In Taiji, Japan, Fishermen in the Cove are Still Not Killing Bottlenose Dolphins, but They are Killing Other Species

By Ric OBarry, Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition
http://www.SaveJapanDolphins.org


Ive been here in Taiji, the small coastal town in Japan with the big secret, for several days now. I wanted to get a good idea of what is happening in the Cove, made infamous by the movie The Cove, recently released on DVD. It is imperative that I and my colleagues from Save Japan Dolphins Coalition are here on the ground regularly to judge what is happening and to document the truth that the Taiji dolphin killers and the Japanese government want to hide from the Japanese people and the world.

Ric O’Barry and his son, Lincoln O’Barry, are at the Cove in Taiji, Japan.
Photo by Kate Tomlinson.

The Taiji dolphin-killers, so far as we can tell, are still not catching any bottlenose dolphins for slaughter. Thats the good news. But obviously, this is largely a PR effort on the part of the fishermen to deny the truth shown in The Cove. They can say they are not killing Flipper, but they are butchering many of his dolphin cousins as many as they can get.

And the dolphin-killers are angry, too. They have physically assaulted several of us, although fortunately there have been no injuries. I was assaulted yesterday, but I got the assault on video. Tomorrow I will bring a copy to the police station and file a complaint against the dolphin killers. They will not intimidate me or our Save Japan Dolphins team that is here on site.

As depicted in the award-wining documentary The Cove, Japan issues 23,000 permits annually to slaughter dolphins. Here in Taiji, boats go out to sea and herd dolphin pods into a local cove, where nets are arrayed across the entrance to keep them captive. The dolphin killers work with aquariums from all over the world to pick out the best show quality dolphins for captivity. The rest are killed in the most horrible way imaginable, caught on hidden cameras in The Cove Movie. Roughly two to three thousand dolphins are killed here during the dolphin-hunting season, which runs from September to March.

Ric O’Barry at the Cove in Taiji, Japan.
Photo by Kate Tomlinson.

Sadly, in the Cove itself, I have found it is business as usual, despite the worldwide publicity against the dolphin slaughter. On Sunday, several False killer whales (a large dolphin) were captured and a few were taken by boat around the corner of the bay to the notorious Taiji Whale Museums floating holding cages on the other side. These whales will be trained and then sold for extremely high prices (as much as $150,000US each or more) to other aquariums for their captive dolphin shows. The rest of the pod, their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers, will be slaughtered tomorrow at dawn. There are also Rissos dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Cove today as well, and they will die too tomorrow. My son Lincoln and I will be on hand to record it. My son and I are working on a new TV project, so we will have a way to show the world the reality here in Taiji.

We will continue to show our presence here, and we will continue to witness and record the brutal dolphin slaughters. We will also show The Cove Movie throughout Japan. We will spread the truth that the government has tried so long to cover up.

One of my goals here this week is to change some hearts and minds here in Taiji. It seems to me that this is ground zero for the fight to change the hearts and minds of all Japan. We know there are people here in town that object to the dolphin slaughter, and this week, I will have a chance to meet them. We have a Japanese version of The Cove DVD with us, and we plan to screen it discretely for as many local people as we can find who want to know the truth.

I want to thank all our supporters for their efforts to contact President Obama and other opinion leaders throughout the world, to contact the Japanese Embassies, and to give donations to our cause to help us with our expenses here in Japan. Your support means a lot to me and the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.

Dolphins and small whales are still being killed in the Cove in Taiji, Japan.
Photo by Kate Tomlinson.

For further information about the Campaign to Save Japan Dolphins and to take action, go to our website:

http://www.SaveJapanDolphins.org

To donate to the Campaign, click here:

Thanks for all your help! We will stop the slaughter of dolphins in Japan -- I believe it is only a matter of time.

Save Japan Dolphins Coalition:
Earth Island Institute, Animal Welfare Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, In Defense of Animals, Campaign Whale of the UK, and OceanCare of Switzerland

Cruelty in the Name of Tradition

By Helene O’Barry

A popular argument used by the dolphin hunters in Taiji when asked why they kill dolphins by the thousands every year is: “We’ve been doing this for hundreds of years; it’s our tradition.” Some people immediately accept this explanation and back off without asking any further questions. “If killing dolphins is their tradition, then it must be OK,” seems to be their line of reasoning, and it is a dangerous one -- it makes it too easy for those who inflict pain on others to continue doing it unchallenged.

The term “traditional dolphin hunt” glorifies the dolphin slaughter, creating images of proud men carrying out courageous deeds to ensure the survival of their tribes. But the dolphin hunters of Japan are part of modern society. They do not live in tribes, what they do requires no bravery, and they certainly are not proud of what they do, which is illustrated by the tremendous amount of time they spend hiding their activities from the world. Any person capable of forcing large groups of marine mammals into a tight space, from which there is no escape, can do this job. We have heard the dolphin hunters’ laughter as they held up their tools before turning to finish their work concealed behind tarp, barbed wire and chain link fences.

The dolphin hunters’ argument that the hunt is justified by being “traditional” illustrates a fundamental hypocrisy: While the dolphin hunters apparently want to waste time standing still and refusing to accept today’s knowledge about dolphins as an intelligent, self-aware and highly evolved species, they are not against progress as long as they can benefit from it. They use modern technology to carry out their so-called “traditional dolphin hunt,” thereby turning it into something entirely different from what it was hundreds of years ago. Taking advantage of high-speed motorized boats, radios and walkie-talkies, they are able quickly to locate and hunt down thousands of dolphins and other small whales during the six-month-long hunting season. But as soon as anyone questions the justification of the hunt, they immediately revert back to their argument of keeping things the way they have been for hundreds of years. So while the dolphin hunters hide behind “tradition,” their modern dolphin killing machine marches on, eradicating entire dolphin schools in its destructive path.

We urge everyone never to accept the term “tradition” as valid reason for any action. Tradition is no excuse for cruelty.

Toxic Dolphin Meat -- A Human Rights Issue

By Helene O’Barry

Much has changed since 2003 when Ric and I travelled to Taiji, Japan for the first time. Back then, dangerous confrontations with the Japanese dolphin hunters were common. Their aggression and hostility were enormous. Every day at sunrise when we showed up at the dolphin killing cove with our cameras and video recorders to film and expose the dolphin slaughter, the dolphin hunters would push us around and threaten to harm us. “Go home, or we’ll kill you,” they would say. It was easy for them to harass us: There were no witnesses to their actions. We pleaded with the media in Japan and other countries to come to Taiji and cover the story of the dolphin slaughter, but no one was interested. Sometimes it seemed as if we were the only ones who knew about the dolphin slaughter that goes on six months out of the year in this remote fishing village.

Ric O’Barry holds a package of dolphin meat purchased in a Japanese market.
Photo by Boyd Harnell.

We would campaign in Taiji and Futo for weeks at a time, and those were weeks filled with anguish and sleepless nights. It seemed impossible that we would ever be able to generate any interest for this issue on an international level. At that time, the issue of the dolphin slaughter was primarily one of animal cruelty, and the dolphin hunters loved it. They loved it because it was an approach they could argue against with relative ease. “You eat cows and pigs in the Western world. We eat dolphins, what’s the difference?” they would say.

