[UPDATE: Japanese Dolphin Slaughter to Continue Despite Current Suspension]
Ric O’Barry reports that the horrific annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji has been suspended due to publicity from the film, The Cove.
September 1st usually marks the first day of the year for the brutal killings, but for the first time the Japanese media has arrived in Taiji en masse, causing the local fishermen to pause while the world takes notice.
O’Barry has been trying to raise awareness in Japan about the secretive dolphin slaughter that takes place in the small fishing town of Taiji for years, but the Japanese media has refused to cover it. Until now.
“Today is September 1st, the first day of the dolphin slaughter season in Japan. But when I arrived today by bus from Kansai Airport with media representatives from all over the world, the notorious Cove from the movie was empty. There were no dolphin killers in sight. So today is a good day for dolphins!”, wrote O’Barry today in a report for the activist social network, TakePart.
He also said that when the Japanese police arrived, they merely shook his hand and told him they there were not there to support the “dolphin killing fishermen”, then left.
Despite all of his trials in the town, O’Barry believes strongly that Taiji can change its shameful image. He hopes to show the media around the town tomorrow, to encourage a more positive view of its people and potential. O’Barry sees an opportunity to turn the disgraced town into a place where dolphins are cherished rather than slaughtered. In time, he thinks Taiji could become a model for dolphin activism and education, raising awareness about dolphins much in the same way that Nantucket, once the center of the whaling industry in the U.S., has changed its image by stopping the killing and marketing to whale-watchers instead.
Even though the media is finally taking notice, keeping the movement alive over time will still take a great commitment from those who care about dolphins. You can help by donating to the Save the Dolphins Coalition, which you can do at savejapandolphins.org.
More on The Cove
- Documentary Movie The Cove – Shallow Water. Deep Secret.
- The Cove: Sundance Film Exposes Japanese Dolphin Slaughter in Grisly Footage
Image Credit: Zest-pk on Flickr under a CC License
About Bryan Nelson
This is great news and definitely something more people need to be aware of. If Taiji did become “a model for dolphin activism and education” that would be a major step forward!
This is the best news after watching a school of dolphins off Bondi Beach Sydney yesterday and feeling worried for their survival I feel elated to hear the Japanese are listening. Such great news and congratulations to all involved with the making of the brilliant film “the Cove”and to continuing to support the people of Taiji in a new dolphin friendly beginning.
I think Ric has more chance of getting Australians to stop slaughtering kangaroos in the millions than he does getting a handful or two of dolphin killers to stop that.
Why is Ric always hanging out in Taiji anyway? They kill more dolphins than they kill in Taiji further north in Iwate. Maybe that will be the target for his next anti-whaling movie.
FALSE and OVERSTATED & SENSATIONALISED – MISLEADING release by by media
One Cove for ONE Day ONLY – SO Far – A GREAT Start – BUT tHat’s ALL IT is – A START…
Do SOMETHING REAL People – http://www.broome.geeky.com.au/20090901-1819-JapanPrimeMinister.doc – please PRINT & FAX or email. In MANY COVES around Japan – Slaughtering D…olphins Started – Taiji is just one of these MANY Coves!PLEASE SHARE and ASK of UR friends to do the same
Oh, no, you guys are serious. Christ. . DOLPHINS ARE NOT CUTE CUDDLY FRIENDS. They regularly participate in orgies and casual murder of other fish for pleasure. Every single dolphin saved by dolphin-safe tuna fishing means the death of roughly 422,000 OTHER FISH. Meanwhile, the dolphin is more than capable of replenishing the minuscule numbers that human fishing is taking away, both in this cove and in tuna/other fishing.
THE DOLPHINS DO NOT FUCKING NEED TO BE SAVED FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. KNOCK IT OFF YOU IDIOTS.
Bryan Nelson, would you mind adding a bit more information into your post?
I know this might make sense to regular readers of this website, but for someone who knows nothing about dolphins you’ve left matters extremely vague: why do you call the dolphin harvest shameful and why do you promote organizations that seek to prevent japanese dolphin harvesting?
