visser's aquarium.
Swanepoel said his client had "complied" with an unlawful verbal order, but will now proceed with the exporting of sharks "in terms of a lawful permit issued".
The aquarium was closed by Blulane 10 days ago after two former employees complained about the apparent neglect of about 25 rockhopper penguins, all but one of which have died.
The penguins were part of a group of 146 captured by Visser - who had obtained the necessary permits - on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha group in the South Atlantic, in 2003.
The other birds were exported to Europe and Asia.
News of the venture initially raised concerns among wildlife activists.
Visser, a zoologist, had tests done on the birds at Onderstepoort to try and ascertain what caused the deaths which amounted to hundreds of thousands of rands in losses.
His legal counsel said it was unreasonable of the sea fisheries department to expect Visser to breach his international contract for the exporting of sharks and at the same time to expect him to feed and maintain the sharks indefinitely at a high cost.
The letter to the department reads: "You are hereby informed that our client has been advised to proceed with the export of sharks presently in his aquarium."
"Should you proceed by delivering a notice in terms of the Marine Living and Resources Act, we would proceed with an urgent review application to the High Court in Port Elizabeth."
Eastern Province Herald
Jeffreys Bay aquarium owner and wildlife trader John Visser is to resume exporting live sharks to Dubai despite the suspension of his export permit by the department of sea fisheries.
Visser decided to resume his activities after receiving legal advice that the verbal suspension of his permit by sea fisheries compliance officer Mloudeleli Blulane on March 20 was not carried out in accordance with Section 51 of the Marine Living and Resources Act.
Attorney Christo Swanepoel yesterday instructed Blulane in a letter that he had not acted in terms of the powers delegated to him by the Act when he raided Visser's aquarium.
Swanepoel said his client had "complied" with an unlawful verbal order, but will now proceed with the exporting of sharks "in terms of a lawful permit issued".
The aquarium was closed by Blulane 10 days ago after two former employees complained about the apparent neglect of about 25 rockhopper penguins, all but one of which have died.
The penguins were part of a group of 146 captured by Visser - who had obtained the necessary permits - on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha group in the South Atlantic, in 2003.
The other birds were exported to Europe and Asia.
News of the venture initially raised concerns among wildlife activists.
Visser, a zoologist, had tests done on the birds at Onderstepoort to try and ascertain what caused the deaths which amounted to hundreds of thousands of rands in losses.
His legal counsel said it was unreasonable of the sea fisheries department to expect Visser to breach his international contract for the exporting of sharks and at the same time to expect him to feed and maintain the sharks indefinitely at a high cost.
The letter to the department reads: "You are hereby informed that our client has been advised to proceed with the export of sharks presently in his aquarium."
"Should you proceed by delivering a notice in terms of the Marine Living and Resources Act, we would proceed with an urgent review application to the High Court in Port Elizabeth."
Eastern Province Herald