Turning the dolphin slaughter into an issue of food culture gave them an argument that seemed valid to some. But that is not the case anymore. Things have changed. The keyword to that change is “poison.” The dolphin meat sold to an unsuspecting Japanese public is poisoned, contaminated with mercury, metylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxins that accumulate up the food chain. It is only a matter of time before the Japanese public realizes that the dolphin hunters, supported by their government, have been selling them poison to eat. How much mercury have the Japanese coastal populations consumed without knowing it? And how many more people will be poisoned before a ban on the sale of toxic dolphin meat is implemented? Now that science has proven the presence of high levels of toxins in dolphin meat, through the efforts of environmental groups including the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, the entire world will be watching and waiting for a reaction from the Japanese government.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Japan has a new Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Ms. Mizuho Fukushima. At a press conference held in Tokyo, Ms. Fukushima agreed to investigate the mercury issue. This gives us hope that the Japanese public will finally be told the truth about the poisonous dolphin meat, and that the meat will be pulled from shelves in supermarkets and never again be served in schools and workplaces. You can help our campaign by sending a message to Ms. Fukushima. Your letter can be short:

“Dear Ms. Mizuho Fukushima:

Scientific studies have demonstrated that dolphin and whale meat is highly toxic and not fit for human consumption, due to contamination from methylmercury, mercury, PCBs, and other poisons. Please prevent any further damage to the health of the Japanese people by banning the sale of dolphin and whale meat immediately.

Sincerely,

Your name and contact information.”

Please send your letter to:
Minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency
Ms. Mizuho Fukushima
Sanno Park Tower
2-11-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Japan 100-6178
Fax: +81-3-3500-4640
Keiko Ueda, legislative Aide to Ms. Mizuho Fukushima, Member of the House of Councillors, Social Democratic Party
E-mail:ukgo@jca.apc.org

The Cove Exposed - Issue 7

Dear Dolphin Savers,

I hope you will tune in this Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) to Larry King on CNN, 8 PM Eastern / 5 PM Pacific. Actor Ben Stiller and I will be Larry’s special guests to talk about the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign.

This is a real thrill for me, and a crucial way to spread the word. CNN will be broadcasting this story in 122 countries!

Also, The Cove movie has made the short list of 15 films being considered for an Oscar nomination (see "More Publicity" below).

Shortly after this Thanksgiving weekend in the US, I will be leaving my family once again to travel to Japan with the Save Japan Dolphins Team to screen The Cove in cities around the country and to bring copies of The Cove to Japanese decision-makers.

Thank you for your generous donations to help me and the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign fund these key trips.

In September elections, the Japanese voted in a new political party to replace the long-reigning LDP, which had run Japan since the 1940’s.

It is unclear whether the new Japan PM and his party will stop the slaughter of dolphins and whales. They are said to be opposed to government subsidies, which certainly SHOULD put Japan’s whaling scheme on the chopping block! Millions of taxpayer yen are wasted each year on sending the whaling ships to Antarctica for phony “scientific” research whaling, as well as millions more in bribes to small nations in return for their voting for whaling at the International Whaling Commission meetings.

Finally, the new party is very interested in protecting the environment. The threat of mercury poisoning should therefore resonate with them.

Recently, at a press conference, reporter Boyd Harnell confronted the new Minister of Public Health, Mizuho Fukushima, with the dangers of mercury-contaminated dolphin meat. He presented her with copies of some of his pioneer articles for The Japan Times and several scientific reports, including several provided by our Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.

So we feel the time is right for Japan to finally end the slaughter of dolphins and whales, once and for all.

Once the people of Japan learn the truth about the dolphin slaughter through viewing The Cove and getting the scientific and educational information we provide, they will stop the slaughter – I am sure of it.

It won’t be easy, but you can rest assured that I will not give up, nor will my colleagues with the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.

Thank you again for your support of our efforts to protect dolphins and whales in Japan. With your kind help, I know we will succeed.


Ric O'Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

If you can help, please consider a tax-deductible donation: http://www.savejapandolphins.org/donate.php

---

SPECIAL OFFERS:

The upcoming issue of Earth Island Journal features an exclusive story about Ric O’Barry and the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign. To receive a PDF electronic copy, click here:

One of our friends made me a beautiful nobori (a traditional Japanese banner) that says in Japanese "Save Japan's Dolphins." I'm bringing it with me to Japan to display all over the country. For those of you who are able to donate $100 or more, I will have your name inscribed on the banner as a sponsor of my trip. Thanks for being part of this growing list!



The upcoming issue of Earth Island Journal features exclusive interviews and in-depth stories about the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign. For a donation of $35, (or $100 for nobori sponsors) we will send you a copy of the Journal, and a full year's subscription.

TAKE ACTION:

Taiji fishermen have – quite amazingly – not killed dolphins yet this year. However, they are still killing pilot whales for meat and netting bottlenose dolphins for the international dolphin trafficking industry. We need to stop all killing of dolphins and whales, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) must take action to stop their members from subsidizing the slaughter by buying choice specimens at outrageous prices for captivity and “swim-with-dolphins” programs. Go to our website and take action.

Want to do more? Get your friends and family to go to the website, host a house party, or Cove movie showing for the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.

MORE PUBLICITY FOR OUR CAMPAIGN:

The Cove movie has made the short list of 15 documentaries being considered for final nomination for an Academy Award as Best Documentary next March. We salute Louie Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society for their incredible support for dolphins and their artistic achievement.

The British newspaper The Guardian did this wonderful editorial about The Cove.

Tokyo Press Conference Confronts Japan’s Food Safety Minister With Toxic Dolphin Meat

“Japan Minister Mizuho Fukushima at a Tokyo Press Conference.”
Photo by Boyd Harnell.

Journalist Boyd Harnell, who has covered the killing of dolphins in Japan for the Japan Times, recently confronted Japan’s new Food Safety Minister Fukushima, with the support of Sky TV’s Pio d’Emilia, with detailed evidence, some supplied by the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, on the poisoning of dolphin and whale meat on sale in Japanese supermarkets.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) held a press conference Wednesday, November 11th, to welcome Japanese politician Mizuho Fukushima, the new minister of food safety and general affairs, social affairs, and gender equality. Mainstream Japanese and foreign journalists with the print and broadcast media fielded questions related to her new position, including an interview by reporter Harnell related to the serious health issues revolving around the ongoing sale of highly toxic, mercury-tainted dolphin meat at retail outlets in Japan.

Mr. Harnell told Fukushima that the Japan Health Ministry has so far failed to mandate warnings on the labels of small cetacean meat, adding that mislabeling of dolphin meat as being whale meat was endemic throughout Japan. He also told Fukushima that two Taiji government officials condemned dolphin meat as toxic waste after they had conducted certified lab tests showing Taiji dolphin meat to be extremely high in mercury and methyl mercury
and said it had been formerly served at government-sponsored Taiji lunches for school children.

Harnell went on to point out that top Japanese medical researchers, Dr. Shigeo Ekino and Dr. Tetsuya Endo, also condemned the sale of dolphin meat for human consumption. He mentioned the high levels of mercury found in 50 Taiji residents that tested at ten times the national average for this toxic substance. The Japan Times contributing correspondent turned over ten certified lab reports of dolphin meat showing ballistic levels of mercury along with in-depth studies made by environmental organizations and scientific reports detailing the various toxins found in Japan's coastal dolphins sold for food to Japanese consumers.

