McNeal Enterprises, a company owned by Odinga Lumumba, the Presidential Adviser on Empowerment, is not on a list of licensed wildlife exporters despite being involved in the intended export of 25 dolphins valued at US$500,000.

McNeal Enterprises paid an export levy of 20% to the government in February and March, for each animal valued at US$20,000, for a total charge of $19.6M.

According to the laws, any person or company seeking to export wildlife must first obtain a licence to conduct the trade before an export permit is issued.

In 2003, the number of exporters with licences increased from 28 to 56, to facilitate more exporters but a recent list does not include Lumumba's company. Lumumba had said that his company had merely facilitated the process for a client. He has refused to divulge whether McNeal had been paid to export the items.

In January, Lumumba was issued export permits to ship the dolphins in groups of six, eight, seven and four by the Wildlife Division, according to its former director Khalawan (only name).

Khalawan was sent on special leave on June 7 and on Friday he was fired by the Wildlife Management Authority. The authority said in a statement that after an investigation into irregularities at the unit it had found that Khalawan had "exceeded his mandate as administrative head of division and caused various wildlife species to be exported without the requisite approvals and consistently kept this information from the board."

The board said among the species exported without approval are dolphins, giant anteaters and 'towa-towa', a popular singing bird.

In a sworn statement to his lawyer, Khemraj Ramjattan, Khalawan said Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had given him a written directive to issue the permits for the dolphin exports after a series of conversations about how it would be handled. The Wildlife Unit comes under the authority of the Office of the President with Luncheon having direct responsibility for the unit

Luncheon's letter reads:

"After discussions with staff at the Wildlife Management Unit, I would like you to consider these proposals;

* A one-off permit being issued to the exporter to govern export of the species...

* The cost of each animal being US$20,000 (as against a recommended price of US$30,000 because of the proximity of Mexico to Guyana).

* The administrative arrangements and trading specifications being handled by the Wildlife Unit."

At a press conference on June 18, when questioned about the quantity of unauthorised exports, Luncheon said that information was not available neither was there any detail on the amount of money made through the scheme. "It would take a full investigation of all the wildlife and the number of the different species before we can determine the cash value."

Khalawan in his statement said Luncheon instructed Lumumba to collect the export permit from him. Luncheon last week described as "bunkum" suggestions that he was involved in authorising or sanctioning the sale of the dolphins to a client in Venezuela.

He stated that the dolphin exports were undertaken without permission from the Wildlife Management Authority.

The licence for wildlife traders, called the Guyana Wildlife Management Authority Commercial Exportation Licence, is stipulated under Regulation 29 of the Species Protection Regulations 1999 and the Environmental Protection Act, Act No. 11 of 1996.

The terms and conditions of the licence state that the licence holder shall refrain from selling, assigning or transferring quotas granted by the Wildlife Authority under this licence. Also the Wildlife Authority of any species for which no market is identified before the end of October (licences were previously issued in May for the balance of the year) must have an approved license permit for holding the animals.

The exporter must have an appropriate means to transport the category of wildlife listed; must keep a register of the number of species and categories of animals purchased, sold and exported.

Another requirement for an exporter is to have licensed holding premises although this was waived last year and exporters are allowed to export from another exporters' licensed premise.

The license for a holding premises is issued under the Species Protection Regulations (No.38 1999) and the EPA Act 1996 (No. 11 of 1996).

Khellawan Lall, secretary of the Wildlife Management Authority and political adviser to the President is authorised to affix his signature to both licences which each cost $50,000.

A wildlife exporter for over 15 years told Stabroek News that no local exporter currently has the facilities to hold dolphins for export. It is unclear how these animals were kept while waiting to be transported out of the country. The usual practice is to hold them in pens at sea or in filtered ponds.

Khalawan had told this newspaper in February that he suspected that exporters would have to access experts with knowledge of holding and caring for the creatures. He had also stated that there would be no set quota and the permits would be given based on the exporter's holding facilities.

A fully-grown dolphin is a strong creature and they can damage themselves when being caught. Infections caused by a simple scratch with a fingernail can kill them, says a local veterinarian.

How many dolphins were hurt or even died during capture is still unknown, even though the death rate of wild dolphins during the capture process is not high compared to other animals. It is also not clear how the dolphins were to be transported to Mexico.

Khalawan said that the unit's veterinarian, Dr. Lennox Applewhaite, examined four dolphins to issue the health certificate for them to be shipped from Port Mabaruma.

According to International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations, if dolphins are transported in cages then a hammock must be in the cage.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) was sent a copy of the non-detrimental study (NDF) for dolphin exports which shows that the trade would not be harmful to the population being traded. The NDF also lays out the procedures to hold and export the animals. CITES was yet to give a no-objection based on the NDF.

Khalawan mentioned that the Scientific Authority recommended that 20 dolphins be traded per annum from a population of 5,533 dolphins, instead of the recommended 55.3 per annum. Consultant Rueben Charles, a former chief fisheries officer was hired to conduct the NDF and he recommended the export number of 55.3.

As such Lumumba should not have been given a permit to export 25 dolphins, contrary to what was mentioned in the report to CITES.

In his letter to Khalawan, Luncheon had also noted for his consideration that, "The gender ratio of the shipment of 25 animals (as against the recommended 20 by the Scientific Authority) to be finalised but with male predominance."

In May, 11 dolphins left Guyana from Port Mabaruma in Region One (Barima/Waini) for FASIMAR in Mexico, according to Khalawan's statement.

But it is not clear if the dolphins ever reached their destination.

A source in Venezuela had stated that, "Last May 22 or so, about a dozen... bottlenose dolphins were confiscated by the Venezuelan Coast Guard while maintained in a sea pen in Ensenada Uquirito, near the Dragon mouth... [the Orinoco delta] with Trinidad and Tobago. The Orinoco Delta is an area where Venezuela claims jurisdiction."