The news follows a slaughter of a further 50 pilot whales in Taiji in September and reports that others were killed in October. The hunts are also used to select dolphins to capture alive for the aquarium industry. This is exposed in WDCSs report Driven By Demand [see www.drivenbydemand.org ]
The dolphin drive hunts occur every year from September through April, and are a brutal reminder that we have a very long way to go towards securing a safe and humane future for all cetaceans. WDCS has been active in confronting the drive hunts in Japan on a number of levels, from raising awareness of the hunts, taking part in peaceful protests and visiting Japan to document them. We have worked with the marine mammal scientific community to garner a public statement against these hunts, and helped secure a US congressional resolution condemning the practice. WDCS has also worked to secure the acknowledgement of the dolphinarium industry of its complicity in fuelling the dolphin drive hunts through the demand generated by marine parks and aquaria that either directly, or indirectly, source live dolphins from these hunts. And within Japan, we have developed an educational campaign with our Japanese colleagues to educate the public about whales, dolphins and their suffering in drive and other hunts.
WDCS Campaigner Courtney Vail will be participating in the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival November 18-22nd and will be part of a panel of experts that will field questions after multiple screenings of the The Cove about issues confronting whales and dolphins, and especially the drive hunts in Japan. “Because I have been on the ground in Taiji and witnessed these unbearable drive hunts, I am especially encouraged by the Festival’s focus on The Cove and organization of activities to encourage discussion about this issue. In addition, because a facility in the Dominican Republic attempted to import dolphins from the Japan drive hunts a few years ago, it is especially important to continue the dialogue within the country to ensure these activities do not occur in the future,” notes Courtney Vail. See www.drglobalfilmfestival.org and http://www.lanaciondominicana.com/ver_noticia.php?id_noticia=13415&sesion_periodico=24 for more details.
Please help our campaign to bring about an end to the dolphin drive hunts in Japan.
* Go and see the film The Cove when it appears at a cinema near you.
* Please do not visit dolphinaria or any facility holding dolphins – anywhere in the world
* Tell your friends and family about threats facing dolphins.
* For further ways in which you can help, visit http://www.drivenbydemand or http://thecovemovie.com/