August 14, 2009

Where in the fudge have I been?  I hadn't heard a peep about this award-winning documentary called “The Cove” until last week, even though it won the Sundance Film Festival and a bunch of other awards, nor did I know anything about the atrocities revealed in the movie.  Since it's not my style to stick my head in the sand, I went to see the “The Cove” last night, although I knew it would be emotional.

Now I know a bunch of things that are horrifying and haunting me…things that I wish were not true.  To say that I am outraged and disgusted is an understatement.

Here is what I learned:

• There is a tiny fishing village in Japan called Taiji.  Every year from September to March, dolphins migrate through this area, and the “fishermen” of Taiji herd them into a cove, using the dolphins' sensitivity to sound against them.

• In this cove, the prime dolphins – usually young females – are selected to be sold for up to $150,000 each.  Taiji is the world's largest supplier of dolphins to water parks like Sea World.  A live dolphin show can bring $1 million per year to the attraction, so there is continuous demand from these parks for dolphins.

• The dolphins who are not chosen for sale are slaughtered by these “fishermen” who stab at them repeatedly from boats with long harpoon-like poles, until the cove is literally filled with blood.  Then the dead dolphins are fished out of the water with hooks and hauled off to be cut up.

• Taiji is alone responsible for the annual slaughter of 23,000 dolphins.

• The *meat* from these dolphins is then sold, often being passed off as whale meat. The acceptable level of mercury for human consumption is .4 ppm (parts per million), however, because dolphins are so high up the food chain, their tissues can contain 2000 ppm.  The risk of mercury poisoning is therefore very high for any one who eats dolphin.

• Until “The Cove” team broke this story, the dolphin meat masquerading as whale meat was being given to schools for free, so the contamination was being delivered directly to Japan's school children.  It is still sold as whale meat to unsuspecting consumers.

• One dead dolphin may bring $600, but the “fishermen” say they are slaughtering the dolphins for pest control, more than for the money, because dolphins eat so much fish that the supply of fish is diminishing at alarming rates.  They apply this same ridiculous rationale to whales.  Never mind the fact that humans deplete the seas of fish to the extent that some people think the oceans will be void of any fish within 40 years at the current fishing rate.

• Half of the dolphins in captivity only live 2 years.  They suffer from depression, which is understandable since in the ocean they swim 40 miles a day.  They also suffer from ulcers, to the extent that the water parks stock Tagamet and Maalox to treat them.

• Dolphins can commit suicide.  They choose to deliberately breathe when they are out of the water, unlike humans who breathe automatically without ever giving it a thought.  So they can choose NOT to breathe.

Now that I know about all this, I can't forget that I know it and I want you to know it too.  Here's the trailer for “The Cove“.

What you first need to know is that Ric O'Barry trained the dolphins for “Flipper” in the 60s.  He had an epiphany after one of the dolphin stars of the show – Cathy – died in his arms.  He says that she was so depressed that she chose to stop breathing and die, rather than continue her so-called life in captivity.

Since then, Ric has spent 35 years trying to end dolphin abuses and captivity.  In the documentary, at great risk to his personal safety, he sets out to reveal the atrocities that are being committed in Taiji.  He and an incredible team plan to film what happens in the cove, since it is highly protected, for reasons you will see.  They succeed, and we see the actual footage of the slaughter.

So now that we have seen this footage with our own eyes, and it has been brought out of the dark veil of secrecy into the light, what are we going to do about it?  It has to stop.  WE have to stop it.  Here's what you can do:

• Go see “The Cove” and encourage others to see it.  Check thecovemovie.com for viewing locations in your area.

• Stop patronizing parks that feature live dolphin shows.  They aren't having fun, and they aren't smiling!

• Support the filmmaker – Ocean Conservation Society – with your financial donations.

• If you must eat fish, find out which fish has the safest levels of mercury.

• Contact our leaders and help get the word out in Japan.  This link will allow you to sign a petition letter online and share the opportunity with other people who care.  It couldn't be easier.

• Donate to SaveJapanDolphins.

• Learn more about dolphins in captivity.

• Tell everyone you know about the cove and what happens there.  There are people just like me who had no clue about this, and who need to know.

I'll leave you with one personal experience.  When LilSis and her family and I went to Maui in 2000, the highlight of the trip for me was the snorkeling day trip we took to Kauai.  As our boat cut through the water, we had several different varieties of dolphins swimming along the front of our boat, escorting us.  We had pods of bottlenose dolphins, spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins, and maybe others.  It was thrilling to watch them, and the emotion they exuded was just joy joy joy.  They seemed to be having the time of their lives, swimming and spinning, swimming and spinning.

To think that anyone could slaughter these incredible creatures for any reason is incomprehensible to me.  I'm not going to stop talking about it until the hell in Taji is stopped.

Check out these links for more information:

http://thecovemovie.com/

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

http://savejapandolphins.com/

http://www.surfersforcetaceans.com/

Sarah Newman's Huffington Post Article “Japans Dirty Little Secret is Out”

Jennifer Grayson's Huffington Post Article “Why is the Japanese Government Hell-Bent on Killing Dolphins?”

Tara Lohan's Huffington Post Article “The Cove: Japan Has a Dark Secret It Hopes the World Will Never See“

~BigSis