
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1994                   TAG: 9408310050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A12   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DOLPHINS FEEL HEAT FROM PEACE DIVIDEND

WASHINGTON - Work your tail off every day, risk life and limb to protect your country, and what thanks do you get? Early retirement and a one-way trip to Sea World.

The Pentagon drawdown has been tough on U.S. troops in every armed service, but now the cutbacks have arrived at the Navy dolphins. The elite squad of 100 flippered fighters - reserved for the most daring underwater search and demolition missions - has served as watchdogs for anchored ships and as minesweepers in conflicts from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf.

The Pentagon says 30 of the dolphins have got to go. They are expected to find homes at amusement centers, aquariums or parks.

Animal-rights advocates demand release of the dolphins from any type of captivity.

But until researchers determine that tame dolphins can survive on their own, ``we cannot release the animals into the wild in good conscience, and we won't,'' one Navy official said.

by CNB