Harnell asked if she would ban the sale of dolphin meat forever. Fukushima said she was aware of the high levels of mercury in Japan's dolphins and said she would address the issue and investigate studies made by scientists and environmental groups.

Ric O’Barry, Campaign Director for the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, stated: “Boyd Harnell’s efforts to bring the story of dolphin meat poisoning to the attention of Japanese officials has been outstanding. We really owe him and other brave journalists a great deal for challenging the media blackout in Japan over stories about dolphins and whales. Dolphin meat should not be eaten by anyone, and Japan must ban the slaughter of dolphins and whales to protect public health and preserve their ocean heritage.”

* * * * *

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition to stop dolphin and whale slaughter and stop dolphin trafficking consists of Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute, In Defense of Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, OceanCare of Switzerland, and Campaign Whale of the UK.

Award for a lifetime of saving dolphins

By Helene O’Barry

Our Campaign Director Richard O’Barry was named the winner of the Lifetime AchievementAward presented by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

"The ASPCA is proud to honor those who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion, bravery and commitment to furthering the human-animal bond," said ASPCA President & CEO Edwin Sayres.

O’Barry was chosen as recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for his tireless efforts to end cruelty against dolphins and educate the world about the plight of dolphins in captivity. Among his most outstanding achievements in recent years are the rescue and release of captive dolphins in Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, Nicaragua and Haiti. The significance of his work has been further highlighted with the award-winning film documentary The Cove, which features his efforts to expose and stop the slaughter of dolphins in Japan.

Joining us at the banquet ceremony in New York on October 29th were Save Japan Dolphins Coalition supporters Sara Rosen and Casey Burgess with the Regina Frankenberg Foundation, artist Temple St. Clair Carr with her son Archer and dolphin protector Taffy Williams.

"I am truly honored to receive the ASPCA award and accept it on behalf of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, my wife Helene O'Barry who participated in the dolphin rescue and release projects, and all other individuals I have worked with over the years," said O’Barry.

Ric O’Barry addresses the ASPCA awards luncheon in New York.
Photography by Patrick McMullan.

Richard O’Barry with ASPCA President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin Sayres.
Photography by Patrick McMullan.

The Cove Exposed - Issue 6

Dear Dolphin Savers:

I need your help immediately to broaden and strengthen our campaign to save dolphins and stop the mercury poisoning in Japan.

-- Your support has kept the dolphin-killers in check so far. Two months into the dolphin-killing season, the "non-slaughter" policy on the primary dolphin species remains in place.

-- Shocking new evidence has just been reported by a credible Japanese journalist on the dangerously high mercury levels in residents of Taiji as a direct result of their consumption of poison dolphin and whale meat.

-- The first public showing of The Cove in Japan was a huge success, stunning Japanese citizens who have had no idea the dolphin slaughter was taking place. Take a look at some of the quotes from viewers, as reported in the New York Times:

"I was outraged. The footage of the sea turning bloody red was especially shocking," said Yukiko Ishizawa, 18, a college student in Tokyo.

"I'm never going to eat dolphin again now that I know about the pollution," said Mutsuko Otake, 55, a Tokyo homemaker. "But I was most shocked to find out that Japan has been getting a bad name, without us knowing about it," she added.

I need to get back to Japan as quickly as possible, and we need to mobilize the entire Save Japan Dolphins Team to help. We need to spread the word about the Japanese-language version of The Cove. We need to keep the pressure on to end the killing, and press the new Japanese Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food Safety to immediately prohibit sale of poisonous dolphin meat.

This is not going to be cheap or easy, but we must do it. I hope you will give as generously as possible to keep this remarkable progress moving forward.

Click here to make a tax-deductible donation:

We have to act quickly. While the Taiji fishermen have not slaughtered any small dolphins for meat this season, they have continued to kill pilot whales and occasionally other species. These species have even more mercury than the smaller dolphins. And of course, as I have been telling the media, pilot whales ARE dolphins.

We must also get copies of the Japanese version of The Cove to government contacts, leaders of grassroots environmental and food safety groups, and the Japanese media. When enough people in Japan see this movie, the pressure to end the killing will be overwhelming.

For every donation of $100 or more, your name will be printed on a beautiful new nobori banner, which says "Save Japan's Dolphins" in Japanese. I plan on flying this banner wherever I go in Japan on this trip so the Japanese can see that your worldwide support travels with me.

I promise to keep you posted on key developments as I return to Japan, and thank you in advance for your continued commitment and contributions.

We need to keep the pressure on and get the truth out to stop the killing!

Thank you,

Ric O'Barry

Special Offers:


One of our friends made me a beautiful nobori (a traditional Japanese banner) that says in Japanese "Save Japan's Dolphins." I'm bringing it with me to Japan to display all over the country. Now, you can help me by donating $100 to the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition effort in Japan. And I will have your name attached to the nobori as a sponsor of my trip. Please help us with a generous donation.

The upcoming issue of Earth Island Journal features exclusive interviews and in-depth stories about the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign. For a donation of $35 (or $100 for nobori sponsors), we will send you a copy of the Journal, and a full year's subscription: Click here to donate.

Take Action:

While the Taiji fishermen are not slaughtering any dolphins right now, thanks to our efforts, they are still catching pilot whales for meat and catching bottlenose dolphins for the international dolphin trafficking industry. We need to get them to stop all killing of dolphins and whales, and we need the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to take action to stop their members from subsidizing the slaughter of dolphins by buying choice specimens at outrageous prices for captivity and "swim-with-dolphins" programs. Go to our website and take action: http://www.savejapandolphins.org.

Want to do more? Get your friends and family to go to the website, and host a fundraising party for the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition.

More Publicity for Our Campaign:

A great CNN story tells of suppression efforts in Japan during the screening of The Cove at the Tokyo International Film Festival:

And go here to read the full New York Times story giving the reaction of ordinary Japanese who saw The Cove.

You can also hear my recent interview on BBC Radio.

The truth about toxic Dolphin meat is finally being reported by mainstream Japanese media. Go here to read an English translation of this shocking article.

“The Cove” Screened in Tokyo

by Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition


The Tokyo International Film Festival tried very hard to bury “The Cove” Movie, but I think their efforts backfired on them. By trying to keep the media away from the film and the audience, they made the story much bigger than it might have been.

“The Cove”, as you know, was originally passed over by the Festival board in favor of much safer, non-controversial movies, such as Disney’s “Oceans” movie, which opened the Festival. However, thanks to pressure from the US, including our friend actor Ben Stiller and the Festival’s Jury President Alejandro González Iñárritu, the Festival relented and agreed to screen “The Cove.” This was the first screening of “The Cove” in Japan where the general public could buy tickets.

The Festival then scheduled the screening in the morning on a workday, but “The Cove” sold out within an hour of tickets being made available! The Festival refused to schedule a second screening to accommodate the many who could not get tickets (including, incidentally, the town Council of Taiji). The audience actually applauded at the end of the film – one critic said it was the ONLY film where the audience applauded during the Festival.

The many reporters and camera operators who showed up were told by the Festival not to ask questions and not to interview filmgoers. They were allowed only briefly into the auditorium during a short question & answer session with Director Louie Psihoyos. Then they were apparently kicked off the property!

A great CNN story tells this sad tale of suppression:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/10/21/lah.japan.dolphin.cove.cnn?iref=videosearch

And here is a New York Times story giving the reaction of ordinary Japanese who saw “The Cove”. So often, we only hear from government officials or the fishermen who kill the dolphins. Clearly, we are on the right track in getting “The Cove” out to the public in Japan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/asia/23dolphin.html

Louie was the real hero of the day. He and his crew worked long and hard on putting together an excellent dub in Japanese of “The Cove.”

He also decided he would go to Tokyo personally to screen “The Cove” and answer questions. He was risking arrest, but felt he had to go to present his film and to talk with the Japanese. Fortunately, there was no arrest, and the screening went very well indeed. While several of the protagonists (including the Taiji mayor and the gentleman known in the film as “Private Space”) were in the room, none spoke, and Louie fielded questions like a pro. Generally, the questions were all pretty supportive, and even questions that could have been very hostile were asked in a polite manner.

Special thanks are owed to our Coalition team in Japan, including David Kubiak, Michael Bailey, Kyoko Tanaka, and to the amazing work done by Louie Psihoyos of OPS and Carl Clifton of The Works.

What happens now? This is the big question.

There is some interest after the screening from some Japanese distributors, so a wider audience may see “The Cove” in theaters.

I’m convinced we need, when appropriate, to get it out to the Japanese people in many ways – online, as DVDs, and in special screenings that our campaign pays for around cities in Japan. “The Cove” is a powerful statement and getting it out will go a long way towards ending the killing of dolphins and whales. But it will take a lot of money to get it out and seen in Japan.

Louie, acting on a suggestion by my son Lincoln, offered to screen “The Cove” in Taiji for the town Council and the people, but has not received any reply. Lincoln and I are working on following up for a screening in Taiji. Louie further generously offered to give the profits from “The Cove” screenings in Japan to the town of Taiji if they agreed to stop killing dolphins. “The Cove” also opens this coming Friday, October 23rd, in Europe.

There are many other things we need to do for the campaign beyond the movie, too. We need to continue to get the word out about mercury contamination, and help conduct more research on the dolphin fishery and the health threat it represents to the people of Japan. We need to push the Japanese media especially to look into the mercury issue.

I plan to go back to Japan soon, to continue to keep the pressure on and bring reporters and TV cameras with me. We have been willing to work from the beginning with the people of Taiji to encourage tourism and dolphin-watching as a replacement for killing and capturing dolphins, but they need to know we will not go away until this issue gets solved.

Your support has helped us enormously during these hectic days! Please consider giving a donation to help me and the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition crew go back to Japan and Taiji:

Click Here to Donate

Thanks again for all your support!

Broom, Australia Reverses Suspension of Sister-City Tie w/ Taiji, Japan

Help Needed.

The Broome Shire Council has voted to reverse its suspension of its sister-city relationship with the town of Taiji due to the slaughter of dolphins. While their new resolution includes some language recommending “alternative economic opportunities similar to those that have seen Broome flourish through tourism and promotion of its natural marine resources and landscape beauty", it is unlikely the fishermen of Taiji will accept such support in exchange for stopping the slaughter of dolphins (including pilot whales).

This is a dangerous and misguided step, and we must fight against it. If the Broome Council sincerely desires to support the people of Taiji, how can it condone the distribution and sale of mercury-laden dolphin meat to the people of Japan, including many schoolchildren?

We urge you to continue sending letters to the Broome Shire Council to end support for the Taiji dolphin slaughter. You can take action here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/609044984?z00m=19796850

9,000 letters have flooded into Broome in the past 2 days urging the Council to hold on to its brave position. They should not give in to the intense pressure from the Japanese government and the city of Taiji. Too much is at stake.

Keep up the pressure by sending letters at:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/609044984?z00m=19796850

Read the article at:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091015a4.html

Check our blog for latest updates at:

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/blog.html


Thanks for your help. We need to keep the pressure on and not give in to the counter pressure coming from Japan.

Ric O’Barry & David Phillips
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

The Cove Exposed - Issue 5

Dear Friends of Dolphins:

The fishermen in Taiji released 70 bottlenose dolphins in September, and our team from Save Japan Dolphins was there to film it – you will likely see this footage soon. The fishermen are still killing pilot whales (apparently reasoning that they can get away with killing “whales,” but not “dolphins”). I have been telling the international media over and over again: “Pilot whales ARE dolphins, and they have the highest levels of mercury of any species tested.”

We have accomplished much, but we still have a long way to go.

Photo © Mark J. Palmer

Join Me in TAIJI

Next week, on October 21st, one of the most important milestones will take place in our campaign: The Cove movie will be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Director Louie Psihoyos and some of our friends from Hollywood are planning to attend.

As you know, the film festival originally did not want to screen The Cove, despite the theme of the festival being the environment. (They even are boasting of a green carpet, instead of a red carpet!) But international pressure, including the efforts of comedian Ben Stiller and others, changed their collective minds. The Cove was added at the last moment, but for a screening at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday – hardly an auspicious time, especially in Japan where virtually everyone has a very rigid work schedule.

But, thanks to your help and the help of our grassroots friends in Japan, I’m pleased to say that the screening is now sold out!

(However, we have just learned that the Taiji fishermen are calling the theater and the Film Festival demanding that the screening be canceled. They may mount a protest outside the theater or even try to block the entrance.)

Working together, we can indeed make monumental changes. I believed that when I first started this campaign with the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition in 2003, and I believe it now.

Here’s one gesture I really appreciated: The students of Darien School in Connecticut held a bake sale to help the dolphins, donating $309 (that’s a lot of brownies!) to our Save Japan Dolphins campaign. They want to help educate and mobilize high school students across the country for the dolphins. This is the kind of grassroots dedication that is dearest to my heart.

I’ve received e-mails from around the world: Singapore, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Poland, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, and more.

We believe the Tokyo screening of The Cove, which is being dubbed into Japanese by Louie and the Oceanic Preservation Society crew, will be a major step in getting the word out in Japan about mercury poisoning and the slaughter of dolphins and whales.

Your support has been key to our efforts, and I hope you take pride in our small but important accomplishments we have made so far to stop the slaughter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are great! I really appreciate all the e-mails and the donations.


Ric O'Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

P.S. our progress would be entirely impossible without the actions and donations that you are making.

Click to Donate

ACT NOW!

Tell Broome Shire not to Back Down! Until recently, Broome, Australia was the sister-city of Taiji, Japan. Broome cut ties with the remote fishing village after seeing the feature documentary The Cove, which exposed Taiji’s role in the yearly slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises off the shores of Japan. Broome took a courageous stand.

Now, under intense pressure from the Japanese government, the Shire Council of Broome is considering reversing its position. Don't let them do it!

Our sources indicate that the suspension is a key reason why the dolphin kills have been halted. If the Shire Council reverses, the killing is likely to resume. We need your help today!

Sign the Petition: Our Facebook petition is now up to 350,000 sign-ons. We are pushing for 1 million signatures by December 1st. Please sign it, and get your family, friends and neighbors to sign it too!

If you are in Europe, The Cove movie opens in many theaters on October 23rd. The DVD is scheduled to be released in the US in December.

VISIT OUR SUPPORTERS ONLINE!

