At this time there are approximately 50-60 dolphins(bottlenose dolphins or spotted dolphins most likely) once again being held in the infamous killing cove in Taiji, Japan. They will likely be killed at dawn in Japan. Only hours from now. Please follow me past the jump to help the dolphins.
Dolphin "season" in Japan lasts from September through March. The national government of Japan allows up to 24,000 dolphins to be killed each year. Local governments issue permits for this killing under Japanese law. In the Wakayama Prefecture town of Taiji(same town as from The Cove) more than 2,000 dolphins may be killed each year. Their meat is sold as food, even though it is poisonous due to high levels of mercury and other contaminants. This year, dolphins have been slaughtered for food at least 4 times already in Taiji.
Perhaps you are wondering why you should care about the dolphins with so many other issues needing our attention. For me, it is simple- dolphins are to the sea as we are to the land. I have taken quite a few human anatomy/physiology/psychology/development classes in which human intelligence was a major topic. I was amazed to later discover that structures of the human brain associated with intelligence such as a large neo-cortex and convoluted folds are actually found in dolphins as well. Dolphins are also self-aware which is believed to be the basis for critical thinking skills, and also for understanding the emotions and intentions of others- Far be it from dolphins being a "large fish" as it is thought to be in parts of Japan. Dolphins are not your run of the mill animal and ethics professor Thomas White says that "dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals".
On October 27th, nearly 60 dolphins were brutally killed. They were stabbed to death and slowly bled out while watching the rest of their pod die. They were mothers, fathers, family members, the elderly, infants. A entire pod, a family, a tribe. 3 of them ended up in a very small tank where they will soon die. These are Spotted Dolphins which are usually not selected for captivity because they are pelagic dolphins and fare very poorly in captivity. Thus, the 3 of them selected for captivity at the Taiji Whale Museum are there simply as an "exotic" novelty until they die.
On October 18th, approximately 10 Risso's Dolphins were slaughtered in Taiji. More than 15 dolphins were killed on October 12th. On September 21st, about 15 pilot whales were killed. Many more have been sold into a life of captivity as a captive dolphin can be worth more than $150,000 but a dead one is only worth a few hundred.
The so called "fishermen" of Taiji, now known to the world due to the documentary film, The Cove, have made it clear that they have no intentions of stopping and will kill a very large number of dolphins today. They venture out into open water every day in which the conditions allow. They travel up to 20 miles looking for dolphins and then driving the terrified beings into the killing cove with a devastating wall of sound. They pursue the dolphins for hours, and while they try to escape the hunters, all they need to do is get one of them which the pod will not leave behind. They will not stop as long as the government of Japan gives them a license to murder.
Not only will they kill as often as they can, they kill indiscriminately. They kill any dolphin species they can find from bottlenose dolphins(flipper), to pantropical spotted dolphins, to risso's dolphins, to pilot whales, and so on. They kill every last one of them. Females and their infants are fair game. They kill the babies. Even most fish have a minimum size so that they are allowed to spawn for at least 1 full season before being taken for food.
Recently a meeting was held in Taiji between the mayor, fishermen, and activists. This appeared to be a historic meeting, open for the world to see both sides with full coverage from the Japanese and outside media. However, the mayor of Taiji went back on his promise and put restrictions on the media, and also only allowed questions pre-screened by a right wing Japanese group to be asked. Because of this, famed dolphin trainer turned activist, Ric O'Barry, boycotted the meeting. Other activists, however, made the most of the situation and did attend the meeting which was unproductive and the mayor said would be the last meeting ever on the subject.
While the killing has not stopped, the world is now watching Taiji. Representatives from the Ric O'Barry led group, Save Japan Dolphins, and also members of the organization Sea Shepherd(of Whale Wars fame) are now monitoring the activities at the cove on a daily basis. The fishermen have responded by attempting to restrict access to areas that provide a line of sight to the killing and by covering everything with tarps. If this was simply a part of their "culture" for which they felt no shame they would not go to such great lengths to hide their activities. The culture argument is a sham as wide scale hunting of dolphins started only in the 1970's as a response to demand for them in the aquarium trade and also due to declining whale and fish populations.
