Over the last several days, I have been writing a series of diaries on the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji. Japan. The same town now known for the infamous killing cove as depicted in the film The Cove. Follow me after the jump for an update on the dolphins.
There have been as many as 100 or more dolphins in peril in Taiji over the last few days. They were tormented for at least as long as 48 hours without food and being kept in a constant state of terror. Now the Taiji "fishermen" have finally decided their fate. Scott West, former investigator for the EPA, now a cove guardian for SSCS says:
Here are the numbers as best we can tell. There were about 140 dolphins pushed into the cove by the molesters on November 4. On November 5, 36 were confined in pens in Taiji harbor and a juvenile was sent to the Taiji Whale Museum. On November 6, another 14 were confined in the pens, 2 were put on trucks and taken to the Whale Museum, and another 3 juveniles were taken to the Whale Musuem. Also on this day, 24 to 30 were slaughtered and the remaining were driven back out to sea. Recap: Approximately 140 taken prisoner; 56 consigned to slavery, 24 to 30 slaughtered, and about 54 released. This means that fewer than 40% of this thriving complex family unit survived their encounter with the Taiji dolphin molesters.
I was afraid that all of them would die. They must have came across some very "pretty" bottlenose dolphins(flipper), if they were a species less desirable in captivity they would be dead right now. I suppose I should be somewhat "thankful" that about 54 of these dolphins were released, but I am not. They have feelings and very close social bonds. I wonder if they are now reliving the terror which they experienced. I wonder if they are now permanently damaged. I hope they still have the will to go on.
Now who in the hell is buying 56 dolphins? While there was a time when dolpinariums in the US would have accepted animals from the drive hunts with open arms, that is no longer the case. The dolphins from Taiji end up in countries such as: Japan(obviously), China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Turkey, and others. Is some insanely wealthy person opening up a new dolphinarium somewhere? Do dolphins in captivity die at such a rate that this is the only way to keep dolphin shows & swim with dolphin programs running?
They are supposedly getting up to $300,000 a piece for each dolphin now selected for captivity. Is this about anything other than greed?
This is why I believe the worldwide captivity industry for dolphins should be dismantled. As long as humans believe that dolphins should be made to entertain humans to get food, all wild dolphins are in peril. The US should lead in example by no longer using dolphins as circus clowns.
People go to marine parks to see captive dolphins because it is very entertaining. I always had a sea world pass growing up, and went practically every weekend during the summer as a kid. So I know just how damned entertaining it is. It is also a huge lie. They don't smile because they are happy, and they only perform tricks because they are rewarded with food.
People try to argue that parks like sea world "educate" the public about these animals. I argue the opposite- they are not seeing natural behavior and are not seeing anything that even compares to the wild animal. Recently I saw a pod of dolphins feeding in the shallows. I was utterly amazed to see this kind of behavior up close. Others instead, saw animals in distress and decided to call sea world. So conditioned by sea world that they saw wild dolphins and their natural behavior(not performing tricks for humans, eating live fish) and thought they were distressed and needed sea world! Some education!
Do something! Call or write a Japanese embassy or consulate. The number for the embassy in Washington DC is 202-238-6700. The number for the consulate in Los Angeles covering socal and Arizona is (213) 617-6700. You can find your local consulate in the US here, and a list of embassies and consulates throughout the world here. It is a 1 minute phone call. You only need to say who you are and make a brief statement about why you feel this practice should end. If you call after hours, you can still get through by selecting the "emergency" option. Is this an emergency? Hell yes.(do not worry they will not really mind and are now used to it)
Tell President Obama how you feel. He will soon be meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan. E-Mail President Obama here. Ask him to relay your concerns to the Prime Minister. Think about whether you want to see that dolphin show or go to a swim with dolphins program. Perhaps you would like to go whale watching, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, snorkeling, diving, or just take a walk along the beach instead? Maybe you will learn something about the ocean and possibly see some of these animals in the wild.
End this.
Would you rather see Dolphins feeding in San Diego?
Or feed the dolphins in San Diego?