You are Somebody

If you have not heard of ‘The Cove’ you have been living in a bubble.

‘The Cove’ is an inlet near the small town of Taiji in Japan. It’s on the Pacific coast a couple of hundred miles south west of Tokyo and each year between September and May it is the location of regular Dolphin drives. Each year around 20,000 Dolphins of a number of species are killed in Japan. We are led to believe this is for food. Despite the current series of hunts only being carried out since 1962 it is defended by the Japanese Government as being tradition and no different from the killing of cattle.

I am assured that both the USA and UK Ambassadors have informed the Japanese authorities of their indignation. The indignation and disgust of a sea turning red with the blood of highly intelligent mammals is something in which we should all be ashamed; animals killed in a slow torturous manner is inhumane.

At the drive last Tuesday there were representatives present from Swim with Dolphin and Dolphin Display Parks present. Out of the 200 driven into the cove they had their pick of 52 dolphins to enter into their entertainment industry. Those considered too small and young for meat and not fit for the performance industry were driven back out to sea. Think about that for a second. The part of the brain in a dolphin put aside for socialising is bigger than ours. Highly intelligent social young animals that have watched their mothers butchered will now be fending for themselves.

That aside there’s a twist in the tale. The monetary worth of the Dolphin meat is a mere bagatelle when set against the millions of dollars exchanged for animals sold for performance. This has to be one of the main ‘real’ reason behind the Dolphin drives.

Somebody needs to do something.

If you think about it long enough like I did  you will realise YOU are somebody.

• So what can you do? Well you can start by not sponsoring theme parks, zoos or the like that use captive dolphins and persuade others not to visit too by explaining why.
• If you see any advertising for these parks or anyone selling tickets – such as Virgin Atlantic or British Airways – send them an email telling them why they shouldn’t be involved.
• Japan as a nation relied upon our goodwill during their terrible time during the earthquake and sunami in 2011. They will be relying on us again in 2020 to support their Olympics. Don’t.
• Don’t visit Japan and support their tourism industry.
• Call the Japanese Embassy in London: 020 7465 6500. You won’t have to talk to anyone just leave a polite message on the answer phone regarding your disgust at what the Japanese Government is allowing in Taiji. It will take their time and effort to filter out and delete messages to which they don’t wish to listen. It will make them think.

Dolphins should be free to swim the oceans of the world. Japan is missing a trick. They could easily become the world centre of the wild cetacean tourism industry. 神々の名前で一人でイルカを残す。