Help the Dolphins: Ecojoia, run by the dynamic sister/brother team of Julia and Ry Hawley, is producing our official Save Japan Dolphins campaign t-shirts, hats and jewelry. They are generously sharing their profits with our campaign. Please visit their website: ecojoia.com.

Wear Fine Art for Dolphins: A lovely lady, diver and jewelry designer, Temple St. Clair is offering beautiful gold dolphin pendants and rings, with 40% of the sales going to support Save Japan Dolphins. Visit her website at: templestclair.com.

LEARN MORE

Australia 60 Minutes recently joined Ric in Taiji.

Ric’s Facebook Chat: At the end of his recent trip to Taiji, Ric conducted a Facebook chat. You can hear his answers to many of your questions.

Campaign in the UK: The UK Telegraph ran a feature story in their magazine about The Cove movie and our campaign. Author Mick Brown traveled with Ric and the Save Japan Dolphins team to Taiji.

Back Issues:

The Cove Exposed, issue #4 - 9/22/09
The Cove Exposed, issue #3 - 9/1/09
The Cove Exposed, issue #2 - 8/31/09
The Cove Exposed, issue #1 - 8/25/09

An Urgent Alert for Dolphins

By Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

Dear Friends of Dolphins:

I’m in London now, promoting the opening of The Cove movie here.

But I need your help to stop the Broome Shire Council from backing down from their courageous action in suspending their sister-city relationship with the town of Taiji.

Broome’s Shire Council voted to cut ties with the remote fishing village after seeing the feature documentary “The Cove,” which exposed Taiji’s role in the yearly slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises off the shores of Japan. I personally thanked Broome for this action.

Now, under intense pressure from the Japanese government, the Shire Council of Broome is considering reversing its position. Don't let them do it! http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFQGz/zJVq/bSq13

Our sources indicate that the suspension is a key reason why the dolphin kills have been halted. If the Shire Council reverses, the killing is likely to resume. We need your help today as the hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Australia! http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFQGz/zJVq/bSq13

We were able to stop the dolphin slaughter at least temporarily -- but we must keep the pressure on!

Tell Broome: Stand strong against dolphin slaughter! http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFQGz/zJVq/bSq13

Goodbye (for now) to Taiji

By Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

This morning I went “on patrol”, driving around Taiji to make sure the local fishermen know that we are still around and still watching.

I was very pleased with what I saw – which was nothing. Not only was the Cove empty of any dolphins, there were also no signs of any activity to set up the dolphin hunt – for example, nets used to close off the Cove once the dolphins are driven in were not set in place ready to be deployed. All the dolphin drive boats depicted in “The Cove” Movie were tied up at the docks. There was no activity at the Fishermen’s Union.

Yesterday afternoon, it rained very hard, along with a strong wind – we are just at the end of the typhoon season here in Japan. But today dawned very calm – perfect dolphin hunting weather!

But because we are here, a whole team of activists from the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, the fishermen are laying low and the dolphins are free in the wild ocean offshore.

As I mentioned before, I have to leave today to attend another film festival in Hamburg, Germany, and help promote “The Cove” Movie, which opens in Europe on October 23rd. But a German film crew is heading here for ten days. By the time they leave, the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition Team and I hope to be back here again.

We just learned that “The Cove” Movie will be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday morning at 10:30AM, October 21st. Not a very auspicious time for a film screening! But we are working with our Japan contacts to see that we get lots of tickets sold. And the Japanese media will be there – likely making the screening into a very big story.

As you know, the Film Festival, despite having a focus on environmental issues this year (they will be using a green carpet instead of a red carpet!), at first was going to reject showing “The Cove.” Actor Ben Stiller and other friends from Hollywood stepped into the breach, demanding that the Tokyo Film Festival not give in to government pressure from the Japan Fisheries Agency.

I need your support to come back to Japan and go “on patrol” in Taiji again in a month. It is an exhausting schedule, and Japan is very expensive to travel to and stay in. Your donations make my work and the work of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition possible.

Click Here to Donate

Thanks for all your help! I’ll be back online soon with further installments of this Blog. Please keep checking this website for updates and actions you can take to save Japan’s dolphins.

This morning, yesterday’s storm started clearing away around the hills of Taiji, but the dolphin drive hunts are still on hold as the fishermen stay in port despite the good weather.
Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer

Ric O’Barry kicks back as the train leaves the Taiji station. His next port of call: The Hamburg Film Festival.
Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer

Final Rounds on a Rainy Day

By Richard O’Barry Campaign Director Save Japan Dolphins Coalition


Our friends from the media left yesterday and today, preparing stories that will soon be around the world via the Internet.

We spent the morning going “on patrol,” as I call it. Basically I drive around Taiji, making sure the fishermen know we are there, watching.

I don’t want to cause an incident – it is enough for me to show my face and my camera, and the local fishermen think twice about going out and killing dolphins.

We drove past the Fishermen’s Union office, where yesterday the meat from a Minke whale was sold to the public, but today, a Monday, all was silent. However, I’m sure they knew we were there.

Our Italian friend Pio from Sky TV managed last week to track down the main warehouse in town where the dolphin meat is kept. We drove slowly past that place, as well. (Pio sent in a Japanese friend to buy some pilot whale meat – he plans to test it to determine the species and the mercury content for his Sky TV story.) We then drove past the harbor where the 13 boats are kept that participate in the dolphin drives.

We did not even get out of the car (except at the Cove itself, where we took some photos). It is enough that the fishermen know we are there, and we are watching.

It’s like the old Woody Allen joke: 90% of success in life consists of showing up. I always make a point of showing up in places around the world where dolphin friends are needed. I don’t always know what I am going to do, but the situation there usually suggests what I should be doing. Show up, and the rest is easy.

Our friends from Australia 60 Minutes managed to get the mayor of Taiji to sit down this morning for their cameras (something my son Lincoln and I were unable to do). But the mayor, once on camera, simply said “no comment” to any questions. I think it will make an interesting program!

Tomorrow, we will be leaving Taiji, but a German TV crew is coming to Taiji the next day for ten days. And the fishermen will know that we are still watching.

Your donation will help us reach more people in Japan and bring them the truth their government has hidden from them. Your support keeps us going. We really appreciate it.

Click Here to Donate

Ric O’Barry on the shore of the Cove, with no dolphin drive fishery for several days.
Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer

One of the beautiful temples in the hills above Taiji.
Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer

The hills surrounding Taiji during a tropical storm.
Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer

Interviews and Minke Whales

By Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition


Every time I come here, the beauty of Taiji and the surrounding coastline always impresses me. It really is a wonderful place.

As I told the TV cameras today during our tour of Taiji, this place is like Norman Rockwell meets Norman Bates. The coastline, the rugged mountains dotted with shrines, and the small towns surround you (along with places like the notorious Taiji Whale Museum that supposedly celebrates whales). But just around the corner, the sea runs red with blood.

But not today, thankfully. Again, no dolphins were herded into the Cove. Every day we are here saves the lives of a few more dolphins.

The TV crews had a confrontation today with the Taiji fishermen – I stayed out of it. We heard that the Fishermen’s Union were promoting a special sale today of the meat of Minke whales from Japan’s so-called scientific research permits. So, Sky TV and Australia 60 Minutes went over to buy whale meat. But the reporters were kicked out, and the fishermen refused to talk to the media.

If you have seen “The Cove”, you will remember the character I dubbed Private Space. He was there today yelling at the cameras and reporters to leave the property. The police came and, professional as always, they asked for passports and politely instructed that the Fishermen’s Union property was off limits to the media.

It was the fishermen who called the police this time, but in the past, when I have suffered from harassment by the fishermen, the police have helped me and instructed the fishermen to stop. As I said, the police of Wakayama Prefecture are always polite and professional to us, and I repeatedly have thanked them for that.

In my interview today with the Australia 60 Minutes crew, I told them of the importance of Broome, the town in Australia, which suspended its sister-city relationship with Taiji. Before that event, the Japanese media had ignored the story of “The Cove.” Now, the Japanese media is all over the story.

But we hear that the Broome Shire Council may reconsider their decision, so we need to tell the people of Broome to support the original decision – Broome can renew its sister-city link with Taiji when the killing stops.

We continue to work to build pressure on Japan and within Japan to finally end the killing of whales and dolphins. Japan has just had a historic change in government, where the ruling political party was kicked out of office after 50+ years of control of the government. The new party in charge does not have the ties to the rural whaling towns that the former party had.

This might not mean dramatic changes in the governing of Japan, but some observers feel the Japanese public may be ready for real change here. It remains to be seen if the new government (which will take months to get organized) moves to end the subsidized killing of whales and dolphins that have generated so much international opposition. Whaling, and now the slaughter of dolphins, really is an international stain on Japan.

Please help us, at this critical time, work to stop the slaughter. Your donation will help us reach more people in Japan and bring them the truth their recent government has hidden from them.

Click Here to Donate

Thank you for your support. We are making good progress in ending the slaughter of dolphins and whales once and for all. Your support is very much appreciated by me personally and by all our team in the Save Japan Dolphin Coalition.

Ric O’Barry is interviewed by Australia 60 Minutes, the biggest news show in Australia, overlooking the Cove.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer.

Ric O’Barry is interviewed for a story for Sky TV.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer.

The police talk to media folks and our translator Kiki across the street from the Taiji Fishermen’s Union, where Minke whale meat is on sale.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer.

Police talk to representatives of the Taiji Fishermen’s Union. Underneath the roof, meat from Minke whales is being sold to local people by the Union. The gentleman in the black t-shirt is known to us as Private Space from the movie, “The Cove.”
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer.

In Taiji and the Cove is Empty

By Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

Today, we had a long train ride from Tokyo to Katsura, a small resort and tuna fishing town just ten minutes from Taiji.

I rented a car and drove over to our hotel in Taiji, but first stopped at sunset to see the Cove.

And, I’m happy to say, the Cove, made infamous by “The Cove” movie, was empty. I did not have to go back to my hotel in town thinking about any dolphins that would die at dawn tomorrow.

We have what we call a “stand-off”. As long as we are here (and we are pretty sure that fishermen spotted us at the Cove this evening and phoned the news to others), the fishermen won’t go out and kill any dolphins, including pilot whales. The drive hunt is suspended for the time being.

We will be here for a few days more. During that time, we will prevent the deaths of hundreds of dolphins. The day after we leave, a German TV news crew will arrive to spend 10 days here at Taiji. We hope the fishermen will stay in the harbor and drop any plans for catching dolphins for the next two weeks, because we are present.

It isn’t practical for us to be down here all the time during the 6-month dolphin slaughter season. But we will try to be here when we hear of dolphins being herded into shore. And we will continue to ask the media to come with us.

I’m here now with several members of our Save Japan Dolphins Coalition team, as well as Australia 60 Minutes, Sky TV, and a Brazilian TV news team. Tomorrow, I will take them around to see Taiji – the Cove, of course, the Taiji Whale Museum, the harbor with the dolphin drive fishing boats, and the Fishermen’s Union building. We will be looking for dolphin meat in stores.

Let us hope that we find none.

Please consider a donation to our cause. It costs us thousands of dollars to put people in the field here in Japan, one of the most expensive countries in the world. We don’t waste your dollars on fancy publications, esoteric research, or a highly paid bureaucracy. We spend money to get results, and so far it has been money well spent!

Click Here to Donate

Thank you for your support. We are making progress in ending the slaughter of dolphins and whales once and for all.

The Cove in Taiji is empty of dolphins when we arrive at sunset on Sept. 26th — we hope it stays that way.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer

First Time: Media in Japan See “The Cove”

By Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

There was standing room only tonight at the screening of “The Cove” movie, the first public showing in Japan!

Our team of folks working in Japan on this issue did a tremendous job pulling together an excellent program. We had more than 250 journalists from Japan and around the world, plus many Japanese non-governmental organization representatives there as well. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in downtown Tokyo had to open up a second room in their library to accommodate the overflow crowd.

I stood and watched as the crowd was rapt during the screening. There were chuckles at the jokes, and the Japanese subtitles, supplied by the efforts of Louie Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society, were first rate.

And of course, many were stunned by the footage of the actual dolphin killing. Afterwards, I received a very warm round of applause.

I then officiated at a ceremony giving a plaque to Mr. Junichiro Yamashita, who was the real hero of “The Cove” movie. He stopped the serving of poisoned dolphin meat in Taiji, and for that the community has shunned him. But one day, Japan will recognize his brave efforts in speaking out against the serving of contaminated dolphin meat. People from around the world at screenings of “The Cove” have told me how much they admire his efforts, and so his award came from the people of the world.

I answered many questions there this evening about the dolphin hunts and mercury contamination, and I feel very very good about the event.

Only a couple of years ago, I went around to major news media in Tokyo with my Japanese friends, pleading with reporters to cover the story of the Taiji dolphin slaughter. Many reporters told us that they thought it was a very interesting story, but they knew their editors would not run the story. They did not want to upset the Japanese government, and so the media colluded with the government to hide the dolphin slaughter and the dangers of mercury-contaminated dolphin meat.

Only the Japan Times has written stories about mercury in dolphin meat, and I publicly thanked them, while urging other media representatives there to test dolphin and whale meat themselves (as the Japan Times has done).

Someone asked me whether I thought the people of Taiji would continue releasing dolphins. I answered that dolphins are still be slaughtered in Taiji. Many pilot whales were slaughtered just in this past week – as many as 40. The fishermen are trying to dodge the issue by calling the pilot whales “whales” instead of “dolphins.” But, I noted, pilot whale meat has even higher levels of mercury than the other dolphins. Of course, pilot whales are dolphins – the Taiji hunt kills no real whales.

But I think the days of this story being buried are numbered. Because of the work of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, “The Cove” movie was made. Because of “The Cove” movie, millions are learning about the tragedy in Taiji. And now the Japanese people are going to learn the truth.

Tomorrow, we head to Taiji with several team members of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition. We will be traveling with representatives of 60 Minutes Australia and Sky TV.

You can support my efforts and the efforts of the Save Japan Dolphins Team here in Japan by going to:

Click Here to Donate

Your support helps drive this campaign. We could not get where we are without your support! We are, I think, closing in on stopping the dolphin hunt. But we have a ways to go yet.

Ric O’Barry returns to Japan.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer

Ric O’Barry answers questions about the dolphin slaughter at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer

Ric O’Barry holds up frozen pilot whale meat from Taiji while answering questions about “The Cove” movie at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer

Ric O’Barry addresses the crowd in Tokyo.
Photo copyright Mark J. Palmer

Back in Tokyo Again

By Richard OBarry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

Im back in Japan again, this time to screen the incredible Cove Movie in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents Club tomorrow night as well as checking in on what is happening in Taiji.

