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Panel sessions range from topics revealing pathogens and extreme levels of heavy metals in wild dolphin populations with implications for human health, to the intelligence of these animals. Discussions on the intelligence of dolphins, and the associated ethical and policy implications, will be presented on Sunday February 21st at 3:30 p.m. by esteemed colleagues Drs. Diana Reiss, Lori Marino and Thomas White. Presenting on the anatomy and physiology of dolphin intelligence and self-awareness, these scientists call for an urgent review of our treatment of these animals and provide a compelling argument to end the dolphin drive hunts in Japan. Drs. Marino and Reiss worked together on a 2001 study that showed that dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror – a finding that indicates self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants. See http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Session1526.html for more details.
The timing couldn’t be better, as the drive hunts in Taiji, Japan continue unabated. The Cove, the documentary detailing these horrific hunts and that has been sweeping the globe since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in 2009, has been nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar at the Academy Awards. Whether or not the film wins an Oscar on March 6, attention to these hunts continues and the response of the fishermen to this international pressure is disconcerting.
Unfortunately, video documentation highlighting current killing methods has verified that even more inhumane methods of slaughter are being employed, presumably to reduce the amount of blood that enters the water and thereby visible to onlookers and video cameras. WDCS has reviewed these recent videos, and it appears that the fishermen are now attempting to paralyze or render the dolphins unconscious by repeatedly driving a metal spike into the dolphins’ head area behind the blowhole. Wooden blocks are then pounded into the wound to block blood flow. Dolphins have been seen moving hours later, even after repeated attempts at killing through this method. WDCS condemns this extremely cruel method which prolongs the suffering of these animals.
In addition, the International Court of Justice for Animal Rights is holding a symbolic trial involving accusations against the Ministries of Fisheries of Norway, Japan and Iceland on Monday, February 22nd. Despite the worldwide moratorium on the hunting of whales by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), effective since 1986, thousands of whales and dolphins are killed each year by these nations. The International Court of Justice for Animal Rights has its seat in Geneva. Its duties are to bring to the notice of the public, by means of morally symbolic prosecutions, cruel human actions against the animal kingdom, perpetrations that cannot be legally dealt with under normal human rights legislation. The court publicly announces its verdict, if need be by naming ministers and government leaders. Plaintiffs in this case include representatives from organizations working to stop the continued slaughter of these animals. Since its foundation in 1979 the court has proceeded in more than twenty-five international cases.
WDCS is seeking courage from the international scientific and popular communities to join together in a call for an end to these hunts once and for all, and applauds these efforts to keep the issue in the spotlight!
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