Dolphin Outlook, 4 Risso's Dead so far during Slaughter and capture Season in Taiji, Japan, Vicki Kiely performs live at benefit for The Dolphin Project & speaks at the very special screening of 'The Cove'!

My name is Vicki and I’m a cove monitor for Ric O’Barry's Dolphin Project. In the Japanese town of Taiji, thousands of dolphins are hunted, slaughtered, or taken prisoner for a life sentence in captivity EVERY year. These dolphins that are stolen are starved until they will accept and eat dead fish (they would only hunt live fish in the wild) and then forced through food deprivation to perform circus tricks for human entertainment; they are trained and shipped off in coffin-like containers to all corners of the globe. Captive dolphins are kept in a constant state of hunger....perhaps the cruelest fate of any caged animal. 

The dolphins are driven into the cove by banger boats, once netted in, they are then slaughtered or removed from the ocean for the captivity process. The dolphin meat is sold in restaurants and supermarkets.

My nine-year-old daughter, Imogen, is a student at United World College-Thailand and has been with me to Japan four times to act as a mini-monitor and to stand as a child ambassador to oppose the hunting of dolphins. Aidan Darr, a 12-year-old who is also a student at UWC, watched "The Cove" movie and made a fantastic animated short film for his grade 5 exhibition last year. He will join us as Dolphin Project's newest mini-Cove Monitor in Taiji this coming October.

The purpose of the Cove Monitor is huge. We serve as an observer and report on what we see daily, sometimes hourly in order to have a record and be a witness for the rest of the world. To learn more, visit: https://dolphinproject.com/blog/on-the-frontlines-the-dolphin-project-cove-monitors/

Below are the fundraisers the kids have chosen to get to Japan:

1) 23 Sept Bake Sale 1pm onwards @ Project Artisan
2) 23 Sept Live Music with Vicki and Mike 1-3pm @ Project Artisan
3) 27 Sept Screening of "The Cove" 6pm @ Project Artisan
4) Friday night market booth selling gourmet treats and movie tickets

Every year during the Taiji hunts, dolphins and other small cetaceans are corralled and driven into a small bay. Once cornered, the animals are killed for their meat or captured so that they can be sold to dolphinariums and spend their lives in captivity. Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project has been shining a light on the bloody hunts, sharing stories and pictures live from Taiji. The organization has just reported the loss of five Risso’s dolphins whose heartbreaking story played out on the morning of September 24, 2018 – and, tragically, they are just several of the many dolphins who will be slaughtered and captured during the hunt.

This group of seven dolphins, including two young animals, was driven into the cove. The juveniles were taken from their mothers and dumped back into the sea where they are unlikely to survive on their own. The remaining dolphins were dragged under the tarps and slaughtered there and then.

As the organization shared, a skiff then went under the cove’s tarps and emerged, dragging the carcasses of five dolphins under a gray cover. Afterward, when the situation calmed down and the tarps were fully drawn back, Ric O’Barry’s team was able to catch a glimpse of bright red blood in the water …

In accordance with the government quota, more than 2,000 cetaceans can be slaughtered or captured during the Taiji hunt which is one of the biggest in the world. According to Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 769 dolphins were slaughtered during the hunt in the 2015/2016 season. It is not only the sheer fact of killing animals that makes the practice unacceptable but also the methods used during the hunt which are criticized as completely inhumane. Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project urges people who want to help to pledge not to buy tickets to dolphin shows which support the hunt, to share the story of the killed dolphins, and always “be a voice for the voiceless” animals unable to protect themselves from humans.

For more ways to help the Taiji dolphins, visit the Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project website. All image source: Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project/Facebook

#TakeAction
The dolphin drive hunts that take place each year in Taiji, Japan, have garnered international attention as the world has learned about the mass slaughter of dolphins and the ruthless captive selection process. These brutal hunts are documented by our team of Cove Monitors each season, and shared with the international public so that attention may be drawn to this outdated and unnecessarily cruel practice.

Please help today by taking the following action steps:

1. TAKE THE PLEDGE NOT TO BUY A TICKET TO A CAPTIVE DOLPHIN SHOW
Share your pledge on social media and encourage others to join you!

2. SEND A LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER ABE

3. URGE BROOME, AUSTRALIA TO SUSPEND “SISTER CITY” TIES WITH TAIJI, JAPAN

4. JOIN DOLPHIN PROJECT ON THE FRONT LINES IN TAIJI

Were you inspired by Ric O’Barry in “The Cove”? Learn more about becoming a volunteer Dolphin Project Cove Monitor.

5.  MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO SUPPORT OUR INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNS

Your support is critical to our mission. If your employer has a matching gifts program, your donation could be doubled or even tripled!

6.  HAVE A COVE OR BLACKFISH PARTY AND HELP EDUCATE OTHERS
Host a movie night at your house and watch “The Cove” or “Blackfish” to educate others about dolphin captivity issues.

7. GET CREATIVE

Have a personal goal you’ve always wanted to accomplish? Want to help protect dolphins? Learn how by creating your very own fundraiser.

Think of unique ways to raise awareness in your community. Visit our VOLUNTEER PAGE for ideas.

8. SHARE
Let your voice be heard for dolphins! Education and spreading the word are key, so follow our social media accounts and share our posts with your friends.

9. WEAR your support for dolphins! SHOP authentic Dolphin Project gear.
All proceeds support our international campaigns, and it’s a great way to start a conversation.

10. CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES

Help us get the word out! Please contact these authorities and let’s end this senseless slaughter once and for all.

WAZA: The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
secretariat@waza.org

AZA: The American Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Media Contact: Rob Vernon (301)244-3352 | Email: rvernon@aza.org

IMATA: The International Marine Mammal Trainers’ Association
info@imata.org

PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN
Prime Minister Shinzo- Abe
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
1-6-1 Nagata-cho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. 100-8914 JAPAN
+81-3-5253-2111

Website: http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html
Online comment form #1: https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html
Online comment form #2: https://form.cao.go.jp/kokusai/en_opinion-0001.html

Japanese Embassies Worldwide:
Websites of Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions

List of Embassies and Consulates-General in Japan:
List of Embassies and Consulates-General in Japan

US Embassy in Japan:
William Hagerty IV – Ambassador of the United States to Japan
Telephone: 011-81-3-3224-5000
Fax: 011-81-3-3505-1862
Send E-mail to the U.S. Embassy in Japan

Japan Cabinet Office
Comment/Question for Cabinet Office

Wakayama Prefecture Office, Fishery Division:
E0717001@pref.wakayama.lg.jp
Telephone: +81-73-441-3010
Fax: +81-73-432-4124

Dolphin Base:
Telephone: +81-0735-59-3514
Fax: +81-0735-59-2810

International Whaling Commission (IWC)
The Red House,
135 Station Road,
Impington,
Cambridge,
Cambridgeshire CB24 9NP, UK.
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 233 971
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 232 87
Email: secretariat@iwcoffice.org

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / Convention on Migratory Species (CMP)
UNEP/CMS Secretariat
Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: (+49 228) 815 2401
Fax: (+49 228) 815 2449
Email: secretariat@cms.int

Japan Fisheries Public Content Form:
Contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations