Only 69 days until Sept 1, 2013 and the start of the annual Dolphin hunt and slaughter in Taiji.
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Cove Guardians
Thought for the Day
Two captive bottlenose dolphins in the Taiji harbour pens
Photo Credit Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians
For the Dolphins!!
Opertation Infinite Patience 2012-2013
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For the dolphins!
The End … of 2012-2013 Taiji Dolphin Hunt!
It’s OFFICIAL … the slaughter season Sept 1, 2012 to February 25, 2013 is finally over! And what a relief that it has finally come to an end, as reported by the Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians currently on the ground in Taiji.
The killers take down “death door” of the Taiji butcher house, where hundreds of dolphins and pilot whale bodies were dragged through and then dismantled for human consumption.
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
Then then the clean up inside begins … washing away blood, that was still present on the kill floor.
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
While the dolphin drive season has ended, the killing unfortunately does continue year round. Some boats, such as the one seen below are dry docked and maintenanced. The dolphin killers remove the banger poles but leave them inside the boat to use during the off season. The killing boats are permitted to hunt pilot whales until May and also assist local fisherman with harpooning dolphins during the offseason.
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
Even though the 2012-2013 hunt season has officially come to an end … I will not be able to forget the many dolphins taken captive this season who are deemed to live out their lives in a small pool performing tricks for survival, food and most of all … Human Entertainment.
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
Now only one net remains at the cove and this is the view a tourist would see from the view. What a beautiful place this could be if it were not for the thousands of dolphins inhumanely slaughtered here each and every year.
Photo credit SSCS Cove Guardians
In the summer months, the infamous cove is filled with people. How someone would be able to swim in the waters of this dark ominous place baffles me. Perhaps it is because they unaware of what occurs here each year between September and March, but then again maybe they are aware? I’ll leave that debate up to all of you.
What is also heartbreaking is that there is often a captive dolphin taken to the cove. This unfortunate dolphin has to return to the place where it’s life was forever changed after witnessing the slaughter of the majority of it’s podmates and then being torn from a life of freedom in the wide open ocean.
Perhaps it appears that people are having a good time, but really, look at that Risso dolphin … terrified and alone surrounded by unfamiliar people in an all too familiar place that represents the horror of Taiji!
“Confining marine animals to tanks and separating them from their families and their natural surroundings, just so people can watch them swim in endless circles, teaches us far more about humans than it does about animals – and the lesson is not a flattering one” Pamela Anderson
For the dolphins!
Day 4 of a Blue Cove … let us not forgot the others though
Excellent news today of a Blue Cove for 4 consecutive days!! However, before we celebrate let’s not forget about the dolphins being held captive in the Taiji Harbor pens.
These dolphins have been ripped from a life with their families, most having just witnessed the majority if not all of their pod being slaughtered within the cove. Now, they are confined to a life of imprisonment and to solely provide entertainment for humans.
How heartbreaking is to see this dolphin starring out of the nets at the open ocean? Confined to a harbor pen that in reality is probably not much larger than my kitchen! Those dolphins taken into captivity go from having the entire ocean as their daily playground, to spending the rest of their lives in a tiny pen, tank or pool!
At first glance it may appear to those who are unfamiliar with this situation that these dolphins are enjoying themselves, having fun, playing, etc. But let me ask you this … do you know why a dolphin goes from starring out of the net of the that tiny pen, to suddenly jumping up and down? Why is it that dolphins in captivity perform the tricks they do?
The answer is plain and simple … not because they want to entertain us … because they have to in order to survive and be fed. The dolphins held in the Taiji Harbor pens are only fed twice a day and only if they perform for the trainers. Whereas, in the wild an adult dolphin will eat anywhere from 22-50 lbs. of fish per day.
I want to share with you a brilliant analogy of the training of a captive dolphin to training your dog to sit or stay.
“Can you imagine your neighbor was trying to teach his dog to sit. He would starve him for a good two weeks and then he would continue to deprive the dog of food and the dog would ONLY get food if he sat, or rolled over or jumped up and down on command. You would probably call this neighbor sick and report him to the SPCA. This is the ‘natural’ process of ‘breaking in’ a wild Dolphin so we humans can go watch them perform for us for a few bucks at the local aquarium or dolphinarium.” Grant Nash (who is currently in Taiji with the Cove Guardians)
I know that most people would never agree that training a dog this way is any way humane, so why is that some people support a local aquarium or dolphinarium? My belief is that for the most part people are completely unaware of how that dolphin you see at a place like Sea World, was trained, where it came from and how many other dolphins were slaughtered the same day that one dolphin you are watching was ripped from it’s family in the bloody waters of the Cove.
While a Blue Cove day in Taiji is always excellent news and 4 consecutive blue cove days even better news, today I will celebrate a Blue Cove while never forgetting the dolphins still imprisoned in the Taiji Harbor Pens.
For the dolphins!
Voice For The Blue 