It has been a grueling month. After leaving Japan last month, I traveled to France, where Director Luc Besson, who is distributing The Cove in France, joined me for several days of promotion for the film.

As soon as I got home to Miami, I had to go through two days of depositions with hostile attorneys for a lawsuit filed against me and Earth Island Institute by Ocean World of the Dominican Republic, an aquarium that tried to import 12 dolphins from Taiji. The Dominican Republic government turned them down, but we are now being sued for $350 million for interfering with their business. Of course, the lawyers don't expect to win they only want to harass me and Earth Island..

Tomorrow should be an extraordinary scene, as we will have both foreign and Japanese media representatives plus many folks from non-governmental organizations working on food health issues, contamination and pollution, and similar environmental problems here in Japan. The fact that dolphin and whale meat is laden with mercury should resonate..

Please help us win this fight. The fishermen in Taiji released 70 dolphins a week ago an unprecedented event. But they are still killing pilot whales, somehow thinking they can get away with killing whales even though pilot whales are not really whales at all; they are just big dolphins. Your support for our efforts is truly appreciated.

You can donate by going to: http://www.savejapandolphins.org/donate.php

Many thanks to all of you who have donated so far! We are here in Japan with several team members from the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition and organizations in Japan, working together to Save Japans Dolphins Now!

The Cove Exposed

Dear Friends of Dolphins:

Your donations and letters to the Japanese Ambassador are saving dolphins every day.

Ric back on the shore of the Cove in Japan, with attendant international media.

Photo Copyright Mark J. Palmer.

Join Me in Taiji.

We were in Taiji on the first day of the scheduled resumption of the killing season, and the media glare we brought helped ensure that no dolphins were killed. Days later after we had left they captured about 100 dolphins and 50 pilot whales. While the pilot whales were regrettably killed, something unprecedented happened: the fishermen chose about 30 dolphins for captivity, but then released 70 back to freedom, instead of killing them. The fishermen admitted that they did so because of worldwide public outcry, from you and me and many thousands like us.

As I write this, a new “non-slaughter” policy is in effect, which is a truly amazing development. But it is fragile, temporary, and unless we intensify the pressure, we will not be able to hold it. Our presence in Taiji increases the odds that the killing won’t start again.

So I wanted to alert you that our team and I are now on our way back to Japan for the first ever screening of The Cove to Japanese media, and then for further investigations in Taiji.

The schedule is grueling, but it is worth it because we are having a huge positive effect. You are keeping a dedicated team of activists on the ground to confront the largest killing of dolphins in the world, and every donation goes right to support campaign work at this crucial time. Thanks for your help – large or small.

Click Here to Donate

Meanwhile, The Tokyo Int’l Film Festival had rejected showing The Cove movie earlier this year, but, due to our generating international attention, they have now reversed themselves and added The Cove to their line-up in October.

Tokyo Film Festival jury chief Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu stated: "I hope this film is exposed and as many others, and that it will generate some emotions and reflections that trigger discussions and conscience in order to put an end to the horrifying dolphin slaughter, which is now going on." I am amazed and heartened by Mr. Inarritu’s support.

This is all tremendous news, but we can’t let up.

We are fighting against a government policy that has never wavered in its support for killing dolphins and whales. And they are allowing mercury-laden dolphin meat to be given to their children in school lunches. This will not be easily changed.

Follow my Blog as I return to Tokyo to screen The Cove, expose the still secret slaughter, and hold the line in Taiji. Help give what you can to make the cove safe for dolphins – a goal that is becoming more reachable by the day.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION

Please sign the petition; we now have more than a quarter million signatures!

PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN!

Your continued support is very important to our continuing work. It is very expensive to work in Japan and get the word out to the Japanese media about Taiji. We have had some major breakthroughs, but we still have a long way to go.

Follow my Blog in Japan, where I will screen The Cove for the first time for the Japanese media on Sept. 25^th.

Associated Press and Mainichi Daily News broke the good news about the release, for the first time, of dolphins in Taiji.

The Japan Times covered the decision to screen The Cove at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival in October.

Link to the Take-Part Site for further steps you can take:

takepart.com/thecove.

Act Now!

A key part of our action plan is to use international pressure and diplomacy. Please visit our website to find out how you can help.

Thank you,



Ric O'Barry
Campaign Director
Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

P.S. our progress would be entirely impossible without the actions and donations that you are making.

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Suspension Still in Effect

UPDATED!

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Suspension Still in Effect
-- 70 Captured Dolphins Released

The town of Taiji, Japan, focus of the largest dolphin slaughter in the world as documented in the movie The Cove, has released about 70 captured dolphins without slaughtering any.

Reports indicate initiation of a new “non-slaughter” policy in response to intense international pressure to end the practice of killing dolphins and selling contaminated dolphin meat to Japanese consumers.

Normally, the hunting season begins on Sept. 1st, lasting through March. This year no captures or slaughter took place while a team led by Richard O’Barry for Save Japan Dolphins Coalition and media from around the world converged on Taiji.

Once the team left Taiji for Tokyo, reports surfaced that boats proceeded to capture “about 100” bottlenose dolphins (the same kind of dolphin featured in the 1960’s television show Flipper) and 50 pilot whales on Sept. 9th.

A representative of the Taiji Town Council indicated that some of the bottlenose dolphins would be retained to sell on the world market to aquariums.

However, in a new twist, instead of butchering the remaining dolphins for sale of meat, the town released 70 dolphins not selected for captivity over the weekend. Save Japan Dolphin Coalition representatives were on hand to confirm and film the release.

Richard O’Barry, Campaign Director of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, stated: “The world is watching. We call on the Japanese Fisheries Minister and the Taiji Town Council to make the non-slaughter policy permanent, and revoke all permits allowing capture and slaughter.”

He continued: “Stopping the slaughter and sale of dolphins would be a major victory for the people of Japan who risk eating mercury-laced dolphin meat, and of course the millions of people who have seen The Cove.”

David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute stated: “Our Coalition staff has been in Japan since day one of this year’s planned dolphin kill, and we’re staying. We will expand vigilance in Taiji, and bring greater world attention to ensure that the dolphins are released and that the slaughter does not resume. Ric O’Barry and his team will be back in Japan next week, joining our people who witnessed the release this weekend in Taiji.”

Added Dr. Elliot Katz, President of In Defense of Animals (IDA): “On behalf of the members of IDA, I congratulate Ric O’Barry, the members of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, and Cove Director Louie Psihoyos for taking us one step closer to ending the slaughter of these sensitive and intelligent animals.”

Stated Andy Ottaway, Director of Campaign Whale of the UK: “We are delighted that the fishermen of Taiji have suspended the dolphin slaughters for now. However, the slaughter of other whales is equally cruel and unacceptable and also carries the same toxic health threat to the people that eat them. We urge the fishermen of Taiji to show compassion and respect for international concern by releasing pilot whales and other cetaceans unharmed in the future.”

For further information, go to:

http://www.SaveJapanDolphins.org

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition consists of Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, Ocean Care, In Defense of Animals, Campaign Whale, and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Suspended

-- Captured Dolphins to be Released
-- Japanese Gov’t and Taiji City Council Considering Next Steps

By Ric O’Barry and the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

The town of Taiji, Japan, focus of the largest dolphin slaughter in the world as documented in the movie The Cove, has announced it will release captured dolphins without slaughtering any.

