The Annual Dolphin and Porpoise Slaughter in Taiji, Japan
Sadly, more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed each year in the remote fishing village of Taiji, Japan. Why are they being killed? For their meat, which has very high levels of mercury and is often passed off in Japanese restaurants as whale meat. And why do we not hear more about this terrible slaughter? Because the Taiji cove is a highly guarded area and cameras are not allowed to go there to document these atrocities. In fact, those guarding the cove are very forceful when anyone tries to come in and expose this dirty secret. Many Japanese people don’t even know that these activities occur.
There is now a new voice in this fight for these marine mammals. A group of filmmakers and activists came together and managed to go behind the lines of these dolphin wars to make a documentary called “The Cove,” winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival this past year, which exposes the truth about the killings. Heroes star Hayden Panettiere also takes part in this film by protesting the slaughter with the others as they form circles in the water around the pods trying to protect these animals from harm.
Click here to see a preview of “The Cove” and to sign a petition for President Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden, and Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki urging these leaders to address this often overlooked issue.
Click here to find a showing of “The Cove” near you.
Click here to go to the Save Japan Dolphins website to see how you can help these marine mammals from this barbaric slaughter.
Photo credit law library
