(2005-01-05) — In a rare heartwarming story from disaster-struck South Asia, local soldiers and fisherman rescued a dolphin which had been trapped in a Thai lagoon for 10 harrowing days after the tsunami which left millions of humans homeless.

The rescue crew labored for days trying to catch the landlocked dolphin and the investment of time and manpower paid off when soldiers hauled the confused marine mammal to shore, where the human survivors from a local village quickly turned him into the first good meal they’ve enjoyed in more than a week.

“This episode will show the world that animal welfare and human welfare go hand in hand…or flipper,” said a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of People and Animals (PETOPA). “The dolphin is free from the lagoon and the villagers have staved off starvation for another day. The dolphin was a symbol of hope — a hope that has been fulfilled deliciously. We marvel at the beauty of the circle of life.”

One of the soldiers who helped carry the dolphin on a stretcher said, “This thing was huge. Whoever said ‘It takes a village’ was right. We even had leftovers.”

Meanwhile, in the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) today launched a massive fundraising effort to rescue thousands of homeless farm animals in the tsunami region and then release them into the wild.

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