Early End to the Hunts, But Captivity is Forever

 

Early End to the Hunts, But Captivity is Forever

By Ric O’Barry

Campaign Director

Save Japan Dolphins

Earth Island Institute

Save Japan Dolphins’ Brian Barnes confirms the seasonal hunts seem to have ended early in Taiji, but the captivity hunts for dolphins probably will continue.  Brian tells me that the fishermen of Taiji are planning to capture five orcas for captivity, an immense waste for such magnificent animals.

Earth Island Institute formed the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation to rehab and release Keiko, the captive orca featured in the hit movie Free Willy.  It took several years and millions of dollars to return Keiko to his home waters of Iceland, but we succeeded with the help of millions of donors and supporters around the world.  To hear that five “Keikos” are targeted for captivity is indeed a setback.

Brian reports:

Today turned out to be extremely interesting in Taiji.  When I visited the Cove, the tarps used by the fishermen to hide their actions had been removed.  Over at the slaughterhouse, the overhead doors were up, and the fishermen were hosing down the floor.  They were probably cleaning up from the pod of 30 dolphins they slaughtered two days ago.  Something didn't quite feel right about the situation -- where were the tarps?  Why were the boats in port on such a beautiful day?  Why were the fishermen not attempting to hide the inside of the slaughterhouse from my camera?

I was told the fishermen decided to end the season early.  This came somewhat of a shock.  Before I left for Japan, I was asked by Louis Psihoyos (Director of The Cove), and Ric O'Barry to bring thousands of the Japanese version of The Cove to Japan and mail them out to every household in Taiji.   The Japanese version of the movie was released on DVD in Japan on February 25th and there is a massive advertising campaign ongoing in Tokyo and around Japan to "get the secret out".   And, if a Japanese citizen doesn't want to pay for the DVD -- they can watch the Japanese version for free on the Internet! 

But, Louie and Ric wanted the people of Taiji to view this film, and so every household in Taiji received a free copy.  

I decided to use the downtime to visit the notorious Taiji Whale Museum.  All the dolphins captured for a life of slavery for human entertainment are brokered to theme parks around the world through this museum.  The museum has staff that is responsible for training captive dolphins, and they have several captive dolphins for their own dolphin shows as well.  There is also a building that has a small and filthy living space for about ten Pacific bottlenose dolphins.  As I was walking through the underwater viewing area, one of the female dolphins was watching me.  I was trying very hard to control my emotions and not give away how I was feeling, so I wouldn't be thrown out of the building.

I have to wonder however if this female wasn't somehow able to sense my feelings through the thick glass.  A dolphin's echolocation abilities will allow them to basically see straight through you in the ocean -- they can even see your heart beating.  I have to think that she somehow knew that I was different than the other people walking through the building because she slowly descended next to me and placed herself in a down position – she was just touching the glass, no more than two inches from me.  It was a horrible feeling.  But, I think she somehow knew that "I get it": if only the rest of the visitor's felt the same way – this problem would end.

 

 

Photography of the Killing Cove without Tarps and Captive Dolphin by Brian Barnes.