As reported on by Las Vegas Backstage Access on June 7, the dolphin named Sgt. Pepper died on June 4 at The Mirage from complications from a lung infection.
Now we learn that two days before the death, two animal rights groups, Born Free USA and The World Society for the Protection of Animals, filed a legal complaint against The Mirage’s petition to request to import two more dolphins for the Las Vegas resort’s habitat.
On April 15, The Mirage placed an application with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service to import two captive Atlantic bottlenose dolphins form Bermuda for breeding purposes.
The filed complaint alleges more dolphins shouldn’t be brought in because other dolphins had died in the past at the habitat, which the two groups claim is being used as a money-making enterprise rather than for educational or conservation purposes, as The Mirage contends.
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 