MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



Another marine mammal that was being considered 

 for possible release to the wild is Keiko, the male 

 killer whale featured in the movie Free Willy. Keiko, 

 captured in Icelandic waters in 1979 at the age of two, 

 lived in an Icelandic aquarium for three years before 

 being moved to a facility in Ontario, Canada. In 1985 

 the animal was sold to a facility in Mexico City. In 

 1996 he was moved to the Oregon Coast Aquarium 

 where the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation assumed 

 responsibility for him. The foundation took steps to 

 improve the health of the animal and developed a plan 

 to return Keiko to Iceland for further rehabilitation 

 and possible release to the wild. 



Before the whale was exported, a panel of experts 

 assessed his health and in January 1998 submitted a 

 report stating that, although Keiko was not ill at the 

 time of the review, given the animal's history of poor 

 health, it "need[ed] to be studied for a much longer 

 period of time. " As plans were being made to return 

 Keiko to Iceland, the Commission on 1 1 August 1998 

 wrote the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

 recommending that, before the move was authorized, 

 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service should be 

 satisfied that the whale is in good health and will be 

 able to withstand the stress and rigors involved with 

 the transport. In this regard, the Commission sug- 

 gested that, because seven months had elapsed since 

 the meeting of the review panel, the Service may find 

 it useful to convene another panel of independent 

 experts to evaluate the health of the animal. The 

 Service responded by letter of 17 August 1998 stating, 

 among other things, that the original panel, which was 



established at the request of the Free Willy/Keiko 

 Foundation, was uncomfortable with the idea of 

 reconvening and that requiring the formation of such 

 a panel was beyond the Service's authority under the 

 Animal Welfare Act. 



The Free Willy/Keiko Foundation sought concur- 

 rence fi"om the National Marine Fisheries Service and 

 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that 

 export of Keiko to Iceland for purposes of public 

 display was allowable under the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act. On 17 August 1998 the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service advised the foundation's 

 director that the foundation had satisfied the necessary 

 requirements for both the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

 Service. To minimize the transport time, the founda- 

 tion contracted with the U.S. Air Force to airlift 

 Keiko to Iceland in a military cargo plane on 9 

 September 1998. 



Both before and after Keiko's export, the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service made it clear to the Free 

 Willy/Keiko Foundation that it must apply for a 

 scientific research permit if release of Keiko to the 

 wild is deemed a desirable option. In this regard, the 

 Service has advised the foundation and the Icelandic 

 govenunent of the need to develop a sound, scientific 

 approach to any release that may eventually be consid- 

 ered, comparable with what would be required for a 

 scientific research permit under the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act. To date, the foundation has chosen to 

 hold Keiko for public display purposes only, while 

 continuing to evaluate him for possible future release. 



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