Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year from Save Misty the Dolphin




It was a 49 second YouTube video.  Some of the footage was shaky and awkward, but one thing that was perfectly clear was that a lone dolphin was floating in a tiny above-ground pool on the grounds of Dolphin Base in Taiji.  The water in the pool was black, and the dolphin, who was clinging to a  dirty yellow buoy, barely moved. This groundbreaking video, taken on December 29, 2010, was a first glimpse behind the walls of the Dolphin Base complex.  It also sparked a worldwide movement now known as “Save  Misty the Dolphin.”
 


After Andy Romanowski uploaded the video and shared it via social  media, activists got busy.  Adam Filby and Alyson Walsh-Fernandez started a Facebook campaign, Save Misty the Dolphin.  The purpose of the campaign was to put pressure on Dolphin Base to MOVE the dolphin, dubbed “Misty” out of that stagnant pool and into a clean water.  Caring people around the world became involved in the effort.  Thousands of  calls, emails and faxes were logged.  On January 2, 2011, Cove Guardian Libby Miller noted in her daily blog for Sea Shepherd that she had a brief conversation with the vet at Dolphin Base.  Said Miller:
 


He specifically mentioned that he wished the phone calls and  e-mails to Dolphin Base would stop. His statement indicates that what  the general public is doing by taking the time and making an effort to  call and write to Dolphin Base is actually working! Not only is it  working, but it’s changing things and making a difference. Each and  every one of you is contributing and actively participating to change  Misty’s situation. And for that, we thank you.

On January 4, 2011, Misty was moved to a cleaner pool.  Cove Guardians continued to track his condition until a devastating tsunami hit northern Japan in March 2011.  Volunteers with Sea Shepherd and Save Japan Dolphins, who had traveled to Otsuchi, Japan, to expose the Dall’s porpoise hunt, barely escaped with their lives.  As an international  community, we grieved for the thousands of innocent lives destroyed on  that fateful day. Our thoughts remain with those who continue to struggle to rebuild in the wake of the March 2011 disaster.
 


Following that first season, our social media campaign grew.  During  the 2011-12 Taiji dolphin hunt, we continued to monitor and report on daily activities in The Cove. Just as the hunt came to a close in February,  Save Misty the Dolphin partnered with Sea Shepherd Hong Kong in a successful initiative to stop the Hong Kong Airlines from transporting  dolphins from The Cove.  Into the spring, we worked with Sea Shepherd  Conservation Society to bring attention to the plight of scapegoated sea lions who are being targeted by Oregon state officials for the act of eating  salmon at the Bonneville Dam. 



Even though the sea lions have been determined to be eating a much smaller percentage of the salmon than are taken by the fishery for human consumption, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife authorized and ordered the branding and killing of California sea lions by lethal injection because the marine mammals are  said to compete with fishermen for salmon on the Columbia River.  The sea lion campaign has revealed not only how our laws and the implementing agencies are out of step with humane - and reasonable - treatment of these sea lions, it was also a demonstration of the fallacy of boycotts.



Just as most people in Japan are not aware of  the Taiji dolphin hunt, most people in the United States are not aware of the Bonneville sea lion cull. If one follows the logic of those who support a boycott of Japan because of the Taiji dolphin slaughter, we would also support a boycott of the United States because of the Bonneville sea lions.  Neither solution is logical, and neither solution will stop the spilling of blood.  Why punish people who have nothing whatsoever to do with Taiji or Bonneville for the actions of a few?  It is our opinion that such actions are not effective and serve only to alienate those who may be in a position to make real change.  In the case of Japan, we believe that the collective voice of Japanese citizens is key to ending the Taiji dolphin hunt.  Earlier in 2012, Japanese citizens gathered for the first time ever to protest the killings in The Cove.  This was a major step for a group of brave activists who stood strong in the face of angry nationalists, who shouted and even spat upon the peaceful protestors. Save Misty the Dolphin applauds these heroes for the dolphins.  We wish them only the best and stand ready to support them as they continue to seek solutions from within.  



July 12, 2012, was an historic day as we were finally able to report that Misty is alive in Taiji.  Months of investigative work preceded this news, which was supported by video and photographic evidence.
 
Throughout summer 2012, we had the great privilege of working with folks from Save Japan Dolphins and activists around the world to produce Japan Dolphins Day 2012.  On August 31, 2012, caring people in nearly 100 cities around the globe took part in the single largest gathering ever for the dolphins of Taiji.  The video below includes clips from protests around the world and a glimpse of our friend Misty!
 



