Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists
and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training
exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic
dart' guns. Divers and surfers could be at risk from attack.
The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military
purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.
Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has
worked for government and industry, said he had received
intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine
fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped.
'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in
wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or
windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if
equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could
fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put the target
to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if
the victim is not found for hours?'
Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through
a neck harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins made
secure before Katrina struck?' said Sheridan.
The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed
from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during
Katrina. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the
dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined
them.
Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the
dolphins were not the navy's, understood to be kept in
training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake
Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans.
The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in
San Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and
small electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to patrol
and protect Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships
at sea.
Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins
became more secretive. But the project gained impetus after the
Yemen terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also
been used to detect mines near an Iraqi port.
