Dolphins Deserve Life!

As millions around the world were all loved up on “Valentine’s Day” hundreds of people were fighting for a much more important cause, February 14th was of course “World Love For Dolphins Day” which is a day when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians demonstrate the love felt around the world for the dolphins they slaughter every year. The demonstrations took place outside of many Embassies and Consulates across America and the rest of the world. They (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society) Also encouraged dolphin lovers from around the world to send “Dolphin Valentine’s” cards directly to Japanese Embassies.

Taiji, Wakayama. A small picturesque fishing town in Japan has many dark sides to it. This small fishing town only home to a population of around 3,000 people is the main threat to dolphins and other small cetaceans as around 2,500 dolphins are killed and captured in coastal waters between the months of September and April. The dolphins are brought close to the shore using a technique called “Drive Fishing” were hunters in a line of motorized boats create a “wall of sound” between the dolphins and the open ocean by banging on metal poles lowered into the water. This causes the dolphins, who rely on sonar to navigate to become disorientated and terrified, causing them to swim towards shore to escape the noise. Once near shore teams of 40-50 fishermen corral them into a small cove and trap them with overnight nets and return the next day and transport them into an adjacent “Killing Cove.” Where the slaughter begins. Hundreds of dolphins are then slaughtered as the “lucky” ones are picked out for sale to Marine Mammal parks across Asia and Europe.

This year, one dolphin calf in particular caught the eye of the media and melted the hearts of thousands across the world, this dolphin was “Angel” an extremely rare Albino Bottlenose, who was captured and shipped to a holding tank at Taiji Whale Museum. Many Taiji caught dolphins sell for up to $150,000 but experts believe that because of “Angel” being so rare Marine and Mammal parks will pay up to £298,650 ($500,000 or 364,000 Euro) to show her off to tourists, as people love to see oddities. However O’Barry Founder of Sea Shepherd believes that due to being so young this albino calf will not survive long, as most dolphins who are captured for exhibition die within three years.

Young And Alone

Many of the dolphins whom are “lucky” enough to be released back into the ocean after the killings at “The Cove” in Taiji, will be left in great danger as they will more than likely be very young and not have guidance of their elders that have been killed for meat or captured. This puts them at large risk of dying themselves and due to the “Dolphin Drive” happening every year entire communities of migratory dolphins along the coast of Japan are being destroyed.

During the killing and capturing spree where over 250 Bottlenose dolphins were captured for selection over 100 were killed for the sale of their meat and internal organs which are worth around £300 ($500 or 364 Euro.) Many believe to have seen a numerous dolphins commit suicide including “Angel’s” Mother, who may have held her breathe until she died. This alone is a horrible thought and if it was the only thing that had happened in Taiji, it should still be enough to show people around the world that this needs to stop, and the faster we do that the better. As each year goes by the dolphin population in and around Japan will keep decreasing until there is no more dolphins for “The Cove” to take the lives from.

A One Generation Old “Tradition”

Prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe asked for understanding of Japanese dolphin hunting in small town Taiji. He said it is an ancient practice rooted in their culture and it supports their livelihood, however what he forgot to mention was that Dolphin killing in masses like at the infamous cove in Taiji truly started with the motorboat engine being adopted into the mainstream which is a much shorter time span than “Tradition.” It is more likely to be one generation. Also Mr Shinzo Abe also forgot to mention that the entire fishing industry in Taiji doesn’t profit off of the Dolphin slaughter as their are well over 300 fishermen in Taiji and only around 50 of them profit from the killings of dolphins every year.

Lincon O’Barry of The Ric O’Barry Dolphin Project explains to ROYT that by banishing the dolphin slaughter only 50 fishermen would be “out of business” but unsurprisingly it is these 50 or so that are among the richest people living in Taiji. O’Barry also explains how even if mass dolphin slaughter was a “Tradition” of Taiji fishermen it can still change. He spent months living with natives of Soloman Islands who when he arrived were using dolphin teeth as a currency were able to be taught enough about dolphin conservation for them to change their ways.

“They stopped after a thousand years of tradition. It shows that people can change” Says Mr O’Barry

What Can We Do To Help

There are many things we can do to help protect the dolphins and stop massacres happening. There is options such as volunteering to become a member of “The Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians” this position requires dedication, time and resources but if you have the time and money to do so, it is defiantly worth applying for. For more information visit Sea Shepherd or send an email to coveguardian@seashepherd.org. If you are unable to volunteer but still wish to help fight for the dolphins then there is other options in which you are able to do so. These include never buying a ticket to any dolphin show, or visiting and partaking in captive dolphin programs such as “Swimming with the dolphins.” Also start spreading the word on the cruelty that these dolphins go through each year to your friends, family and colleagues, even over social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook.

So as you can see even the littlest of things can help these dolphins survive and hopefully as a human race we can eliminate this so called “Tradition” from the face of the earth and leave the sea’s beautiful inhabitants alone and where they belong, with their families to live in peace and harmony. I’ll leave you to make your mind up.