The Edge's Dom, Meg & Randell interviewed Florida man Malcolm Brenner about his relationship with Dolly the dolphin in the 70s.

A man who had sex with a dolphin and wrote a book about it was treated unfairly by The Edge radio station, the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) says.

According to the BSA decision handed down this month, Florida man Malcolm Brenner should have been given the chance to comment on air during an interview on MediaWorks' owned Dom, Meg and Randell show about his relationship with Dolly the dolphin in 1971.

However, the show broadcast only a small segment of the interview on April 3 where host Megan Annear called Brenner "sick" and stormed out of the interview.

Supplied/YouTube Malcolm Brenner was treated unfairly by The Edge, a Broadcasting Standards Authority decision says.

During the segment, available online at theedge.co.nz, listeners were told the interview wasn't going to be aired or put on the podcast.

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But an editorial decision was made to play part of the interview, MediaWorks said, in which Brenner makes a lewd comment about the dolphin before Annear interrupts, saying "this is sick".

Supplied/YouTube Malcolm Brenner with Dolly the Dolphin in the early 1970s.

"I think you're sick in the head, this is disgusting, this is a non-consensual situation," she said. "A dolphin cannot consensually choose to have sex with a human you absolutely took advantage of that and I don't want to be involved with this."

She then walked out of the interview.

The BSA also found Dom Harvey's conduct breached the fairness standard when he misled Brenner about how much of the interview would be aired.

The BSA reported that Brenner was led to believe by Harvey that a four minute version of the interview would be broadcast.

"This would have given the impression that at least some of Mr Brenner's own comments would be aired. However, they were not," the decision read.

"The authority found that Mr Brenner was treated unfairly and was not adequately informed about the nature of his participation in the broadcast."

In a statement published on Brenner's website this week, he claims that the BSA decision was "a slap on the wrist" and he planned to appeal the decision.

Brenner wanted a public apology and for MediaWorks to be fined and required to broadcast his full interview.

"I'm appalled at the lack accountability," Brenner said. "This decision leaves MediaWorks free to practice this kind of slander on anyone who comes along, anyone they feel is 'different' or vulnerable.

"I don't even get a formal apology. MediaWorks said they had no problem making an apology and archiving the show, but the BSA doesn't require it, so they won't do it. It's absolutely disgusting."

In the BSA's decision, MediaWorks accepted the authority's finding that the broadcast breached the fairness standard and acknowledged that Brenner should have been given an opportunity to comment on air. It offered to broadcast an apology and the interview in full.

However, the BSA said publication of its decision was "sufficient to sanction the conduct of the broadcaster and to provide guidance to the broadcaster which is the subject of the complaint".

"In its response, MediaWorks has acknowledged that there were serious issues with this conduct and that steps have been taken by the producer in response," the BSA said.

"MediaWorks advise that its processes have been reviewed with respect to how it responds to audience feedback on challenging topics."

A spokesperson said MediaWorks accepted the BSA's findings.

Bestiality became illegal in New Zealand in 1961 but wasn't illegal in Florida until 2011.

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