Thursday, August 30, 2012

Just the FAX: A call to Action for the Dolphins of Taiji

URGENT CALL TO ACTION
FROM SAVE MISTY THE DOLPHIN

Please FAX this message to the recipients below.  A recent article in the Washington Post highlights the importance of the fax machine in modern communication in the Japanese business culture.  We want to be sure these messages get to their intended recipients, so we urge you to send them via fax.  

We have provided a list of key recipients and the message "PLEASE LET THE DOLPHINS LIVE AND BE FREE.  THANK YOU." in Japanese characters.  All you need to do is cut and paste this message into your fax.

Here is a link to a site that will allow you to send 2 FREE FAXES PER DAY RIGHT FROM YOUR COMPUTER!  YOU DO NOT NEED A SEPARATE FAX MACHINE!  We have confirmed that this link works.  Once at the site, you will need to click on the link to receive the "free call pin".  You do not add in the country code for Japan (81) or any dashes or spaces between numbers.  You must fill out the form completely. Just click on the words "free fax button" to the immediate right of the colon to be redirected to this site : FREE FAX BUTTON

TO:  

Taiji Fisherman’s Union 
Fax  81-73-559-3018

Dolphin Base
Fax  81-73-559-3514

Hotel Dolphin Resort
Fax 81-73-559-2810

Taiji Mayor Sangen
Fax 81-73-559-2801

Embassy of Japan, United States of America
Fax 202-328-2187

Embassy of Japan, United Kingdom
Fax 020-7491-9348

Embassy of Japan, Australia
Fax 61-2-6273-1848

Embassy of Japan, New Zealand
Fax 04-471-2951

Embassy of Japan, Germany
Fax 49-30-2109-4222

イルカを自由に暮らさせてあげてください。

お願いします。

Iruka wo jiyuu ni kurasasete agete kudasai onegaishimasu.

Please let the dolphins live and be free. Thank you.


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dear Oceans,



Dear Oceans,

Please watch over 
Our friends the dolphins
Please keep them harm's way
Especially those who pass through
The perilous waters near Taiji
Please keep them safe that they may be
Forever free to swim in your vast
And blue home

~Save Misty the Dolphin



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The dreaded Taiji dolphin hunt looms ahead

A pod of dolphins moments from death in The Cove
photo courtesy of Chasity Reed

September 1 is traditionally the start of the cruel dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan.  During the hunt, a small fleet of fishing boats goes out to sea in search of dolphins.  Dolphin hunters use “banger poles” to create a sound that disturbs the dolphins’ sensitive hearing.  This sound confuses them and makes it easier for the hunters to push the panicked animals towards the shore.  When a pod of dolphins is driven into The Cove, it is netted off.  Some dolphins may be “selected” for training as show animals.  The rest are brutally stabbed to death.  The killing is neither quick nor painless.  The meat, which is toxic, is sold for human consumption.  All of this is documented in the 2010 Academy Award-winning movie The Cove, which was directed by Louie Psihoyos and stars Ric O’Barry.  PLEASE take 90 minutes to watch this movie.  It will change your life.

Once the hunts begin, we invite you to follow the updates at Save Misty the Dolphin on Facebook.  We have been covering Taiji for the last two seasons.  You can expect accurate and timely reporting via the experts on the ground with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Save Japan Dolphins.  Our dedicated team tracks all of the updates from Taiji.  As soon as they are available and verified, you will see them on our Facebook wall along with a request for direct action from YOU.

There are many things YOU can do to help the dolphins of Taiji.  We will provide a comprehensive list of places to call, email and fax to register your objection to the hunt and to request that they let the dolphins LIVE AND BE FREE.

Over the years, our Facebook wall has also become a place of mutual support.  We care deeply about the people in the Save Misty the Dolphin community.  We ask that you please take good care of yourself during the Taiji dolphin hunt.  Please find something beautiful to look at every single day.  Please get outdoors and get some exercise.  Please get enough sleep, and please don’t feel like you need to follow every last post and update out of Taiji.

We ask that you keep things respectful on our wall.  Like Ric O’Barry, we feel strongly that the solution to the crisis of The Cove rests with the people of Japan.  The Japanese government and media suppress the information about The Cove and the toxic mercury in the dolphin and whale meat.  Taiji is a tiny fishing village with a population of about 3,225.  It is about a 7 hour drive from Tokyo.  What happens to dolphins in Taiji is simply not reported throughout Japan.  Likewise, accurate information about toxic mercury in dolphin and whale meat is not made available to Japanese citizens.  It is very important that this information reach the people of Japan.  Knowledge is power.  Armed with this information, it is our hope that the good people of Japan will be able to stand up for themselves and for the dolphins.  All of this said, there is a zero tolerance for racist remarks of any kind on our facebook wall. Such comments will be removed and those who make them will be banned from the page.

Thank you for all you do to support the dolphins of Taiji.  To become even more involved on the front lines as a Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian or a Save Japan Dolphins Cove Monitor, please click on these links:
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Cove Guardians
Save Japan Dolphins Cove Monitors

To learn more about toxic mercury in dolphin and whale meat, please click on these links:
BlueVoice.org
Elsa Nature Conservancy
Oceanic Preservation Society
Save Japan Dolphins
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Please be sure to sign and share the petition created by Melissa Sehgal, urging Yahoo to stop the sale of toxic dolphin meat!

We are all in this together.  Imagine what would happen if everyone around the world visualized a blue cove?  We’ll never know until we try. NEVER BE SILENT ~ NEVER GIVE UP!

The Administrative Team at Save Misty the Dolphin