Greenpeace volunteers blockaded the entrance to government offices with three dead dolphins believed to have been killed in large fishing nets. At the same time Greenpeace volunteers in the Channel were taking peaceful direct action to stop two French boats from 'pair trawling' for sea bass - in an effort to prevent them from killing dolphins in their huge nets. The volunteers removed the buoys from the fishing nets of the Columbine and L'Arlequin to try and halt to fishing operations.

The Greenpeace volunteers left the dead dolphins in the main entrance to the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) at Smith Square in London. The frozen mammals all bore the telltale signs of having been caught and killed in huge fishing nets. They were recently recovered in the Channel by the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, currently campaigning for a ban on pair trawling for sea bass - a fishing method which involves a large net dragged between two boats and is thought to kill thousands of dolphins every year. Twelve pair trawlers were fishing within 12 miles of the three dolphin bodies. The Channel pair trawling fleet is comprised of both UK and French boats.

Greenpeace is calling on Ben Bradshaw, to accept responsibility and take charge of the dead animals. Two of the three dolphins were found at sea with their stomachs cut wide open; they were likely to have been slit in an effort to make them sink. Last week, Greenpeace delivered two dolphins to the French Embassy in London.

Greenpeace have also recently launched a legal challenge arguing that under the EU Habitats Directive, the UK government is obliged to take swift and effective action to protect the dolphin population.

Oliver Knowles, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said: "For far too long, Bradshaw has continued to ignore this problem; so we have, literally, brought it to his doorstep.

"Dolphins in the Channel are being driven towards extinction, and the evidence is now lying on the government's doorstep. Bradshaw must ban pair trawling immediately."

Government observers on UK sea bass trawlers last year recorded over 150 dolphins killed by just one pair of trawlers. Government figures estimate that the UK fleet alone was responsible for the deaths of 439 dolphins last year. Greenpeace estimates that the UK and French fleets combined could be killing over 2,000 dolphins a year. If the current kill rate continues it could lead to the extinction of dolphins in the Channel.

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