As we are now well into our 3rd season of reporting on Taiji, we  want to share some observations.  While watching what happens in The  Cove is nothing short of horrid, we do see change.  Following the recent destruction of a large pod of bottlenose dolphins, there can be no question that what happens in Taiji is at the behest of a greedy captive industry.  When trainers share boats with killers and stand idly by as dolphins are drowned in nets, there can be no question that the captive industry, which claims to care about dolphins, is preserving that industry in full awareness and at the expense of the casualties of Taiji.  We see killers going to great pains to hide their murderous deeds.  We see annual  decreases in the number of animals being killed.  We see dolphin meat sitting unsold on store shelves in Taiji.  We see heroic volunteers from Sea Shepherd and Save Japan Dolphins who bear witness and tell the word about Taiji.  We see the number of people  involved in the cause increasing by many thousands and we believe wholeheartedly that all of these factors will spell the eventual end of  the Taiji hunt.  A compassionate world has very little tolerance for the atrocities of Taiji.



It is the commitment of our 11-member crew to continue doing what we do until that day comes when the waters of The Cove are forever blue and every last one is free, but we know - as we have known from that very first day - that the strength of Save Misty the Dolphin lies not in the members of our social media team, but rather in an amazing community built on six simple words:  Never be silent - never  give up.

We toast each of you in the New Year and wish you only the  best for 2013. Thank YOU for all you do to make the world a better place for vulnerable marine mammals.  



Monday, December 17, 2012

AN OPEN LETTER TO IMATA FROM SAVE MISTY THE DOLPHIN

photo courtesy of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

December 17, 2012
Shelley Woods President
Eric Gaglione President-Elect
IMATA 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2490 Phone: 312-692-3193 Fax: 312-939-2216 Email: info@imata.org
Re:       Taiji Dolphin Drive Hunt Statement of Refusal of Bottlenose Dolphins Caught on December 12-17, 2012, and other Hunts
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION: DO NOT TRAIN OR WORK WITH ANY DOLPHINS FROM ANY DRIVE HUNT, INCLUDING THE HUNT ON DECEMBER 12-17, 2012.
We write to you as concerned members of the global social media campaign, Save Misty the Dolphin, to request that the International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA) act swiftly to issue a statement discouraging its membership from working with any dolphins procured from the dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan.  This statement should include, in particular, 101 bottlenose dolphins taken from a drive hunt that occurred on December 12, 2012.
On December 13, and all days since then, IMATA has received communications from the Save Misty the Dolphin community, and from many other individuals who are concerned about the welfare of dolphins, notifying IMATA of a horrific drive of a large pod of bottlenose dolphins into The Cove in Taiji, Japan.  These emails were generated by thousands of individuals who sent them to you individually and via a petition at change.org.
As we notified you on December 13, 2012, and you are, therefore, aware, on December 12, 2012, in Taiji, Japan, a large pod of bottlenose dolphins was hunted and trapped in The Cove.  After reviewing photos and video footage, it appears that this large pod contained approximately 200 dolphins.  Of the 200 detained in The Cove, at least 23 were killed underneath tarps while trainers observed.  Two dolphin calves drowned in nets strung to prevent them from escaping.  At no time does video footage show that any fisherman, diver or trainer made an effort to free the calves as they were drowning.  The 25 dolphins died so that 101 juvenile dolphins could be selected by trainers in The Cove, in a long and torturous process, to become performers for the aquarium industry.  Further, video footage and photographic evidence reveal multiple physical insults to numerous dolphins during the selection process.  Many were bloodied as a result of being run over by skiffs or hit by propellers.  In no instance does footage show that trainers intervened to prevent these injuries or to treat the injured dolphins after the fact.
If IMATA stands behind its claims to be committed to the conservation and appreciation of dolphins, the organization cannot at the same time accept dolphins from any drive hunt. IMATA cannot continue to accept dolphins caught in the Taiji Drive "Fishery" and expect the public to believe that the association is concerned for the welfare of dolphins.  We request that you issue a statement to your membership immediately.  Such a statement should send a clear signal that IMATA, in deed as well as mission, truly supports the appreciation and welfare of dolphins in the wild and that IMATA encourages its members and member facilities to refuse to work with any of the 101 bottlenose dolphins caught and selected in the Hunt on December 12-17, 2012 or any dolphins caught in Taiji, Japan.
Please contact the Administration team at Save Misty the Dolphin - https://www.facebook.com/Savemistythedolphin - if you wish to discuss this statement or have any questions regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Save Misty the Dolphin
TO SIGN THE PETITION AND SEND A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO IMATA CLICK HERE: http://www.change.org/petitions/imata-trainers-don-t-train-taiji-dolphins