Fuck you Gonzo
From Japan.
Sorry to say, but dolphins were not captured just because the weather and the sea condition were not good these days. The hunt is ongoing as planned.
I understand that many people love dolphins and whales, but I can’t understand why those people do not love other animals, such as cows, pigs, and sheep as much as they care for marine mammals. Think what’s happening in slaughterhouses now. It’s just as bloody as the dolphin hunt at Taiji. And livestock are killed indoors without being watched, while dolphins are openly killed outdoors. Which do you think is a “secret”?
By the way, I thought “The Cove” was advertised with its “dangerous” filmmaking, wasn’t it? Then, why the man is visiting the town smilingly? And if he was happy to see “no dolphin killers in sight”, he shouldn’t come to Taiji. He will never see any dolphin killers if he doesn’t go out of his home.
That is amazing news!! I hope it stays suspended for as long as possible, even thought he film didn’t play at the film festival the people still found away to see it, or at least become informed.
For the person who commented before me, if what you said about dolphins you believe is true and think humans don’t live any different then why should we be treated any different? should we go around killing mass amounts of people because we participate in orgies and kill for fun? Your completely living in a bubble if you think the amount of fish we are depleting from the oceans on a daily basis is sustainable. People like you should be forced into cages and perform tricks for our entertainment, or better yet trapped in labs to be tested on. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
Hurray for all the animal supporters!!! and The Cove people.
Gonzobot your an idiot!!!! I’m sure that you participate in orgies too!!! Thank you Ric and all other activistes for saving dolphins, whales, etc. Gonzobot go to church and pray for yourself!
Japan is one of the few countries that hunts dolphins, even then the dolphin is so adaptable and widespread around the world that these hunts do not even make a dent in the population. The Japanese government has canceled these hunts due to the increasing activist pressure, though they have hunted dolphins for centuries as any other fish. I cannot believe activists are trying to enforce their cultural beliefs that dolphins cannot be eaten just like tuna and salmon are. Japan is a modern nation with its own culture that is uniquely oriented to fish eating, and the dolphin is not even endangered in the least bit. Why are the activists wasting their time protecting the dolphins when their are thousands of other species facing extinction?
Please go see this film. There’s still time, and it’s an easy way to show support for the issue. The film is basically a real life espionage thriller, and it’s an eye opening experience.
Gonzo, you just showed your own stupidity rather well. Dolphin are not fish!
And humans are more than capable of decimating the dolphin population, we did a pretty damn good job with whale populations already
Gonzo is an idiot. But for other reasons.
People here are posting so much regarding the cute and cuddly factor. There is more to this story no one has mentioned.
While the murders of entire family pods of dolphins is a horrible and unforgiving act. What of the fisherman and japanese governments other sins?
They know of the highly toxic levels of mercury in dolphin meat yet they sell it to the public with NO warning. What’s worse is feeding it to school age children in there lunches…..yes I said CHILDREN. The people of japan had no knowledge of the tainted meat or its toxcicity level until the cove sparked government officials to preform there own test and notify the public due to the findings.
As a matter of fact all fish are starting to show these high levels of murcury not just whales and dolphins. Maybe it is mother natures way of saying hey…stop over fishing my oceans.
The fishery dept knew of the high mercury levels and brushed it off for a buck. Greed is the only reason the government and fisherman are contributing to the genocide of japan.
Australians and Americans slaughter millions of animals for food and sport. What is special and different about dolphins except vis-a-vis human preference? I really would like to know.
Sort of a funny mix of comments. It would probably be better if some of the writers went out and actually saw the film, had been Taiji ahd understood the issue. We came here to show the positive and the potential (yes I am on the ground) for Taiji – the dolphin harvest is barbaric but that is not the issue, selling meat tainted with 30-300 times “safe” mercury levels, mislabeling it as “whale meat” from “scientific whalig” in Antarctic waters, and blaming dolphins for declining fish stocks is the issue. It is true we attracted Japanese media attention for the first time, and took them out to see what this is all about. Making food safety a political issue is crazy – and this not about “Japan” – the people, the police and the small fishing industry are not involved in this and are great people living in a beautiful spot.
