Japanese activist start their own protests about the Taiji dolphin slaughter.
Read and see more at https://dolphinproject.net/blog/post/tokyo-says-no-to-dolphin-hunts/
Tokyo says no to dolphin hunts:
On January 29, several Japanese activists assembled outside the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Tokyo to protest the killing and capture of dolphins. The demonstration was intentionally timed to coincide with staff getting off work for the day. (See photo above – SAV)
Despite plummeting temperatures, for about 90 minutes, people called for an end to the dolphin hunts. Some held up signs, calling for the release of Ric O’Barry.
https://dolphinproject.net/take-action/release-ric-obarry-from-custody-in-japan/
Dolphins urgently need protection from further devastation caused by the dolphin drive hunting in Taiji Japan, dolphin slaughter and captive trade. President, CEO and Councillors of Broome Shire, your country is a member of the United Nations; The UN condemns Taiji Japan’s dolphin hunts. Australia also supports local and international efforts to protect dolphins and whales. It is unacceptable to continue as sister city to Taiji. Suspend the relationship and help save dolphins from future hunting seasons. Send Taiji a strong message so the people understand how their cruel business of dolphin drive hunting, slaughter and live capture is unacceptable and must stop now.
While we acknowledge Broome’s historic and emotional ties with Taiji, these cannot hold precedence over such atrocities against these intelligent, bonded and social mammals, who are not only loved by millions of people around the world but extremely vital to healthy ocean biodiversity.
Taiji’s overall business and financial security is not contingent on the continuation of the dolphin slaughter; while approximately 50 hunters participate in the drive hunts, there are approximately 300 fishermen who catch only fish. It is 100% viable for the dolphin hunters to change their activity, attract visitors to see dolphins by tourist boat all year round.
During the hunts, entire dolphin pods (sometimes more than one pod at a time), are driven beyond their limits to exhaustion, and captured in Taiji Cove. Weather permitting, the hunters set out in the boats every day, from September through to March each year. They decimate whole pods, discarding young dolphins, babies at sea with no hope of survival. Doing so reduces the hunters’ quota count, allowing them to later count larger dolphins during captures.
The captured dolphins experience unimaginable horror and heartbreaking ends, witnessing one another’s fate as all are brutally slaughtered. Those poor dolphins selected for a short life-time in captivity, by dolphin trainers in the cove, witness all of this. Researchers are forbidden from recording the dolphins’ screams. Agonizing death can take more than ten minutes.
Dolphins are kept captive in small sea-pens in Taiji and immediately must learn to eat dead fish by hand or starve. Trained for months there they are later sold for large sums to marine parks, resorts and other places keeping dolphins captive around the world for display to paying public, US$150,000 – US $200,000 and more. These closely bonded, empathetic, social and incredibly intelligent dolphins are either some, kept for the captive industry, or most, brutally slaughtered in the most horrific way. This whole business is driven by the pursuit of money made from entertaining paying crowds who are largely unaware of the ongoing tragedy behind the dolphin shows.
Given what we know of the high intelligence of dolphins, this slaughter is comparable to murder and to keep them in captivity is utterly cruel. The Indian Government recently acknowledged dolphins as non-human persons; there it is now forbidden to keep them in captivity or interfere at all. In Taiji Japan’s Whale Museum, dolphins are kept in abhorrent conditions, including Angel a beautiful albino dolphin torn from her mother, captured in the hunts while her family was killed.
Dolphins need and deserve the right to protection from human harm and interference. It is unacceptable for Broome Australia to have a sister city relationship with Taiji Japan, as long as the dolphin drive hunts continue. Suspend your sister city relationship with Taiji. Send Taiji a strong message so the people understand how their cruel business of dolphin drive hunting, slaughter and live capture is unacceptable and must stop now.
Further reading:
http://us.whales.org/issues/dolphin-hunts-focus-on-taiji-japan ‘Dolphin Hunts – Focus on Taiji, Japan’ WDC Whale and Dolphin Conservation
https://www.thedodo.com/what-motivates-the-taiji-dolph-423453688.html ;; ‘What Motivates Taiji? $1.2 Million for Captive Dolphins, Not Tradition’ – Tim Zimmerman, The Dodo
http://www.afd.org.au/broome-australia-shame ;; ‘Broome – Australia’s Shame’ – Australia for Dolphins
http://dolphinproject.org/blog/post/the-fate-of-angel-the-baby-albino-dolphin ‘The Fate of Angel The Baby Albino Dolphin?’ – Ric O’Barry, Dolphin Project Earth Island Institute
http://eia-international.org/toxic-catch-japans-unsustainable-and-irresponsible-whale-dolphin-and-porpoise-hunts Toxic Catch: Japan’s Unsustainable and Irresponsible Whale, Dolphin and Porpoise Hunts – EIA International
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Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 