01/09/2018
From the Japan Dolphin Day event in London yesterday. Read the photo caption for more info about the Taiji, Japan drive hunts and the Grindadráp that takes place in the Faroes.
Photo (c) POD.
The Japan Dolphin Day event yesterday marked the start of the dolphin drive hunt season in Taiji, Japan. If you don't know what it is, it's a barbaric few months where fishermen drive pods of dolphins into a small cove and select the most "suitable" for captivity, slaughtering the rest for meat.
The meat is highly toxic to humans - these animals are at the top of the food chain and have bio-accumulated mercury and persistent chemical pollutants in their bodies, rendering them unfit for human consumption. These toxins far exceed safe levels outlined by the World Health Organisation, yet the meat is still fed to people, including pregnant women and children.
The dolphins taken for captivity are chosen for their aesthetics, their ability to be trained and their ease of handling (dolphins who are less likely to fight back). The meat has a lower price tag, but the dolphins sold to the captive entertainment industry keep this business lucrative. Live individuals are worth a lot in blood money.
These self aware, smart, sentient beings are forced to watch their families die around them, butchered in the most horrific ways. The Taiji cove runs red with blood. It is traumatic for them and those who live to remember, who make it into a concrete tank, must endure a severely reduced welfare state as they spend the rest of their lives in an environment that frustrates them of their biological needs.
This photo from the event shows part of the group of people who attended, led by Ric O'Barry who first exposed the hunt almost a decade ago in "The Cove" documentary - watch it if you haven't already! They spent the day raising awareness about the issue, educating the public and showing the Japanese Embassy in London that this practice is not humane, ethical or okay.
A visit was also made to the Danish Embassy for the Grindadráp that takes place in the Faroes, where pilot whales are driven into shore and killed in equally horrific ways for human consumption, all in the name of culture.
How can you help? Don't buy a ticket to see whales and dolphins in captivity. Go see them in the wild instead and show the world that's where you want them - wild and free. Write polite letters of concern to UK-based and international politicians. Be mindful of the seafood you eat and how it is caught, and of where and how you dispose of your litter. Educate others; even telling just one friend, family member or stranger about this a day will spread the word and affect change. And show your support by attending up-coming demonstrations. The UK holds a lot of political influence and the more people who get up and show up outside of embassies, the more these influencers are forced to take note and act.
It's hard but not hopeless - look at the changes that have been made by SeaWorld to end captive orca breeding in just a few short years, off the back of a documentary that inspired the world to raise its voice on behalf of the animals. This too can be changed, with the same level of momentum, action and effort.