Why are we such activists when it comes to dolphins? I think Cows are just as cute, and they are herbivores. What makes dolphins so special? What if activists came and stopped you from killing cows and pigs and sheep?
I understand the argument to not kill an endangered species. Preserving out ecological diversity is a worthy purpose. Are we against killing dolphins simply because the star of Flipper was a dolphin? Get a grip, people.
Gonzobot is an uneducated loser that needs to research their informationa little bit better before they go around making random statements like he/she did.
I am vegetarian so I don’t agree with the slaughter of any animals, but at least farm animals are killed as humanely and quickly as possible – unlike the slaughter of cetaceans, which is a slow, painful and distressing process. If dolphins could be killed as quickly and painlessly as cows, pigs and other domestic animals, I would object to it no more than I do the killing of these animals. However, our technology is far to simple to provide these animals (which are as smart and self-aware as humans – there’s that research thing) with a painless death, but too far advanced to give them a fair chance of escaping.
Do you think in the wild that when a lion hunts a deer or whatever, that they always catch and kill them? No. They often don’t succeed and that is nature. Lions don’t use guns and vehicles and other forms of technology to catch their prey – they use their bodies and their brains.
Next – yes dolphins do gang rape, participate in orgy’s and surprise surprise – eat fish. This is what they have done throughout thier biological history. It may not appear right to us, but niether do many things in nature – but it is nature. It is supposed to happen.
Finally – the reason for depleting fish stocks in the world is not because of dolphins – anybody who thinks this needs a serious crowbar to the head to knock some sense into them. Take responsibility – it is our fault. We fish far too much in an unsustainable manner. THIS IS FACT – IT IS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN.
Most Japanese people don’t agree with killing and eating cetaceans they are just not aware of what is going on in their own backyard. My compassion goes out to those good Japanese people that suffer undeserved criticism from the Western world.
My final statement is this: It’s fine if you don’t give a shit about the world and the environment, but don’t go around preaching uneducated bullshit. Get a life and go do something that you are passionate about. If you don’t care about animals, do something to help the millions of starving children in the world – or help the homeless in your own country – or if all elase fails, simply help the environment by removing yourself from the planet.
Congrats to all those that participated in bringing awareness to this digusting practice in Taiji – and well done to Taiji for responding. If the town was to engage in the promotion of cetaceans for tourism in the area I will definetly visit the town. There is a lot of money to be made in the tourism industry.
Pigkiller from Japan,
Why not name yourself as animal killer, without discrimination. We are after conservation, you are after destruction. We love nature and respect it, you think all elements in nature can be takes as resources. We believe we should save as many animals from mindless slughter. You think all should be allowed to kill and eat whatever they want. Aren’t those dolphins are killed for pest control? PEST CONTROL!!
You believe turning your back to a problem will make it dissapear. Filmmaker has sacrificed his life to saving dolphins. He is an environmental hero!
Convince those man to stop, you will be a hero too. Years, decades from now, people will read your name in books as the man who saved dolphins.
I am a animal killer through and through. I have done it my entire life and will continue to do it. Dolphins are not endangered by any means. But because they are cute and of high status when they are killed it leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Well, dolphin and whale do not taste bad to me. The Japanese have been harvesting whales and dolphins long before the Internet, blogging, and film making. Now that we are more connected it seems that some people know what is better for others. I know this comment is not going to change anyone’s mind about killing things but it is a natural way of life. So focus on your own problems and let people handle their own especially if it is part of their culture.
What is they are hiding under the “culture”, just because they can push the mercury contaminated meat to schoolchildern. They are trying to create a sustainable trade, and don’t give a damn about mercury in their meat.
Thank God that there are people who really care!
Hopefully there are many more good days for the dolphins!!!
