The annual hunt of small cetaceans in Taiji, Japan began about two weeks ago on Sept. 1st 2015. We were blessed with 10 straight days of “Cove Blue” – meaning that the dolphins were safe in the ocean, swimming free with their pods away from hunters grasp. Tonight the ocean ran “Cove Red” – dolphins were captured and slaughtered.
The first pod was captured on Sept 11th 2015 – a pod of Rissos. This is horrible news!
This needs to get global attention. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your local news. There is a tweet sheet being passed around to activists to help get the word out for all 4 types of situations. Please follow Act now for Dolphins: Unite against the Taiji Slaughter and lend your voice below:
Two days ago, dolphin activists from around the west coast gathered in front of the Mirage volcano to voice their concerns over the continuance of the Taiji dolphin drives in Japan during the global Japan Dolphins Day event. These hunts happen from September 1st through March, with over a thousand dolphins being slaughtered brutally in front of their pod members for their meat each year. The captivity industry is tied to the hunt. Aquariums around the world visit the killing cove to hand select the dolphins they deem perfect for public display. Las Vegas was successful in speaking on the Taiji dolphins behalf, handing out fliers to all the tourists who passed by hoping to catch a glimpse of the volcano eruption. We were shocked when we saw a LED billboard truck going up and down the strip displaying an anti-captivity message about dolphins and the cove.
Earlier this year, WAZA (World Associations of Zoos and Aquariums) was being faced with a lawsuit by a coalition of Japanese animal welfare organizations (along with the Dolphin Project and OceanCare) and finally suspended JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums) for purchasing dolphins coming from the Taiji dolphin drives. JAZA strives to remain part of WAZA for the trade of international animals other than dolphins, so JAZA promised to not source anymore animals from Taiji, and WAZA accepted them back into the family. JAZA accredited facilities are not to be taking any animals from Taiji this season if they wish to stay accredited by WAZA.
The annual hunt of small cetaceans in Taiji, Japan began today on Sept. 1st 2015. The cove was blue due to storms.The dolphins were able to swim safe and free…..
Ric O’Barry was arrested in Japan on August 31st for not carrying a passport according to his website, DolphinProject.Net:
Ric O’Barry, Founder/Director of Dolphin Project was arrested in the town of Nachikatsuura, a town located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan at approximately 8:30 p.m. on August 31, 2015 on suspicion of a violation of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act of Japan. He was reportedly accused of being unable to produce a passport. According to the act, any alien in Japan shall carry on his/her person at all times the passport or provisional landing permit. He is currently being held by Shingu police. Both the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the U.S. State Department have been contacted.
Please keep the dolphins of Taiji and the Dolphin Project team in your thoughts for the next 180+ days.
Here are the tweetsheets that were passed around last year to use on those awful days when the cove runs red.
Pod Driven Toward Cove – Use this page when a pod of dolphins is currently being driven towards to the killing cove.
Pod Trapped In Cove– Once the killers have netted the dolphins into the cove, start sending out these alerts.
Blood in the Water– I can’t even write about this without a heavy feeling in my heart. These tweets let media know that dolphins have now died in the waters of Taiji.
Pod Trapped Overnight – Dolphins will be trapped in the killing cove overnight, sometimes for days in a row. This adds even more stress to the dolphins.
The dolphins of Taiji are unable to use their voice to help themselves. These dolphins do not belong to Japan. They belong to the people of the world. We do not want anymore dolphins to be driven, sold into captivity, or slaughtered for human consumption. We must take it upon ourselves to educate the people and the media to this inhumane practice.
What an amazing experience this last week was. Where to begin?
On Wednesday, we picked up Ric O’Barry to go do a radio show for KNPR Las Vegas. The interview lasted about 13 minutes, and gave him an opportunity to educate an audience that would probably never go looking for our cause otherwise. The interview has been uploaded online.
Afterwards, My News 3 met us at his hotel for a quick interview. Hotel management came down, asking questions about the interview. We assured them the hotel would not be mentioned, and told them about the cause. Upper management also came down before the interview ended. We were informed that they usually cut these interviews off and do not let them happen. When Ric O’Barry finished his interview, the management team from the hotel shook his hand and said they were big fans. One worker said he got our flyers at his college, and would be attending the showing.
