Friday, September 08, 2006

Japan Dolphin Day: September 20, 2006

Posted by Eric @ 7:46 PM

I've covered marine mammal issues here at AAFL before, and have received a fair share of support and criticism (amazingly) for that coverage, but one issue it seems many of us are neglecting -- including organizations with a marine mammal focus -- is the Japanese dolphin slaughter.

Obviously there's only so much time and money to go around to protect the animals of the world, but precious little is allocated to stopping the slaughter of tens of thousands of dolphins in Japan. Last year's cull triggered "Japan Dolphin Day" demonstrations in 28 countries, but the protests went almost entirely unreported in that country.

The cull, which starts in October and goes on for about six months, is officially condoned as a traditional cultural practice, and is described by Taiji fishermen as "pest control," though no studies have shown that dolphins are any more responsible than humans for depleting fish in the area. Government quotas for the 2005/2006 season allowed for the slaughter of more than 21,000 small cetaceans, the highest in the world

Japan Dolphin Day is geared toward shedding light around the world on this little-known slaughter in an attempt to generate international condemnation. With Japan's recent success at the IWC this year -- during which they barely pulled off a majority vote stating that the whaling ban was no longer necessary -- marine mammals need our attention if they are to survive ever-larger slaughters.

The protest is not being held under the umbrella of any one group, but is being coordinated in large part by One Voice's Ric O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer from the popular TV series "Flipper" who changed his views on cetaceans in captivity after one of the dolphins that portrayed Flipper died in his arms. As a trainer, O'Barry observed that dolphins were not only highly intelligent, but also self-aware, much like gorillas and humans, recognizing themselves in the reflection of a mirror or on TV.

To fully appreciate this self-awareness is to experience true revulsion at the inhumane way in which these extremely complex, social, and playful mammals are killed. To cull large amounts of dolphins at once, Taiji fishermen take motorized boats out to locate pods of dolphins, which they drive into a narrow cove by banging on long steel poles plunged into the water. Once corraled into the dead-end, the dolphins are trapped by nets strung across the mouth of the cove. After a day of rest to supposedly improve the quality of the meat ripped from their bodies, they are herded into another cove nearby for the slaughter. Observers from One Voice and Sea Shepherd have reported seeing wounded dolphins writhe in pain for almost six minutes before expiring.

The killing cove in Hatagiri Bay at Taiji is hidden between two mountains. According to O'Barry, a gigantic tarp strung over the shoreline cuts off the view from land, and paths leading to the cove are chained off with signs reading "No Trespassing!" and "Keep Out, Danger!"

Despite attempts by fishermen and the government to discourage outsiders from witnessing or protesting the slaughter, Ric O'Barry has personally recorded footage of freshly killed dolphins being lifted onto a pier in the harbor in the traditional whaling town of Taiji. Other recent footage shows dolphins thrashing about wildly as they try to escape, the water growing red around them. If it wasn't for this smuggled footage no one outside Taiji would be able to see this barbaric slaughter for what it is.

Thanks almost entirely to these types efforts by concerned activists, members of the U.S. government have been made aware of the issue, and have chosen to act. In April of 2005, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -- along with co-sponsors Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), and Carl Levin (D-MI) -- introduced Senate Resolution 99, "Expressing the sense of the Senate to condemn the inhumane and unnecessary slaughter of small cetaceans . . . in certain nations." The resolution, currently referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, describes how, "each year tens of thousands of small cetaceans are herded into small coves in certain nations, are slaughtered with spears and knives, and die as a result of blood loss and hemorrhagic shock," condemns the slaughter of small cetaceans in these drive fisheries, calls for their end, and recommends that the United States "advocate for clarification that the mandate of the International Whaling Commission includes small cetaceans," among other resolutions. If you have an in on the Committee on Foreign Relations, now might be a good time to lean on them to address S. Res. 99.

One of the concerns addressed by S. Res. 99 is that much of the meat is processed for human consumption, despite the dangerously high levels of mercury present in dolphins from being so high up the ocean's food chain.

In a 2000-2003 joint survey of small cetacean food products sold in Japan published in 2005, Daichi College of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Fukuoka, Kyushu, and the School of Biological Sciences in Auckland, New Zealand found that all dolphin food products "exceeded the provisional permitted levels of 0.4 micrograms per wet gram for total mercury and 0.3 micrograms per wet gram for methyl mercury (a particularly dangerous form of mercury) set by the Japanese government. The highest level of methyl mercury was about 26 micrograms per wet gram in a food sample from a striped dolphin, 87 times higher than the permitted level."

Of course, not all the captured dolphins are slaughtered for their meat. After all, there's not enough of a demand to support such an industry. But every year, an unknown number of healthy young specimens are selected and removed from the killing coves to be sold at up to $40,000 each into the international dolphin captivity industry, for use in aquariums, dolphinariums or for swim-with-dolphin programs. If children knew how the dolphins ended up in those places, and that they are typically kept hungry in order to perform for food, they would most certainly not approve.

While selling dolphins into captivity is a lucrative business, it's possible that fishermen could make even more money leaving dolphins in their natural habitat. At least one former dolphin hunter in Futo has switched from hunting dolphins to offering 'dolphin watch' tours. Thousands of tourists have taken these tours, paying 4,000 yen each for the pleasure of seeing dolphins in the wild.

With your support, there could be more success stories like this.

Organizers from One Voice are calling for another global day of protest on Wednesday, September 20th. Overwhelming support for Japan Dolphin Day could drag these issue out of the shadows and into the light, where it belongs, despite opposition from Japanese officials.

All are asked to participate: Animal welfare groups, musicians and bands, environmentalists, dolphin trainers, bloggers, schools, ordinary citizens... everyone. Simply show up for a couple of hours or more with all of your friends in front of any Japanese embassy or consulate office in the United States (or outside the U.S.), starting at about noon and protest the slaughter. If you have any connections with the media, or special talents for posters, music, street theatre or anything, put them to good use. You can also call or write Japanese officials - or do all three: show up, call them, and send a protest letter. Make sure your voice is heard.

You may want to check with your local organization for more precise information about protests in your area. While Japan Dolphin Day will not take place under the umbrella of any one group, many organizations have pledged to give the dolphins a few hours of their time on September 20th (as well as to ask their families, friends and members to show up), including:

Join the list!

If you're able, you may want to pack your bags and head for Japan to do something more about the problem. The Japanese whalers have told activists that they do not want westerners witnessing the dolphin slaughter or the related dolphin captures. You can give them exactly what they don't want, though this is definitely not recommend for everyone; activists have been jailed and have had equipment confiscated when attempting to capture footage and release dolphins awaiting slaughter.

For more information:

Earth Island: Save Taiji Dolphins

Save Taiji Dolphins

e-mail

Note: This entry relies heavily on 'Secret' dolphin slaughter defies protests, a November 2005 International Genesis Award-winning article by Boyd Harnell writing for The Japan Times.

Labels: dolphin slaughter, dolphins

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