I can’t believe the ignorance of some of you, I understand that killing takes place, but isn’t it about respecting this place we all live on and treating the things in it with respect. Surely not all things in this world needs to be given a dollar value or views that no longer are valid in our global society. Fish Killer, think about the things you are killing look into their eyes and tell me you don’t see something reflected deep in your soul. And you can keep using culture as an excuse, the world has been full of wonderful people with cultural views just research Hitler.
Dolphin orgies?? Wha? Casual murder? Are you taking your meds?
The Cove is spot on depicting the brutality caused in
Taiji.
Unfortunately there are people that consumed mercury tainted breast milk as children this has distorted a healthy world view. “The World According to Gonzo” shows what too much mercury can do to ones brain.
Excellent, very informative. Keep up the good work.
Just been to see ‘the cove’ and came back to google what the reaction was. Well done Ric, your persistance has paid off – lets hope it stays that way and that others follow
Tell BROOME & JAPAN what you think by FAXING TEMPLATE LETTERS & MORE – http://www.BROOME.geeky.com.au/
Regularly participate in orgies and kill other fish! Holy shit they sound like people! If you were to consider them a resource then comparing dolphin to livestock is incorrect, not even close. They are not farmed and thus not be considered as livestock. The similarity would be would be analagous to commercial fishing wild runs of a species such as salmon, which unlike the dolphin are a federally managed “sustainable” resource. Aside from thinking about eating these things it’s incredible people can’t recognize that other forms of life are sacred, even more incredible is when the species is intellectually similar to our own. Nothing is off limits to human use, give me a break. They’re killing assloads of these things in Japan and it’s incredibly inhumane, looks wrong to me
Disclosure: Listen everyone, I have been living in Japan for many years and my wife is Japanese. We live in Tokyo and I can for a fact say that the Japanese people do not condone this horrendous act!! 99% of the Japanese people do not even know this is going on! They think its just a couple rural fisherman villages that catch a dolphin here and there and eat them. As evidence by the video and the research done, this is not the case! People, it is NOT the TRADITION for Japanese people to kill thousands of dolphins and sell hundreds to parks. 99% of the people do not even want to eat Dolphin meat, especially with it being so toxic. Japanese people, for the most part, are very heatlh conscious and if the information gets out, will not stand for this!! Simply put, if this is the Japanese peoples great tradition, why dont they know about what is happening?????
The Cove showed the truth, but as usual you have many non educated people who speak from hate. The domesticated cow is eaten since it is inspected and checked for disease. Dolphins are wild and their meat contains mercury which causes brain damage. It looks like some of the people in here have already ate mercury meat since their comments are retarded.
What do you expect from the govt and men of a repressed culture? Look at the way they treat women – with adultery + porn + sex trade such a huge part of their culture but something that is not acknowledged or spoken about. It didnt suprise me one bit the media wouldnt cover the slaughter of dolphins until they had to… only reason the govt/media stepped up was the shame this movie placed on their country. Image over anything. kudos to the filmakers, and enough with these why save them not animals comments – you are complete idiots…this is their cause…others will take that one up.
Dolphins are intelligent animals that are in a way cunning and love pleasure. Doesn’t it sound familiar?.. like humans. It’s not up to anyone to decide they deserve to be culled. Show respect for mother nature.
And yes, culture and tradition are overrated.
Dolphins meat contains mercury which is a huge risk to the ones who eat it…therefore the dolphins should not be killed in such abundant amounts for meat purposes. Dolphin meat is being given to the schools in japan for free….some schools students and parents/gaurdians are unaware of the fact the students are being served contaminated food eventually resulting in a mercury poisening outbreak!
pigkiller,
we care about all animals, we care so much about the dolphins because they are increadibly smart animals, more then we even know. the dolphin isnt a fish that has a memory of 3 seconds, this animal has a functional brane that can plan out killings for dinner and are very consious animals. We need to learn more about them and cant have them all being killed for no reason!
What about the dolphin killings in the Danish Sea?
I just finished watching The Cove and it really made me depressed. The mass killing is unnecessary and beyond cruel.
