South Asian river dolphin May 2013 India's Ministry of Environment and Forests declared dolphins ‘non-human persons’ and as such has forbidden their captivity for entertainment purposes; keeping dolphins in captivity must satisfy certain legal prerequisites. South Asian river dolphin The South Asian river dolphin ("Platanista gangetica") is an endangered freshwater or river dolphin found in the region of South Asia which is split into two subspecies, the Ganges river dolphin ("P. g. gangetica")(~3,500 individuals) and the Indus river dolphin ("P. g. minor")(~1,500 individuals). The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in Bangladesh, India and Nepal,
Endangered Species Act of 1973 fish, wildlife, and forest service or plant pending the violation caused by the criminal. If the balance ever exceeds $500,000 the Secretary of the Treasury is required to deposit an amount equal to the excess into the cooperative endangered species conservation fund. Endangered Species Act of 1973 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is one of the few dozens of US environmental laws passed in the 1970s, and serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora