Much has changed since 2003 when Ric and I travelled to Taiji, Japan for the first time. Back then, dangerous confrontations with the Japanese dolphin hunters were common. Their aggression and hostility were enormous. Every day at sunrise when we showed up at the dolphin killing cove with our cameras and video recorders to film and expose the dolphin slaughter, the dolphin hunters would push us around and threaten to harm us. “Go home, or we’ll kill you,” they would say. It was easy for them to harass us: There were no witnesses to their actions. We pleaded with the media in Japan and other countries to come to Taiji and cover the story of the dolphin slaughter, but no one was interested. Sometimes it seemed as if we were the only ones who knew about the dolphin slaughter that goes on six months out of the year in this remote fishing village.
Ric O’Barry holds a package of dolphin meat purchased in a Japanese market. Photo by Helene O’Barry.
We would campaign in Taiji and Futo for weeks at a time, and those were weeks filled with anguish and sleepless nights. It seemed impossible that we would ever be able to generate any interest for this issue on an international level. At that time, the issue of the dolphin slaughter was primarily one of animal cruelty, and the dolphin hunters loved it. They loved it because it was an approach they could argue against with relative ease. “You eat cows and pigs in the Western world. We eat dolphins, what’s the difference?” they would say.
Turning the dolphin slaughter into an issue of food culture gave them an argument that seemed valid to some. But that is not the case anymore. Things have changed. The keyword to that change is &ldquo
oison.” The dolphin meat sold to an unsuspecting Japanese public is poisoned, contaminated with mercury, metylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxins that accumulate up the food chain. It is only a matter of time before the Japanese public realizes that the dolphin hunters, supported by their government, have been selling them poison to eat. How much mercury have the Japanese coastal populations consumed without knowing it? And how many more people will be poisoned before a ban on the sale of toxic dolphin meat is implemented? Now that science has proven the presence of high levels of toxins in dolphin meat, through the efforts of environmental groups including the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, the entire world will be watching and waiting for a reaction from the Japanese government.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Japan has a new Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Ms. Mizuho Fukushima. At a press conference held in Tokyo, Ms. Fukushima agreed to investigate the mercury issue. This gives us hope that the Japanese public will finally be told the truth about the poisonous dolphin meat, and that the meat will be pulled from shelves in supermarkets and never again be served in schools and workplaces. You can help our campaign by sending a message to Ms. Fukushima. Your letter can be short:
“Dear Ms. Mizuho Fukushima:
Scientific studies have demonstrated that dolphin and whale meat is highly toxic and not fit for human consumption, due to contamination from methylmercury, mercury, PCBs, and other poisons. Please prevent any further damage to the health of the Japanese people by banning the sale of dolphin and whale meat immediately.
Sincerely,
Your name and contact information.”
Please send your letter to:
Minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency
Ms. Mizuho Fukushima
Sanno Park Tower
2-11-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Japan 100-6178
Fax: +81-3-3500-4640
Keiko Ueda, legislative Aide to Ms. Mizuho Fukushima, Member of the House of Councillors, Social Democratic Party
E-mail:ukgo@jca.apc.org
11-12-09
World
Katie
- 1 hour ago - telegraph.co.uk
11-10-09
Environment
Claudia
- 15 hours ago - oceansentry.org
This is a crucial time for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Despite conservation efforts, the vaquita population has dropped more than 50 percent in the past three years as hundreds of porpoises have died in commercial fishing nets. Now just 150 vaquitas remain in their sole habitat, a portion of the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico, and the species exists at the razor's edge of extinction. "Earlier programmes to alter fishing practices in the region have proven difficult to implement; last year, $1 million from the government that ostensibly paid regional fishermen not to fish instead went to buy new boats and motors."
But now the Mexican government has gone one step further, passing a resolution to ban trawling in a specific region known as the Vaquita Refuge.
10-22-09
Environment
Claudia
- 1 hour ago - globalshift.org
Claudia For the Oceans (307)
You don’t have to see too many “bucket” lists to know that humans have a unique connection to dolphins. The mysterious and ancient civilization of the Minoans left murals depicting their reverence for them. Dolphins make frequent appearances in Greek mythology from associations with gods and goddesses, rescuing poets or heroes, and even falling under the observations of many scholars such as Aristotle and Plutarch.
The Sun God Apollo described the dolphin as the embodiment of peaceful virtue, undisguised joy, and as a guide to another world. He sometimes exchanged his god-like status to assume dolphin form. Apollo even named the Oracle at Delphi (dolphin-town) in the dolphin’s honor. Delphinus was one of 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains among the 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union (it looks NOTHING like a dolphin though). They are even said to have announced the arrival of the Hindu Goddess Ganga, for which the River Ganges is named.The examples continue for awhile, but why is it that from recorded history we share such an affinity for dolphins? Is it their playfulness… their high intelligence… or something else?
Dolphins have fairly big brains, with a somewhat impressive brain to body mass ratio. They have a very developed cerebral cortex and all that goes with it (like grey matter for more neural connections, large frontal lobe for decision making, large amygdala for emotions and memory, etc.). Each of the two lobes of their brain can essentially operate independently, having separate blood supplies and even sleeping at different times. The neurophysiology is outstanding and could merit its own separate discussion.
The size and structure of a brain doesn’t necessarily imply intelligence and can mean other things as well. Things such as empathy and altruism.
Scientists have long sought explanations for the capacity of self-sacrifice, seemingly unique to humans. Although, I’m not entirely convinced that altruism is found only in humans. What are we to make of the numerous stories that depict remarkable examples of animals putting their lives on the line for other animal species, including humans?
In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behavior benefits other organisms at a cost to itself and, more specifically, a cost to its gene reproduction. That means if a self-sacrificial act is committed for member of the animals family or another member of the same species, it can’t technically count as altruistic.
Could a story about Surya the orangutan meeting and sharing with a hound count as altruistic? I don’t know the answer to that but I do doubt that it’s merely a sense of equity. Does the dolphin culture which saturates human history contain displays of altruism?
In 2004, a stranded family was confronted by a great white off the coast of New Zealand. A pod of dolphins “herded” them together, circling them until the great white fled. In another case in the Red Sea, twelve divers who were lost for nearly fourteen hours were surrounded by dolphins the entire time, repelling the many sharks that live in the area. When a rescue boat showed up, the dolphins would leaped up in the air in front of the rescuers, jumping toward the lost people as if to lead the boat onward.
Once, rescuers were unable to save some Pilot Whales that were stranded on a sandbar. Upon recognition of the distress, some dolphins risked their lives to calm the
10-22-09
World
Katie
- 3 hours ago - abc.net.au
10-21-09
STOP THE SEAS FROM TURNING RED WITH DOLPHIN BLOOD
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/13/stop-the-seas-from-turning-red-with-dolphin-blood
10-21-09
STOP THE DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER IN TAIJI-JAPAN
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/stop-the-dolphin-slaughter-in-taiji-japan
10-14-09
Environment
Claudia
- 2 hours ago - independent.co.uk
Richard (Ric) O'Barry is a marked man. Whenever he travels to Taiji, a tiny former whaling village on the southern coast of Japan, he has to wear a disguise. There are people there who would like to kill him. Or, at the very least, give him a severe beating and run him out of town. Nevertheless, he goes there every year – he has just returned – dodging police tails and shadowy underworld figures as he tries to put an end to the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins that he inadvertently helped to start.
"I spend more time with people who want to kill me than with my four-year-old daughter and my wife," he says. O'Barry lives in Coconut Grove in Florida, and though he will be 70 next month, he has the vigour and passion of a young man. And, like many activists, he is thorny, single-minded, committed and difficult. He has to be.
During the 1960s, O'Barry pioneered the underwater training of dolphins for the American film and television show Flipper. A kind of aquatic Lassie, Flipper lived in a fictional marine park in Florida and helped out with sea rescues and crime busting, while keeping an eye on Sandy and Bud, the children of the park's warden and the (human) heroes of the show.
O'Barry, a former Navy diver, started out in the Miami Seaquarium, one of only three dolphinariums in the world at the time. He caught five female bottlenose dolphins in the wild to play the role of Flipper (females are less aggressive and so don't come with the scars that male dolphins inevitably pick up). The five were called Patty, Kathy, Scotty, Squirt and Suzy. The role of Flipper was played predominantly by Suzy, however, and she and O'Barry formed a close bond.
Until then no one had trained dolphins underwater, and it was O'Barry's diving skills that came to the fore. "They'd give me the script and it said Flipper does this, and I'd have to figure out a way to get her to do it," O'Barry says. It was a good life. He lived in the house used in the filming, at the Seaquarium in Florida, with the five dolphins just down the beach.
The show was a worldwide hit and introduced millions of people to the grace and intelligence of dolphins. Unsurprisingly, they wanted to see these amazing creatures for themselves – to watch them walk on their tails, or leap high out of the water through hoops. And so dolphinariums sprung up all over the world – there are now more than a hundred – giving rise to a multibillion-dollar trade in live dolphins.
At the time no one, least of all O'Barry, knew the effects of captivity on dolphins: that, free in the oceans, they swim 40 to 100 miles a day; that the chemicals in the water causes health problems and blindness; that the life span of a captive dolphin is reduced from around 25 years in the wild to about five; that half of all dolphins die within 90 days of capture.
"Very few people see dolphin captivity as a problem," O'Barry says. "The dolphin is smiling, the music
10-14-09
Animals
Maria
- 10 hours ago - telegraph.co.uk
10-7-09
STOP The Calderon Dolphin Slaughter In Demark
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/stop-the-calderon-dolphin-slaughter-in-denmark
9-23-09
Animals
Angela
- 22 hours ago - brisbanetimes.com.au
9-19-09
Animals
Maria
- 1 hour ago - cbc.ca
9-18-09
Animals
Rafael
- 2 hours ago - sun-sentinel.com
9-17-09
Petition for Sea World Gold Coast Australia To Release Cliffy.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/198/petition-for-sea-world-gold-coast-australia-to-release-cliffy
9-15-09
Animals
Dee
- 2 hours ago - sciencedaily.com
9-12-09
Animals
Angela
- 13 hours ago - news.bbc.co.uk
Action Taken. Thanks Kat.
Animals
Cher
- 1 day ago - theanimalrescuesite.com
Animals
Cher
- 14 hours ago - huffingtonpost.com
9-10-09
Japanese Town in 'The Cove' Setting the Dolphins Wich Were Caught on Wednesday Free.Some Will Be Sold to Aquariums
Environment
Claudia
- 1 hour ago - google.com
21
Animals
Claudia
- 48 minutes ago - japanprobe.com
9-9-09
Animals
Cher
- 20 hours ago - news.nationalgeographic.com
9-9-09
Dead Dolphins, Turtles Found in Moreton Bay
Animals
Maria
- 29 minutes ago - news.com.au
Great News for it being finally exposed But indeed the Slaughtering needs to STOP. I will see what I can donate.
Thanks Claudia for sharing, Will xpost too!!
Ric O'Barry and son being interviewed at Taiji Museum
Photo by Mark J. Palmer ©2009
Thankfully, the Tokyo Broadcasting Service is now reporting on the mercury contamination in the dolphin meat from the slaughter that takes place every year in Taiji.
This meat is highly toxic and has been given to children in their compulsorary school lunch program. Now the question remains – what is the Japanese government going to do about this? Will there be a testing program for these children to determine the effects of eating this tainted meat?
.jpg)
The Cove - No fishermen - No dolphins - No blood - How it should be
© 2009 - Photo by Mark J. Palmer
After years of trying to get the word out, this year Ric O’Barry is successful. He is now being interviewed by media from all over the world. And thankfully, the Japanese media are finally covering the story and interviewing him. When he and the crew of The Cove were there for filming, they found that the Japanese people knew nothing of the Taiji cove, what went on there, or that they were being sold mercury toxic tainted meat.
The one person who will not speak to him, however, is the mayor of Taiji. In Ric’s blog he says that they contacted the mayor’s office, but the mayor refused to meet with him. Ric’s team even offered to send their questions ahead of time so the mayor could prepare for their meeting. But still the mayor’s office refused. One has to wonder what else he could be hiding, or what he is afraid of?
Ric’s team needs to be able to stay in Japan for as long as possible. They know as long as they are there, the dolphin slaughter will not take place. They also know that as soon as they leave, it will probably start up again. They need funds to stay there. Please donate to Save Japan Dolphins! No amount is too small and if we all donate whatever we can, the team can stay there longer. They have finally gotten the world to focus on Taiji and we all need to keep the focus on Taiji. The dolphins will thank you for whatever you can do to help!
Related Articles:
Happenings in Taiji and why this has to stop!
The Taiji Whaling Museum and the Miami Seaquarium - How are they similar?
9-5-09
9-5-09
Animals
Angela
- 12 hours ago - wildlifeextra.com
Claudia
- 1 day ago - news.ninemsn.com.au
Cal
- 5 hours ago - uk.news.yahoo.com
Animals
Simone
- 2 days ago - examiner.com
Animals
Simone
- 2 days ago - thefrisky.com
6
Animals
THE PHOEN
- 37 minutes ago - ecofactory.com
Thanks Kat for sharing. Dolphins are very smart animals. I wish i could own one. 
Animals
Cher
- 9 hours ago - telegraph.co.uk
Animals
Maria
- 13 hours ago - telegraph.co.uk
Dolphins are great, I love them. They are one of my favorite animals & smart too!! Thanks for news.
Animals
Cher
- 1 hour ago - wildlifeextra.com
Thanks for sharing the latest news.
Although America's official policy is to oppose commercial whaling, during the Bush administration U.S. officials began negotiating a closed-door "compromise" that would legitimize coastal whaling by Japan and lift the commercial whaling moratorium that has been in place for more than 20 years. The Obama administration is now continuing to participate in these negotiations. The International Whaling Commission banned whaling in 1986, but Japan still kills almost 1,000 whales each year under the guise of "scientific research" as well as an additional 23,000 dolphins and porpoises. The commission provides almost no protection for small marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises and other small whales. A new, award-winning movie, The Cove, at last exposes this senseless slaughter to the public. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, The Cove chronicles former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry's mission to stop the killing of more than 2,000 dolphins every year in the Japanese coastal village of Taiji. Using hidden microphones and cameras, the film tells the story not only of what goes on in this hidden cove but also the lengths to which O'Barry and his team had to go to expose the once-secret slaughter. The film also uncovers the Japanese government's practice of unloading contaminated dolphin meat on unsuspecting consumers -- a practice that was poisoning Japanese children, who were served mercury-ridden dolphin meat in mandatory school lunch programs. Several members of NRDC's Board of Trustees are involved in the distribution of The Cove, which premieres in New York City and Los Angeles at the end of July and in other cities across the country in early August.
2. Go see The Cove and encourage your friends and family to see the film as well. To watch a trailer, read reviews or find out when the film will be at a theatre near you, visit The Cove website.
15
Animals
Cher Is A
- 1 hour ago - planetsave.com
Animals
Simone
- 10 hours ago - care2.com
Thank You Claudia for sharing. I'm going to look more into it. Thanks.
Will You Be A Cove Captain For Dolphins?
The dolphins in Japan need your help! Please volunteer at a screening of "The Cove" and take home a 100% organic cotton Save Japan Dolphins t-shirt and cap.
Opening July and August in movie theaters around the United States, "The Cove" is a powerful documentary on the work of our Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, featuring dolphin specialist and activist Ric O’Barry. Click here to read a fascinating profile of Ric in this week's New York Magazine.
“The Cove” reveals the truth about dolphin hunting in Japan. It has received standing ovations in film festivals across the world. “The Cove” received the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, the Newport Film Festival, International Film Festival, Nantucket Fest, the Sydney International Film Festival, Maui Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, plus Best of Festival at the Blue Ocean Film Festival. The film opens internationally this fall. Click here to see when the film will come to your city, and for more information about volunteering for this special event.
How sad & cruel. Eat them tooo?? Send what isn't bought (dolphins) to school for school lunch. WHAT?
What is happening here?? Why does ANYBODY want to KILL ANIMALS period??
I Love Dolphins..
Thanks for sharing.
Maria
- 4 hours ago - watoday.com.au
Animals
Cher
- 15 hours ago - wcs.org
Animals
Cher
- 1 hour ago - change.org
Animals
Cher
- 4 days ago - telegraph.co.uk
Animals
Cher
- 2 days ago - community.hsus.org
Animals
Cher
- 1 day ago - all-creatures.org
Animals
Cher
- 18 hours ago - change.org
Animals
Cher
- 17 hours ago - thepetitionsite.com
FYI
Animals
Cher
- 10 hours ago - dolphinproject.org
