The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an earlier ruling by an appeals court to confiscate four dolphins that can allow the marine mammals to be set free into the wild.

   Justices confirmed the high court's ruling and sentenced the owner of the dolphins who ran a tourist attraction near Jungmun Beach on southern Jeju, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The owner identified only by his surname of Heo, will

also have to pay a fine of 10 million won (US$9,000).

   The country's highest court said arguments raised by the owners of the dolphins cannot be accepted even if there are no specific laws that cover this area of animal rights.

   Seoul considers the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin threatened animals that must be protected. It moreover bans the capture of wild marine mammals such as dolphins for commercial purposes.

   Heo had bought 11 dolphins captured illegally in 2009-2010 and used 10 of them for shows, while selling one to the Seoul Zoo.

   After the ruling was finalized, state prosecutors in Jeju confiscated the surviving dolphins and plan to send them to a Seoul Zoo, where they will be given specialized training so they can be eventually released. The release will be determined by the state of health of the individual animals, with those determined unfit to be kept in captivity. The single dolphin owned by Seoul Zoo is undergoing similar training. The body of one dolphin that died in captivity will be given to a laboratory so research can be conducted. (Yonhap News)