I am asking you to take action to stop the killing. You can make a 1 minute phone call to a Japanese embassy or consulate where they will take down your name, contact information, and your message. Tell them to end the dolphin hunts. Tell them to stop letting the fishermen kill baby dolphins because even fish have a minimum size. Tell them that no one needs to eat dolphin meat and that you would like the "fishermen" to find a new way to make a living, and that you would be happy to vacation in the beautiful town of Taiji to help their local economy if it wasn't associated with this shameful practice. The number for the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. is 202-238-6700. One minute of your time for the dolphins, please. You can find numbers for consulates in the US here and a link to embassies and consulates worldwide right here. Call them, mail them a letter or deliver it in person.
Japan takes note of how many people are contacting them over this issue, and they do not like the negative attention. They will eventually decide that it is not worth letting a small number of "fishermen" bring shame to an entire nation.
There are more ways to help. The 2 organizations, Save Japan Dolphins and Sea Shepherd rely on donations- but I do not feel comfortable with urging you to donate since I know how tough things are right now. For Sea Shepherd make sure that you specify that the money should go to keeping the "Cove Guardians" in Taiji as they have many campaigns. Another idea that hopefully is just as good- please share this diary & this cause with your friends. The dolphins would gladly accept a tip and/or rec as well ;)
If you are already a member of or donor to other environmental or animal rights groups such as Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, PETA etc- please ask them to go Taiji and to help the Japanese dolphins. These organizations have much more funding and resources. Not only have they not gone to Japan, they have been virtually silent on the issue. They do not want to get involved. This is shameful as dolphins are about as intelligent/social/emotional as human beings and should part of their front line efforts. If you can not convince people to save DOLPHINS, then how will you get them to save the majestic Atlantic Bluefin Tuna from extinction, or put the brakes on climate change?
Watch The Cove. If you have been afraid to see it- most of it is actually very suspenseful and entertaining. I will admit the end of the movie(last 15 minutes or so) is quite brutal as it shows Taiji's dirty little secret in great detail. Spread the word. It helps even more if you can spread the word to Japan. Due to a tightly controlled media, most Japanese have no knowledge of this issue or have only recently found out due to efforts of western activists. Even Japanese that have been involved in the slaughter now oppose it such as this brave woman. For several decades this has been a very well kept secret in Japan and around the world.
I hope that now that the midterms are over that this issue can get some more attention in the US. On October 14th, protests were held at many Japanese embassies and consulates around the world. I attended the protest against dolphin slaughter outside the Japanese embassy in Los Angeles on October 14th. There were more than 100 people who turned out on a weekday to support the dolphins! Support from the public was overwhelming- everyone loves the dolphins. The media was there, but there was not much coverage due to the emphasis on the election. I even spoke with a writer of op-ed pieces for the LA Times who wanted to bring attention to the issue, but basically said he wouldn't be able to until after the election. What is stopping him now? What is stopping any of us from taking a moment to help? Let's work on this issue.
End the slaughter.
While I do not know if more protests are planned for the dolphin issue, anti-whaling day is Friday, November 5th.
Update: Called the Japanese consulate in Los Angeles again. They were very polite and took down my message about the dolphins. Just a one minute phone call! Please give them a call (213) 617-6700 if you are in southern California.
If Japan gets negative attention every time they kill dolphins they will think twice about whether it is worth allowing a small number of men to bring shame to an entire nation.
Second update: More than 20 dolphins have been selected for a life in captivity by the dolphin trainers. They will go to marine parks, aquariums, and swim with dolphin programs. The fate of the rest of the pod is unknown. Call the Japanese embassies/consulates and ask them not to destroy dolphin families by selling them into captivity.
Follow-up diary.
Serious video:
another serious video:
Fun Dolphin video:
Another one just for fun: