Dolphin Outlook announces that Officials have confirmed that on March 1, the 2018/19 drive season in Taiji, Japan ended in Taiji, Japan! Plus more about Gillnets, Dolphinaris, Baby Dolphin in Marine Park...
Officials have confirmed to Dolphin Project that on March 1, the 2018/19
drive season in Taiji, Japan ended. For six months, dolphins of all ages have
been chased, harassed, manhandled, captured and slaughtered. Entire pods have
been decimated.
Live dolphins were shipped to resorts, marine parks and aquariums. The meat
from slaughtered mammals filled shelves at local grocery stores, despite being
loaded with toxins and unfit for human consumption. And, as we’ve seen year
after year, dolphin trainers worked alongside dolphin hunters, selecting which
would be drafted into show business and which would end up on the butcher’s
floor.
For six months, Dolphin Project Cove Monitors stood on the ground while you were by our side in unity. Our team withstood two typhoons, choosing to remain in Taiji in order to continue their efforts to document, live stream and keep shining a light on the atrocities committed against dolphins.
This season, we estimate 556 dolphins were slaughtered, while 241 were taken captive from seven species of dolphins.
This figure does not include the untold numbers that die during the drives themselves. In addition, Taiji’s controversial practice of releasing young calves (so their small bodies won’t be counted against seasonal quotas) almost certainly resulted in additional deaths.
Worldwide demand for dolphin entertainment is the reason wild dolphins are caught – all to supply a lucrative display industry. Compared to last year, 135 more dolphins were taken captive, thus, it’s imperative that we continue to keep the pressure on and say NO to the dolphin show!
When this level of cruelty is absolute, we must all oppose it absolutely. Documenting and live streaming is imperative. We will never abandon the dolphins of Taiji. As long as Taiji has dolphins, they will have Dolphin Project. Planning is now underway for the 2019/20 season.
Read our full recap here.
Dolphinaris
Arizona's Tanks Have Been Emptied
After the recent deaths of four bottlenose dolphins, Dolphinaris Arizona has closed its doors, with many hoping that it will permanently end its captive dolphin program. READ MORE
A smart, playful dolphin crosses paths with a mile-long drift gillnet meant to catch swordfish off the coast of California and becomes entangled. Struggling to break free, she becomes more ensnared in the net and, unable to surface for air, drowns.
When the net is retrieved, the dolphin is still hopelessly tangled – her fins and tail are cut off so she can be removed from the net, which is exactly what happened with the dolphin you see below.
This needs to stop once and for all – We need your help to make it happen. Oceana is running an urgent campaign to get swordfish drift gillnets out of the water and replaced with sustainable fishing gear for good.
We’re kicking off our 2019 Winter Membership Drive.
California passed a law to phase out the use of drift gillnets in 2018 – a critical step forward. But now, the Pacific Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service are considering re-introducing pelagic longlines, which can stretch for 60 miles and contain thousands of hooks. These pelagic longlines have been banned off California since the 1970s for a good reason. We simply can’t let them come back.
Until we overcome important hurdles to implement California’s law and replace drift gillnets with a sustainable solution like deep-set buoy gear instead of horrific pelagic longlines, the killing of helpless dolphins, whales and sea turtles will continue.
With your support, we can continue the next phase of our campaign, which includes:
Oceana helps us pressure decision-makers on the local, state and federal level to adopt and enforce policies that protect, rather than endanger precious dolphins, whales and sea turtles.
By transitioning to proven clean methods like deep-set buoy gear to catch swordfish, I know that we can save the countless non-targeted ocean animals at risk of dying gruesome deaths in swordfish drift gillnets, but we’re going to need as many Oceana members behind us as possible if we’re going to succeed.
3. Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors
We can all get a little crazy when we’re bored from time to time. But can you imagine being bored and stressed every day of your life?! With dolphins and orcas having brains quite a bit larger than humans in terms of weight and volume, it’s no wonder captive cetaceans display zoochotic (psychotic) behaviors, similar to symptoms of prison neurosis. Some stereotypic behaviors include swimming in circles repetitively, establishing pecking orders, and lying motionless at the surface or on the aquarium floor for relatively long periods of time.
Bottlenose dolphin is netted against skiff, selected for “life”
in captivity, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
For six months, Dolphin Project Cove Monitors stood on the ground while you were by our side in unity. Our team withstood two typhoons, choosing to remain in Taiji in order to continue their efforts to document, live stream and keep shining a light on the atrocities committed against dolphins.
This season, we estimate 556 dolphins were slaughtered, while 241 were taken captive from seven species of dolphins.
This figure does not include the untold numbers that die during the drives themselves. In addition, Taiji’s controversial practice of releasing young calves (so their small bodies won’t be counted against seasonal quotas) almost certainly resulted in additional deaths.
Dolphin
Project Cove Monitors watch as banger boats leave the harbor in Taiji, in search
of migrating dolphin pods. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Taiji’s Drive Season Statistics, 2007-2019. Credit:
DolphinProject.com
Worldwide demand for dolphin entertainment is the reason wild dolphins are caught – all to supply a lucrative display industry. Compared to last year, 135 more dolphins were taken captive, thus, it’s imperative that we continue to keep the pressure on and say NO to the dolphin show!
The blood of the dead: striped dolphin slaughter, Taiji, Japan.
Credit: DolphinProject.com
Dolphin Project extends a huge “THANK YOU”
to our dedicated Cove Monitors and to those who watched our broadcasts, shared
our social media and blogs and clicked on the “Take Action” links to act on
behalf of those who have been silenced. We will continue to educate on the
horrific realities of dolphin captivity throughout the year, including ongoing
educational outreach to school-aged children. As part of our international
campaigns, teams are also on the ground in the Solomon Islands and Indonesia,
all made possible because of your generous support. When this level of cruelty is absolute, we must all oppose it absolutely. Documenting and live streaming is imperative. We will never abandon the dolphins of Taiji. As long as Taiji has dolphins, they will have Dolphin Project. Planning is now underway for the 2019/20 season.
Read our full recap here.
Officials have confirmed to Dolphin Project that on March 1, the 2018/19 drive season in Taiji, Japan ended. For six months, dolphins of all ages have been chased, harassed, manhandled, captured and slaughtered. Entire pods have been decimated.
Live dolphins were shipped to resorts, marine parks and aquariums. The meat from slaughtered mammals filled shelves at local grocery stores, despite being loaded with toxins and unfit for human consumption. And, as we’ve seen year after year, dolphin trainers worked alongside dolphin hunters, selecting which would be drafted into show business and which would end up on the butcher’s floor.
Worldwide demand for dolphin entertainment is the reason wild dolphins are caught – all to supply a lucrative display industry. Compared to last year, 135 more dolphins were taken captive, thus, it’s imperative that we continue to keep the pressure on and say NO to the dolphin show!
Bottlenose dolphin drive, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Taiji’s Drive Season Statistics, 2007-2019. Credit: DolphinProject.com
As of this writing, the industry continues to ignore the extreme cruelty of these extremely violent captures. The industry still refuses to show up in Taiji to do anything about the impact their industry is having on the various species involved. The only time they show up is to support the trafficking in Taiji’s dolphins, it seems.
A total of 797 dolphins from seven species were taken captive and/or slaughtered (see statistics below). This figure does not include the untold numbers that die during the drives themselves. During the extremely stressful drive, as dolphins are being pushed inshore, often the old, the very sick, the young or injured are unable to keep up as the pod is being brutalized; thus, their numbers are never recorded. Taiji’s controversial practice of releasing young calves (so their small bodies won’t be counted against seasonal quotas) almost certainly results in additional deaths.
How the dolphin killing “free-for-all” impacts the population and the gene pool of wild populations is unknown and apparently unimportant to all involved.
Ric and Helene O’Barry plus local activists, Japan Dolphins Day 2018, Paris
The season commenced on September 1 – Japan Dolphins Day, an international day of action and awareness that we have coordinated since 2005. This year over 34 events were organized around the globe; Helene and I were proud to attend protest events at the Japanese Embassies in London and Paris this year. Shortly after, our Cove Monitors withstood two typhoons, choosing to remain in Taiji in order to continue their efforts to document, live stream and keep shining a light on Taiji. Left to bear the brunt of the storms, Typhoon Trami claimed the lives of four captive dolphins: two bottlenose dolphins, one Pacific white-sided dolphin and one spotted dolphin.
Dolphin Project also inspected and obtained exclusive footage of Honey, a solitary dolphin abandoned at Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium, a shuttered aquarium in the city of Choshi in Chiba prefecture, Japan.
Captive dolphins swim amidst debris and muddy waters from Typhoon Trami- Dolphin Base, Moriura Bay, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Bottlenose dolphin Honey abandoned in Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium, city of Choshi in Chiba prefecture, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Mini Cove Monitors en route to Taiji to do their part to help dolphins.
In October, Dolphin Project’s latest team of Mini Cove Monitors returned – 9 year-old Imogen and 12 year-old Aidan to help make a difference for dolphins. Later that month, on October 28, the dolphin hunters of Taiji hit a financial jackpot with the first capture of bottlenose dolphins.
“Three hunters working from a skiff grabbed the rostrums of two dolphins that were huddled together in the Cove. One dolphin broke free. The other didn’t. A hunter took a strong hold of that dolphin’s beak and kept the dolphin’s mouth completely shut. (They must think dolphins breathe through their mouths). Another hunter leaned over and seized the dolphin’s pectoral fin, and then they turned the dolphin upside down and pushed it beneath the surface of the water, drowning the animal.” ~ Helene O’Barry
The captive selection process is violent and traumatic, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
A dolphin chosen for “life” in captivity is carted to a nearby pen, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Unbelievably, Japan’s animal welfare laws end at the water’s edge and marine animals are offered no protection from brutality. As each drive was documented, it was apparent no efforts were being made to spare the dolphins from prolonged suffering. Calves were separated from their mothers, dolphins were injured as they panicked and entangled themselves in nets, dolphins were run over with skiffs, and dolphins were tethered to ropes and dragged under the tarps to their deaths. These scenes of depravity replayed over and over throughout the season.
Striped Dolphin Slaughter, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Bottlenose Dolphin Drive, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Injured striped dolphin struggles in nets after being driven into the Cove, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
The blood of the dead: striped dolphin slaughter, Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Taiji’s attempts to spin the dolphin hunts as part of their “tradition” and “culture” is an outright lie. Their practice of releasing orphaned calves is both tragic and violent. On Valentine’s Day, hunters captured a nursery pod of 10 Risso’s dolphins. After slaughtering the adults, four young calves – likely still nursing and dependent on their mothers – were loaded into slings and dumped back at sea.
With only two hunting days left in the season, hunters once again hit payday with the offshore capture of a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins, the first of the season. During the violent capture process, multiple injuries were observed on the dolphins, and of the eight taken captive, at least one dolphin died.
Orphaned Risso’s dolphin dumped back at sea. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Multiple injuries were observed during the violent capture of Pacific white-sided dolphins. Credit: DolphinProject.com
However, amidst all this tragedy, local activism in Japan is strengthening. Throughout the season, several protests took place in Taiji, promoting change from within. During a drive last month, as our Dolphin Project Cove Monitors live streamed, the voices of the activists’ call for compassion echoed throughout the Cove. The Life Investigation Agency (LIA) a Japanese group that focuses on animal advocacy within Japan just announced a lawsuit aimed against Taiji’s dolphin drive hunts, and the unethical treatment and torture of dolphins in this practice. LIA hopes this lawsuit will ultimately bring an end to the hunts and to the suffering of dolphins in Taiji.
Japanese activists lay a banner across the beach: STOP KILLING DOLPHINS! Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Dolphin Project’s team of Cove Monitors was on the ground in Taiji during the entire dolphin hunting season. Utilizing live streaming technology, our brave volunteers documented as pod after pod of dolphins were subjected to horrific abuse, both by the people who claim to love them and those whose livelihoods depend on killing them. While my illegal arrest and deportation from Japan prevented me from being in Taiji this hunting season, Dolphin Project continues our lawsuit so I can one day, join my team at the Cove.
Dolphin Project Cove Monitors scan the horizon for hunting boats. Credit: DolphinProject.com
Dolphin Project extends a huge “THANK YOU” to our dedicated Cove Monitors and to those who watched our broadcasts, shared our social media and blogs and clicked on the “Take Action” links to act on behalf of those who have been silenced. We will continue to educate on the horrific realities of dolphin captivity throughout the year, including ongoing educational outreach to school-aged children. As part of our international campaigns, teams are also on the ground in the Solomon Islands and Indonesia, all made possible because of your generous support.
When this level of cruelty is absolute, we must all oppose it absolutely. Documenting and live streaming is imperative. We will never abandon the dolphins of Taiji. As long as Taiji has dolphins, they will have Dolphin Project. Planning is now underway for the 2019/20 season.
Drive Fishery Quota for 2018/19 Dolphin Hunting Season, Taiji, Japan
2018/19 Drive Season Statistics
Total number of dolphins slaughtered and/or taken captive: 797
Total number of dolphins slaughtered and/or taken captive: 797
Slaughters: 556 total
Risso’s Dolphins – 142
Bottlenose Dolphins – 15
Melon-Headed Whales – 164
Striped Dolphins – 234
Pacific White-sided Dolphins – 1
Bottlenose Dolphins – 15
Melon-Headed Whales – 164
Striped Dolphins – 234
Pacific White-sided Dolphins – 1
Captures: 241 total
Bottlenose Dolphins – 164
Risso’s Dolphins – 26
Rough-toothed Dolphins – 18
Melon-headed Whales – 5
Striped Dolphins – 5
Pantropical Spotted Dolphins – 16
Pacific White-sided Dolphins – 7
Risso’s Dolphins – 26
Rough-toothed Dolphins – 18
Melon-headed Whales – 5
Striped Dolphins – 5
Pantropical Spotted Dolphins – 16
Pacific White-sided Dolphins – 7
Releases: 361 total
Your help has never been more needed in supporting our international campaigns
Click to donate to Dolphin Project’s international campaigns
After the recent deaths of four bottlenose dolphins, Dolphinaris Arizona has closed its doors, with many hoping that it will permanently end its captive dolphin program. READ MORE
A smart, playful dolphin crosses paths with a mile-long drift gillnet meant to catch swordfish off the coast of California and becomes entangled. Struggling to break free, she becomes more ensnared in the net and, unable to surface for air, drowns.
When the net is retrieved, the dolphin is still hopelessly tangled – her fins and tail are cut off so she can be removed from the net, which is exactly what happened with the dolphin you see below.
This needs to stop once and for all – We need your help to make it happen. Oceana is running an urgent campaign to get swordfish drift gillnets out of the water and replaced with sustainable fishing gear for good.
We’re kicking off our 2019 Winter Membership Drive.
Until we overcome important hurdles to implement California’s law and replace drift gillnets with a sustainable solution like deep-set buoy gear instead of horrific pelagic longlines, the killing of helpless dolphins, whales and sea turtles will continue.
With your support, we can continue the next phase of our campaign, which includes:
- Advocating for the passage of federal legislation that would phase out drift gillnets for good at the federal level;
- Ensuring the new California law is implemented properly, with the best interest of dolphins, whales and other at-risk marine life at the forefront;
- 3.Urging fisheries managers to authorize a proven, sustainable fishing gear replacement – deep set buoy gear – which has never resulted in a known fatal incident involving a marine mammal or sea turtle.
- We can’t stop now, Don. 2019 is a pivotal year for dolphins, whales and sea turtles on the West Coast, and we must continue to stand up for them. If we won’t, who will? We’ve come this far, and we can’t back down until indiscriminate, unsustainable fishing gear is replaced once and for all.
Oceana helps us pressure decision-makers on the local, state and federal level to adopt and enforce policies that protect, rather than endanger precious dolphins, whales and sea turtles.
By transitioning to proven clean methods like deep-set buoy gear to catch swordfish, I know that we can save the countless non-targeted ocean animals at risk of dying gruesome deaths in swordfish drift gillnets, but we’re going to need as many Oceana members behind us as possible if we’re going to succeed.
Can you imagine being born into prison? You spend all your days behind bars with other miserable jail mates. Sometimes they become aggressive towards you due to their own frustrations of being so tightly confined. Each day, you have the opportunity to leave your cell, but if you do, you have to work under the strict pressure of your prison guards.
As you work, you are watched by hundreds of spectators. You are provided food as a reward for positive behavior, but if you behave against the guards’ wishes, you could possibly suffer the consequences of missing a meal. Your survival depends on care given by your prison guards. You don’t speak the same language as these guards, so you can’t tell them you don’t belong there.
What did you do to deserve such a life? Oh, nothing. You were born without freedom because you provide public entertainment. And you must like it because millions of dollars are spent on your “world-class” standards of care, you are given psychoactive drugs, and the thought of you ever being liberated is absolutely absurd…
Sound familiar? If so, you’re probably thinking of the lives of captive dolphins and whales. Though parks such as the famous SeaWorld try to convince the public that their cetaceans are content with their “spacious aquariums, restaurant-quality fish, exercise, quality veterinary care, and enrichment,” ultimately, profit is priority. Don’t believe this? Here are some signs cetaceans were born to be wild.
1. Collapsed Dorsal Fins
Why does the orca doing the silly trick have a floppy fin? That certainly doesn’t appear to be natural. If you’ve ever seen videos or images of majestic wild orcas, you’ll notice their dorsal fins are vertically stable. According to a member of SeaWorld’s education department, orcas have collapsed dorsal fins due to genetics, gravity, and injury from play … not captivity.
Hmm … Does that make you wonder why the majority of captive killer whales have these collapsed dorsal fins, while only one percent of wild orcas have been observed with this condition?
2. Aggression Amongst Tank “Pod” Members
Can you blame these amazingly intelligent and emotional beings for being frustrated with their confinement? In captivity, cetaceans have nowhere to escape conflict and thus, suffer from each other’s stress. Imagine being locked in a room with a spouse when you’re having an argument … rough.
