Protesting the treatment of dolphins by several corporations, 25 Eco-Action members organized a rally Friday afternoon on the steps of Willard Building.

Corporations targeted included Sea World and H.J. Heinz, makers of Star-Kist and Bumble Bee tuna, and Nine Lives cat food, along with Ralston Purina Company, maker of Chicken of the Sea tuna.

Eco-Action members said the American tuna industry kills dolphins while harvesting yellowfin tuna -- a type of tuna that schools beneath the dolphins.

"There are ways the government can control this sort of thing -- considering (the dolphins') intelligence, it's a shame they're getting killed," Shand Howie of Windsor, Conn., said at the protest.

The acceptable level of annual dolphin mortality for U.S. fleets is 20,500. Eco-Action estimates one dolphin is legally killed every four minutes.

One type of tuna, albacore, does not school beneath dolphins and is caught with rod and reel. As a result, no dolphin deaths occur in the albacore harvest.

Acting Assistant Housing and Food Services Director Lisa Wandel said University dining halls serve Star-Kist and Chicken of the Sea tuna, adding there have been no complaints and no decreases in consumption.

Eco-Action also protested the use of dolphins in various aquariums, including Sea World's. They said dolphins suffer mental duress in these environments for three reasons: separation from original dolphin society or mother, sonar problems because of the aquarium walls and abuse from employees during training processes.

Eco-Action members said dolphins' human-like traits involve loneliness and stress-induced ulcers. Other attributes include intelligence, sociability, complex communication patterns, mating for life and comparable life spans to humans.

"I think it's a good thing to promote the captivity of dolphins and whales in Sea World, because increased consciousness has come about because we've been to Sea World and we've been exposed to them," said State College resident Karen Jones.

Jennifer Bubb, Eco-Action member and organizer of protest, said when the public sees the dolphins performing stupid tricks, they lose respect for the animals and see them as expendable.

Eco-Action's petition to boycott H. J. Heinz products was signed by more than 185 people, with more than 200 signatures gathered beforehand, Bubb said.