Take The Pledge To NOT Buy A Ticket To A Dolphin Show
Target: Sponsors of Captive Dolphins Shows & Politicians
Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense.
Join us and pledge that you won’t buy a ticket to a dolphin show. It’s 2 easy steps:
1. Sign the Pledge below
2. On the top of the next page, Share the Pledge on your social media to complete the process.
To: Sponsors of Captive Dolphins Shows & Politicians From: [Your Name]
I have taken the pledge NOT to buy a ticket to a dolphin show.
No Dolphin Parks. No Swim With Dolphin Programs. No Hotels and Lodges that feature captive dolphins on the property. No Dolphin “Trainer For A Day” programs. No Dolphin “Research” facilities that charge to interact with dolphins. No Cruise lines that feature stops at Swim With Dolphin Parks.
“When you put your head on the pillow at night it doesn’t go away,” Mr O’Barry said of his time campaigning against the slaughter in Taiji.
“It’s like one long, bad dream, these last 15 years.”
‘It affects your family,’ O’Barry says of dolphin activist work
In his pursuit to free dolphins from captivity, Mr O’Barry has had his life threatened on many occasions, and lost count of how often he’s been imprisoned around the world.
Describing Japanese prison as torturous, he has avoided confrontation there, even when a hunter in the town of Taiji decapitated a dead baby dolphin in front of him.
“I think he wanted to shock me with a knife, that kind of stuff right in my face,” Mr O’Barry said.
“Blood splattered all over me”.
Mr O’Barry spoke to Yahoo News Australia from his home in Copenhagen. Source: Michael Dahlstrom
The work has taken a toll on him, but he believes it’s the people he loves have suffered most.
“It affects your family, it affects everybody around you,” he said.
“You miss your son’s graduation, I’m not sure I would recommend this to anybody.”
‘I wish I hadn’t taken that phone call’
Every time he leaves his home he’s walking into conflict, and that’s hard to leave at the door when he comes home.
Mr O’Barry’s work shot to prominence 10 years ago after his campaign to end dolphin slaughter in Japan was documented in the Oscar winning film The Cove.
Sometimes you have a split second to make a choice and it’ll literally change your life.Ric O’Barry
His work there began after receiving a call from another activist asking for assistance.
Mr O’Barry recalls he was told it was “dangerous” but they needed help.
Mr O’Barry (left), a skilled diver, said it is thrilling to set dolphins free. Source: Dolphin Project
“So, I bought an aeroplane ticket and I was there the next day,” he said.
“That was 20 years ago and I’ve been stuck (campaigning) there ever since.
“In some ways I wish I hadn’t taken that phone call.”
Dolphin Project’s work in the town of Taiji, has focused on not just the killing of dolphins for their meat, but also the hunters’ ties to the marine park industry.
With dolphin consumption not particularly popular in Japan, and known to be high in mercury, Mr O’Barry believes it is the lucrative sums earned from selling live dolphins which makes the slaughter financially viable.
While debate rages over whether dolphin killing is a tradition in Japan, the large scale culls and capture of these animals is a relatively new phenomenon.
Dead dolphins sell for as little as US $480, while a live animal can sell for 100 times that amount, according to Vice News.
Dolphin Project urges tourists to avoid dolphinariums. Source: Getty
The majority of those sold into entertainment are sent to China where there is an expanding middle class, with money to spend on dolphin shows, the Washington Post reported.
A growing number of Japanese nationals are protesting the hunt each year, and Mr O’Barry believes that ongoing education will see the practice phased out.
More
‘It’s all about showing up’: Key to dolphin activism
His activism was directly sparked by the loss of Flipper who died in his arms. The very next day he flew to the Bahamas and was arrested after setting a dolphin free.
In week 21 of Taiji's dolphin hunting season, dolphins were both captured and slaughtered. Let's continue to take action every day until the cove is always blue and every tank is empty. Find calls to action at: https://t.co/BkupXmhEip#DolphinProjectpic.twitter.com/dERylsUfXc
Footage from yesterday (Jan. 14, 2021) when a pod of striped dolphins was driven into the cove. In panic, several dolphins crashed into the rocks, turning water red as they were injured and bled. Take action: https://t.co/BkupXmhEip Coverage in collab with Dolphin Project & LIA pic.twitter.com/WdVvUIJhCp
Are whales an acceptable by-catch for Japan’s set net fishery?
TAIJI: Just one day after the slaughter of a minke whale, yet another whale has fallen victim to Taiji’s fishing nets.
On January 13, Ren Yabuki, Campaign Director of Life Investigation Agency, in collaboration with Dolphin Project, while documenting Taiji’s drive hunts, spotted a humpback whale entangled in the Taiji Fishermen’s Association fishing nets. Shortly thereafter, the association removed the dead whale from the outside of the nets, dragging it back to sea.
Humpback whale dies after ramming Taiji’s set nets, Taiji, Japan. Credit: LIA/Dolphin Project
This is the third time a whale has been caught in the fishing “set net” system. On November 29, a humpback whale was trapped in the nets and released one day later. On December 24, a minke whale was caught in these same nets, and after 20 days of struggle, was slaughtered by drowning by the fishermen’s association. In this latest incident, a humpback whale died after becoming entangled in the nets.
Says Ren, “Three whales caught in Taiji’s set nets within a span of six weeks shows how harmful these nets are to the ecosystem.”
These offshore nets are in place year-round just outside the Taiji harbor, adjacent to the infamous Cove. Whale entanglement in set nets occurs not only in Taiji, but throughout Japan and is a common occurrence. Several different species of fish are caught within the nets; sometimes dolphins and other whales become trapped in them, unable to escape.
Humpback whale dragged back out to sea after dying in Taiji’s fishing nets, Taiji, Japan. Credit: LIA/Dolphin Project
Says Tim Burns, Dolphin Project Cove Monitor, “This isn’t the first time we have seen whales entangled in the sets nets off Taiji, but the number of incidences involving non-targeted species has become alarming.”
Featured image: Humpback whale dies after becoming entangled in Taiji’s set nets, Taiji, Japan. Credit: Life Investigation Agency/Dolphin Project
From Life Investigation Agency (LIA): Graphic footage taken yesterday, showing the set net fishermen drowning the minke whale that had been trapped in their net for over 2 weeks. Full video and report at: https://t.co/rjPf5fRGrIpic.twitter.com/FEsLmwmra5
Taiji: The hunting boats have returned to the harbor empty handed. Although wild dolphins are safe today, LIA has confirmed that the minke whale that was trapped in the set nets was killed this morning. More info to follow. Jan. 11, 2021 Coverage: #LifeInvestigationAgency (LIA) pic.twitter.com/tDwYf74ewu
The captivity industry offers the primary economic motive for Taiji's dolphin hunts. This reinforces the idea that the hunts are tied to the captivity industry, and the desire for captive dolphins fuels the continuation of brutal captures: https://t.co/Yz9J9N7Xcr#DolphinProjectpic.twitter.com/uEpvfO2xTe
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