Many dolphins, such as the orca in the image below, have injuries caused by tank mates. This rarely occurs in their wild environment. Although orcas are natural carnivores and eat other animals in their wild environment to survive, these animals only become “killer” whales in captivity.
We can all get a little crazy when we’re bored from time to time. But can you imagine being bored and stressed every day of your life?! With dolphins and orcas having brains quite a bit larger than humans in terms of weight and volume, it’s no wonder captive cetaceans display zoochotic (psychotic) behaviors, similar to symptoms of prison neurosis. Some stereotypic behaviors include swimming in circles repetitively, establishing pecking orders, and lying motionless at the surface or on the aquarium floor for relatively long periods of time.
4. Broken Teeth Due to Extreme Boredom
When you live in a concrete bathtub, what else is there to do besides bite down on bars separating you from other cetaceans? Unfortunately, this neurotic behavior results in serious dental issues. Captive cetaceans’ teeth are often chipped, broken, or have to have the pulp drilled out of the center of their teeth (Ouch!).
5. Self-Mutilation
Dolphins have been known to slam themselves against the sides of their tanks concrete walls. Sadly, marine parks don’t offer emotional counseling services for their “much-loved” captive dolphins.
6. Vomiting
According to former SeaWorld killer whale trainer John Hargrove, “Nearly every single killer whale regurgitated their food after we ended our interaction.”
Cetacean researchers believe that captive environments could be resulting in reduction of these animals’ brain size. Through lack of mental stimulation, the areas of the brain responsible for communication can atrophy. Cetaceans are degraded to playing with their own vomit.
7. Suicide Attempts
From intentionally flinging themselves out of their tanks to swallowing inedible stones, many dolphins and orcas have decided a life in a tank is a life not worth living. There have been many records of captive cetacean suicide attempts. If this isn’t an absolutely determinate sign these animals don’t belong in confined spaces, what is?
8. Reliance on Medication
Aren’t pharmaceuticals used to treat patients for physical or mental ailments? Drugs are apparently also used to calm mentally distressed captive cetaceans. SeaWorld has admitted to medicating their orcas with psychoactive drugs (similar to valium). Of course, mental illness of these animals that caused them to swim in circles all day, play with their own vomit, or commit suicide couldn’t possibly be related to the fact they live in a tank…
9. Unusual Illnesses
Captive dolphins and orcas are kept in unusual environments, so is it a surprise they tend to suffer from unusual ailments? For example, unlike wild cetaceans, captive cetaceans spend a lot of time exposed out of water (remember, dolphins and whales often float motionlessly at the surface when they are bored).
Trainers at SeaWorld in Orlando have witnessed swarms of mosquitoes settle on the backs of killer whales. Kanduke, a large male orca passed away unexpectedly at SeaWorld as a result of a pathogen transmitted by mosquitoes. Dolphins in the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas have suffered from a contagious disease called the pox, caused by stress and poor general health according to the National Institute of Health.
10. Accelerated Deaths
Depression, aggression, poor dental health, self-mutilation, vomiting, suicide attempts, drugs, illnesses – don’t these all seem like signs ultimately leading to death? According to a research study conducted in 1995 by Robert Small and Douglas Demaster, the annual mortality rate for captive dolphins was two and a half times higher than that of wild cetaceans. Sadly, not much has changed since then for the benefit of captive cetaceans. While wild killer whales have been known to live as long as 80 to 90 years, only two female orcas in captivity have passed the age of 40, and no males have lived longer than 35.
What Can You Do to End this Cruelty?
Are you now convinced cetaceans do not belong in tanks? Not yet? Read about what cetaceans might say about their life in captivity…
Help free our friends with fins by:
- Not supporting marine parks.
- Taking a Pledge to not purchase tickets from marine parks and sharing this message with family, friends, and colleagues.
- Contacting government agencies and elected officials to request for them to prevent cetacean captivity.
- Signing petitions for cetaceans’ freedom and the end of breeding programs.
- Joining marine activists in peaceful protests for the liberation of cetaceans.
- Checking out what awesome anti-captivity heroes have done.
- Learning why there is hope for the demise of the captivity industry.
- Watching the documentary Blackfish (if you haven’t already) tolearn more and investigating SeaWorld’s “Truth Team.”
- Spreading the word through social media (and sharing OGP posts).
Don Lichterman
Sunset Corporation of America (SCA)
Sunset TV
Sunset Television Network
Sustainable Action Network (SAN)