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| 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
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