New Jersey Rejects Request For Dolphin Necropsy Results, Cites "Medical Privacy" (muckrock.com)

v3rgEz writes: When a dolphin died in New Jersey's South River last year, Carly Sitrin wanted to know what killed it. So she filed a public record request to the NJ Department of Agriculture in order to get the necropsy results. The DOA finally responded last week with the weird decision to deny the release of the record on grounds of medical privacy. The response reads in part: "We are in receipt of your request for information (#W101407) under the auspices of the State’s Open Public Records Act (O.P.R.A.). Specifically, you requested any and all reports associated with the necropsy of the dolphin that strayed into the South River on August 5, 2015 in Middlesex County, New Jersey. This request is denied as it would release information deemed confidential under O.P.R.A., specifically information related to a medical diagnosis or evaluation. (E.O. 26, McGreevey)"

Comments

Re:The water?

[DarkOx]

Personally, If I lived in NJ I would be really annoyed the state wasted money performing a necropsy on a non-food non endangered animal, that had stayed from its usual habitat anyway.

Seems like pretty stupid allocation of resources.

Re:Medical privacy?

[The-Ixian]

Dolphins who live primarily in salt water can live just as well in fresh water provided there is enough food for them to eat.

As a matter of fact, some species of dolphin do live in fresh water.