Reports indicate initiation of a new “non-slaughter” policy in response to intense international pressure to end the practice of killing dolphins and selling contaminated dolphin meat to Japanese consumers.

Normally, the hunting season begins on Sept. 1st, lasting through March. This year no captures or slaughter took place while a team led by Richard O’Barry for Save Japan Dolphins Coalition and media from around the world converged on Taiji.

Once the team left Taiji for Tokyo, reports surfaced that boats proceeded to capture “about 100” bottlenose dolphins (the same kind of dolphin featured in the 1960’s television show Flipper) and 50 pilot whales.

A representative of the Taiji Town Council indicated that some of the bottlenose dolphins would be retained to sell on the world market to aquariums.

However, in a new twist, instead of butchering the remaining dolphins for sale of meat, the town announced its intention to release any dolphins not selected for captivity.

Richard O’Barry, Campaign Director of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, stated: “The world is watching. We call on the Japanese Fisheries Minister and the Taiji Town Council to make the non-slaughter policy permanent, and revoke all permits allowing capture and slaughter.”

He continued: “Stopping the slaughter and sale of dolphins would be a major victory for the people of Japan who risk eating mercury-laced dolphin meat, and of course the millions of people who have seen The Cove.”

David Phillips, Director of Earth Island Institute stated: “Our Coalition staff has been in Japan since day one of this year’s planned dolphin kill, and we’re staying. We will expand vigilance in Taiji, and bring greater world attention to ensure that the dolphins are released and that the slaughter does not resume”.

Added Dr. Elliot Katz, President of In Defense of Animals (IDA): “On behalf of the members of IDA, I congratulate Ric O’Barry, the members of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, and Cove Director Louie Psihoyos for taking us one step closer to ending the slaughter of these sensitive and intelligent animals.”

Stated Andy Ottaway, Director of Campaign Whale of the UK: “We are delighted that the fishermen of Taiji have suspended the dolphin slaughters for now. However, the slaughter of other whales is equally cruel and unacceptable and also carries the same toxic health threat to the people that eat them. We urge the fishermen of Taiji to show compassion and respect for international concern by releasing pilot whales and other cetaceans unharmed in the future.”

For further information, go to:

http://www.SaveJapanDolphins.org

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition consists of Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, Ocean Care, In Defense of Animals, Campaign Whale, and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Captivity in Japan and Goodbye for Now

By Richard O’Barry, Director Save Japan Dolphins Coalition

We spent the day today doing a most depressing, but necessary thing: Lincoln and I and our film crew went around to dolphinariums in Japan to expose the conditions under which beautiful, self-aware dolphins are kept in prison conditions.

Lincoln’s TV program is more than just about the dolphin slaughter in Taiji. He and I want to expose the abuse of dolphins in ways the public can understand. As I said in the film, The Cove, the dolphin’s smile is the most deceptive thing in nature. A dolphin can be lying dead, and it would still be “smiling.”

Japan has 50 dolphinariums, ranging from small pens to larger aquariums, but all of them are inadequate. You cannot take an intelligent animal that depends on sound and ranges for hundreds of sea miles and put it into a small concrete box.

We visited small sea pens in the harbors of Itou and Kamakura. These pens house a few dolphins, and people are charged up to $100 each for a “dolphin encounter.” The pens are open to the pollution that fills any harbor – diesel fuel in particular burns dolphins’ eyes and skin. They also receive the full force of motor noise as ships and yachts steam past them all day long. The mortality rate in these small pens is very very high. The Itou pen is called “Dolphin Fantasy.”

While I donned my sunglasses, a mask, and took off identifying clothing, I was still spotted by security guards who came to escort us while at the Riviera Blue Dolphin pen. Our cameras drew too much attention, I guess, although the security guards were very polite. But they kept a close eye on us until we filed onto our bus and left the area.

We also visited the Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura, a new dolphinarium with many different tanks, but still too small. In one tank, we could see two Pacific white-sided dolphins had their dorsal fins bent over from swimming in circles in the same direction day after day. These and the other dolphins were separated from the ocean by a concrete wall – they could hear the waves of their home waters, but could not see out. These animals were collected in Taiji from the drive fishery there. Can you imagine what they felt being man-handled from the water while their families’ were butchered?

The public needs to know that behind the dolphin’s smile is an animal under high stress separated from its family, its home, and its physical needs. Lincoln and I hope our TV program will bring the truth out about these dolphin prisons.

I’m leaving Japan tomorrow, heading to France, where the great French Director Luc Besson has bought The Cove film and will promote it there. He told me he did not need the money, but he believes in The Cove and the message it brings to the world about the dirty secret of Taiji. Like many, having seen the movie, he wants to help in any way he can to get the secret out.

I’ll return soon to Japan – we have plans to screen The Cove for the first time publicly in Japan.

What did we accomplish on this trip?

We had a major breakthrough in the Japan media, as TV news covered the Taiji story for the first time. Not all the stories were accurate – too many tried to make us out as the villains beating up on the poor fishermen, when in fact we did nothing of the sort.

The mercury contamination of dolphin meat is the genie that has been let out of the bottle. For the first time, TV news in Japan announced the results of our testing of dolphin meat and the high levels of mercury found. There is no going back on that story; the people of Japan are even more conscious of food safety issues than people in the US are. Mercury is the Achilles heel of the dolphin hunt in Japan.

And we delayed the dolphin hunt, at least by 4 days, maybe longer. And we will be showing up again in Taiji with more media. And soon, I believe, media representatives will bring themselves to Taiji, too. The days when the people of Taiji could go and slaughter dolphins with impunity in the secret Cove are ending.

We documented the positive story of Mr. Ishii, and we documented the poor conditions of several Japanese dolphinariums.

I’m thrilled. Soon I will be on an airplane to Paris. This memorable trip will be over, but new trips are being planned as I write this.

The end of the dolphin slaughter is going to happen.

This is an historic moment for the dolphins and whales of Japan. I sincerely thank you for joining us in spirit for this return to Taiji and Futo. We will keep you informed, of course, of our progress on this important issue. Please take action on our website and help us end the killing of dolphins and whales in Japan once and for all.

Please help us by donating:

Click Here to Donate

The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition consists of Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, OceanCare, In Defense of Animals, Campaign Whale, and the Animal Welfare Institute.

Dolphin Fantasy pen in the harbor of Itou, Japan.
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"Ric O’Barry and the TV camera crew in Itou harbor. Ric wears sunglasses and a mask to hide his identity."
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"Japanese tourists in the dolphin pen of Riviera Dolphin Blue in Kamakura harbor, while Ric and camera crew watch from above. We were shortly escorted by security police."
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"Ric and Lincoln O’Barry examine a tank at the Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura."
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"Ric and Lincoln O’Barry check out the large performing dolphin tank in the amphitheater of Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura."
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"A small dolphin tank is separated from the sea by a concrete wall in the Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura."

Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

"Dolphins are trained by withholding food from them — they perform because they go hungry if they don’t."
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer

Ric O’Barry, wearing our Save Japan Dolphins Coalition hat, is going next to France to promote The Cove movie.
Photography copyright Mark J. Palmer