We must raise more awareness of this tragedy.
DONATE/SUPPORT/EDUCATE!
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/
I really like the response that is coming from this. Yet, I really don’t think that the culture argument is valid. As a society, we must always change for what’s going on in the status quo. And guess what? We have a ton of this beautiful Earth and this slaughtering doesn’t seem justified now, just like traditions that serve no purpose now. We need to get out of the old model of thinking and change! Are we just allowing things like FGM or this go on just because they have been for years? We can change! Let us embrace this Earth and treat each other with respect. I love Japan and its unfair that they are being blamed for only a few greedy folks. But educate yourself and be aware about the world! There is only one Earth!
Also, whoever is saying that dolphins aren’t endangered. I would like some evidence to back up that claim. I am pretty sure that the bottlenose dolphin is not endangered but a couple of species are (This is coming from the IUCN 2009-2020 report on Cetaceans).
To fish killer: You refer to culture to defend your stand. But, unless I’m wrong, isn’t it also a part of Japan’s culture to support one’s elders when one is old enough? I think that will suffer, at least in Taiji, if the children in these schools are fed enough mercury over-laden meals to kill them!! Also, isn’t it Japan’s tendency to avoid anything deemed shameful? This senseless slaughter is certainly being deemed so by the modern world. Does the Japanese gov’t. no longer care about its people’s reputation,or the lives of the next generation?
This is crazy and insane, why would people have the right to do something like this. All i know is that its wrong and hurtful and the people should be punished big time for it. They are screwed because the word is out and there is nothing they can do about it now. i hope they understand that nothing in this world is ever kept a secret, because the news comes out one way or another!!!!!!
Oh hell let’s just eat humans too. I mean if the Japanese reason is we already slaughter cows, pig, chickens, let’s kill people to and eat them. I could use their reason too.
I did not know about dolphin killing until i saw the movie The Cove. Rick O’Barry, I thank you for enlightening the world of such killings. I wish and hope that some of the government officials, fisherman and “private face” get some jail time and fines… they all lied, cheated, and killed for profit. If this is the Japanese culture, then Japan needs to change their drive for profit. They are murderous low lives who needs to be sanctioned by the rest of the world for their actions. They also kill whales which is banned by the world. Economic sanctions to start with. Hurt them where it matters the most to them. Keep the sactions in place till they change and the kills stop for good. If there is a trace that the Japanese are going back to their murderous ways, then increase the sactions and add more! If money is all that matters to them and it drives them to do these things, then take the money away from them and fine them and tax them and saction them… I am willing to boycott all Japanese products to stop the killing of dolphins and whales.
OMG TO ALL U NEGATIVE PEOPLE IT SUCKS THAT DOLPHINS ARE GETTING SLAUGHTERED BUT SO ARE THE OTHER ANIMALS LIKE PIGS,COWS, AND SO ON, IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, THEN I FEEL BAD FOR YOU ITS NOT JUST ANIMALS ITS PEOPLE TOO IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICE, YOU DON’T THINK YOU JUST THINK OF YOURSELVES AND NEVER REALLY REALIZE WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD. GETS ME MAD IN HOW WE HAVE BILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT DON’T HELP EACH OTHER THEY JUST DESTROY EVERYTHING.
Karmic forces give voice to those who can’t (or won’t) be heard
I am a japanese.
I don’t know the dolphine slaughtrs in Taiji,
Only rectricted Formally permitted whale fishing is approved.
We have a history of making use of all a whale we took.
Even a thread of whisker is used for japanese instruments.
But who eat dolphines?
I have little knowledge of this story.
I also agree wtih your commemnt
that
If we don’t kill dolphines,
we continues to kill people.
like 9.11, attack on Iraque, etc.
Why we continue to make war, or kill people……..?
I am a housewife , japan. in 50′s age.
I wish they were suspended forever. I hate Japan. How could you kill innocent dolphins. If your Japanese or live somewhere near that country you disgust me. PIGS GET A REAL JOB!!!!!