Thursday was the big day. We had been planning this event for 5 months, and couldn’t believe it was finally here. The showing of The Cove with Ric O’Barry. We arrived early, and began to set up the auditorium, while Dolphin Project team members sold merchandise to people waiting. Bikers 4 Orcas Socal provided the tissues with dolphin clips that were seated on your chair when you came inside. Doors opened at 7pm, as our youtube videos played on the big screen. People entered the door to a table with a sign in sheet, petitions, and a jar to place questions to Ric in. After we thanked everyone for attending, especially the Cove Monitors from Taiji, and the movie began to play, silence was heard throughout the theater. Everybody’s eyes were glued to the screen. I forgot how much of an impact this movie has on your soul. 180 people attended the screening overall. One third of the theater had never seen the movie before, and I am positive they walked out of that screening a changed person. Ric answered questions, and people hung on his every word. He spent so much time talking with us, that we had to leave the theater because our time was over. Ric is such a gentle, kind soul. He made sure to talk to as many people as he could, signing autographs and posing for many photos. We hung outside of the theater until the crowd fizzled away to get sleep for the next days protest. ((View photos from event here))
We arrived at the protest around 4:30, and a crowd had already begun to form. Before we knew it, we had over 100 protesters. People traveled from Washington, Utah, California, Arizona, Florida and further to protest for dolphin rights next to the man who started it all. I can’t even count the number of people who said we completed items on their bucket list. Ric O’Barry protested with us the entire 2 hours, giving his expert opinion on all dolphin questions thrown his way. His sign was a replica of the same sign he used back in his opening day demonstration of the Mirage. The message is still the same- Enough is enough! 24 years is a long time to be stranded closer to Death Valley than the ocean from which these dolphins originate. The sidewalk was flooded with people holding signs, and passing out brochures to anyone who was interested. We passed out over 600, and signed hundreds of letters to the MGM head honchos. As the lights on the strip began to sparkle, and the memory of the dolphins were long gone from the minds of the tourists who had seen them earlier in the day, we stood strong, united as a voice for the voiceless. ((View photos from event here))
Photo by NatureSound.org
The protest made the news, and many people have written online about their experience. Our friends at Vegas Rock Dog Radio spoke out about it on her radio show the following day. It starts at about 27:30, click to listen. Thanks for the shoutout, Sam. We really appreciate it, and look forward to working with you again in the future.
We have uploaded all of the photos from both events onto our facebook page, and we are working on getting the video from the Q&A segment from the screening online for everyone to review, or watch for the first time. Please be patient while we get that up. As soon as it is available, you will be the first to know!
We feel forever thankful to have Ric O’Barry set aside time in his schedule and pay us a visit in the middle of the Mojave Desert. This is an experience we will never forget. We are more motivated than ever to do what is right by these 10 dolphins. We hope you are too.
In exactly one week, Ric O’Barry will be in Las Vegas at a screening of the documentary that exposed the world to the slaughter of dolphins in Japan- The Cove. It was just 5 months ago we reached out to him for help, and just yesterday our cause received promotion on national TV on the Jane Velez Mitchell show during the Ric O’Barry segment.
On October 2nd, we will be showing a screening of The Cove at the West Charleston Library. Doors open at 7pm, movie starts at 7:30. No tickets required; this is absolutely free! After the screening, Ric O’Barry will be available for a Q&A session. Start thinking of what you want to ask him! Dolphin Project will have a table set up with some swag for sale, so bring money if you want to buy anything. This screening is open to people of all ages. Some graphic content, view at your own discretion.
The next night, Friday October 3rd, we will be meeting up for a protest outside of the Mirage Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. We will be out there from 5-7pm. Signs and literature will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. We will collect them at the end for safe keeping and future events. We will be working hard to educate the public about the horrors that go on out back behind these casino walls. Ric O’Barry will be protesting right along side us. He protested the location back in the 90s, and is very excited to see the progress we have made this last year.
We are looking forward to seeing our dolphin friends from around the country at this event, and we hope to see a lot of new faces, too!
Who is Ric O’Barry?
He is a man who used to capture and train dolphins in the 60s. You may know him as the trainer of the “Flipper” tv show dolphins. After one of the dolphins died in his arms, something inside of him changed. He has devoted his entire life since to saving dolphins and educating the public about the horrors of captivity. He is the founder of the Dolphin Project. He has rescued and released over 25 captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, the Bahamas, and the United States. He is the author of 3 books, Behind the Dolphin Smile, To Free a Dolphin, and Die Bucht. In 2009, he was featured in the Academy Award winning documentary “The Cove” about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.
The annual hunt of small cetaceans in Taiji, Japan began a little over two weeks ago on Sept. 1st 2014. We were blessed with two straight weeks of “Cove Blue” – meaning that the dolphins were safe in the ocean, swimming free with their pods away from hunters grasp. The last 3 days have been “Cove Red” – dolphins were captured and slaughtered.
The first pod was captured on Sept 16th 2014 – a pod of Rissos. The next day, Sept 17th, more Rissos were driven and slaughtered, with a few being sent back to sea. The 18th… more Rissos! This is horrible news!
This needs to get global attention. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your local news. There is a tweet sheet being passed around to activists to help get the word out for all 4 types of situations. Please lend your voice below:
Pod Driven Toward Cove – Use this page when a pod of dolphins is currently being driven towards to the killing cove.
Pod Trapped In Cove– Once the killers have netted the dolphins into the cove, start sending out these alerts.
Blood in the Water– I can’t even write about this without a heavy feeling in my heart. These tweets let media know that dolphins have now died in the waters of Taiji.
Pod Trapped Overnight – Dolphins will be trapped in the killing cove overnight, sometimes for days in a row. This adds even more stress to the dolphins.
The dolphins of Taiji are unable to use their voice to help themselves. These dolphins do not belong to Japan. They belong to the people of the world. We do not want anymore dolphins to be driven, sold into captivity, or slaughtered for human consumption. We must take it upon ourselves to educate the people and the media to this inhumane practice. Dolphins are going to die. Right now.
Reminder: We will be screening “The Cove” for free on Oct 2nd, 7:30pm in Las Vegas. Ric O’Barry from The Dolphin Project will be there to answer questions. Get all the details by clicking here!
