♦︎Art by Keiko Olds♦︎
Dolphins killed as Taiji's controversial hunting season resumes in Japan
★★PETITION★★嘆願書, Andragende, Petitie, Framställning, Pétition, Αναφορά, Petición, याचिका, Kérelem, Petisi, Achainí, Petizione, माग्दै, Петиција, Petycja, Ходатайство, Maombi, คำร้อง, Dilekçe, Клопотання, Kiến nghị, দরখাস্ত, 청원t
Dr. Lee Ehmke, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) President
WAZA Executive Office, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)
I am appalled at WAZA’s ‘Dolphin Management Protocol’ that permits WAZA-member facilities like JAZA to continue to acquire dolphins in association with cruel drive hunts. Over 55 percent (!) of JAZA facilities hold dolphins that were most likely acquired from the drive hunts.
I ask you to take swift action:
Repeal the endorsement of this protocol and end with it the continuing endorsement of I am appalled at WAZA’s ‘Dolphin Management Protocol’ that permits WAZA-member facilities like JAZA to continue to acquire dolphins in association with cruel drive hunts. Over 55 percent (!) of JAZA facilities hold dolphins that were most likely acquired from the drive hunts.
I ask you to take swift action:
Repeal the endorsement of this protocol and end with it the continuing endorsement of the brutal dolphin drive hunts. Enough of WAZA turning a blind eye to the ongoing dolphin slaughters. The time for member facilities to be held accountable for WAZA's own Code of Ethics that condemns and prohibits the acquisition of dolphins from the wild through indiscriminate and cruel methods, like the Japanese dolphin drive hunts, is NOW: Send a clear message that dolphin drive hunts must end by expelling any member facilities that continue to acquire dolphins through drive hunts.
WAZA MUST AGREE THAT IT WILL EXPEL ANY MEMBERS WHO ACCEPT ANY DOLPHIN THAT IS COLLECTED FROM A DRIVE HUNT, ESPECIALLY FROM A DRIVE HUNT FROM THE INFAMOUS COVE OF TAIJI.
$TOP $UPPORTING TAIJI'$ DOLPHIN $LAUGHTER AND EXPEL THE TAIJI WHALE MUSEUM IMMEDIATELY FOR ROUTINELY VIOLATING THE WAZA CODE OF ETHICS !!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
The Dolphin-Killing Season Is About to Begin in Japan; Here’s What You Can Do About It
A former fisherman who admits to having killed thousands of dolphins in Japan’s infamous dolphin hunt sat down with Australia's version of 60 Minutes to discuss why he is now trying to end the slaughter.
In an interview with reporter Liz Hayes, third-generation dolphin hunter Izumi Ishii describes how he grew up believing that killing and eating dolphins was something that everyone did. And although he says that he “felt really sorry for the dolphins,” Ishii began participating in the hunt when he was just a child -- killing countless dolphins over the course of his career.
Ishii says that years of hunting dolphins left him with feeling of sorrow and regret, so much so that in 1997 he quit the practice and cut ties with his colleagues. Now the former dolphin hunter has begun to campaign against the annual hunt, urging others throughout the world to write letters to the Japanese government asking that the hunt be banned.
“I have so far received nearly 900 letters,” says Ishii.“My plan is to take these letters to Japan’s Fisheries Ministry. I would like to get more and more voices so that the Fisheries Ministry cannot ignore voices gathering across the world.”
When i was detained in Japan and sent back home after over 30 hours in Osaka International airport, I was told I was a potential threat to the village of Taiji.
I was caused of being an eco-terrorist. I said that I was only taking pictures of their culture and not interfering in the daily activities. I was told that my previous work was damaging and invaded personal privacy.
I claimed that the Japanese were free to film my culture without any hassle and they stated theirs was different.
This season I will go back with the strong possibility of being sent home again.
I will show the world just how prejudice Japan really is and let the world understand their is so much more to this cruelly than meets the eye.
What You Can Do to Help Stranded Cetaceans
Alive or dead, seeing a stranded whale or dolphin typically evokes feelings of concern, curiosity, awe and a desire to help. For the public, helping means keeping a safe distance from the stranded animal and reporting the stranding to the proper regional stranding networks.
While these strandings may not seem to be deliberately caused by humans, in some areas of the world routine “drives” of whales and dolphins puts large numbers of cetaceans at great risk. Many in the U.S. work diligently to save the lives of these stranded whales and dolphins, on the other side of the ocean dolphins are driven into coves to be slaughtered or ripped from their families to live out their days confined in pools at aquaria. These drive hunts, made infamous by “The Cove,” result in the senseless slaughter of thousands of dolphins each year.
September 1st marks the beginning of the season for the Taiji drive hunts in Japan’s infamous Cove. WDC’s researchhas revealed the cruelty of the killing methods used in the drive hunts. It’s time to put an end to this inhumane practice, and we need your help.
Read Yoko Ono's complete open letter to the Taiji 'fishermen':
Yoko Ono Lennon
Dear Japanese Fishermen of Taiji,
I understand how you must feel about the one-sided-ness of the West to be angry at your traditional capture and slaughter of Dolphins. But that tradition was made only when the world, and Japanese Fishermen did not know what it meant to do harm to the Dolphins. I'm sure you have heard so many speeches in which all of these things have been discussed. So I will not bore you with it.
But I think you should think of this situation from the point-of-view of the big picture. Japan has gone through such hard times lately. And we need the sympathy and help of the rest of the world. It will give an excuse for big countries and their children in China, India and Russia to speak ill of Japan when we should be communicating our strong love for peace, not violence.
I am sure that it is not easy, but please consider the safety of the future of Japan, surrounded by many powerful countries which are always looking for the chance to weaken the power of our country. The future of Japan and its safety depends on many situations, but what you do with Dolphins now can create a very bad relationship with the whole world.
The way you are insisting on a big celebration of killing so many Dolphins and kidnapping some of them to sell to the zoos and restaurants at this very politically sensitive time, will make the children of the world hate the Japanese.
For many, many years and decades we have worked hard to receive true understanding of the Japanese from the world. And, because of our effort, Japan is now respected as a country of good power and ingenuity. This did not happen without our efforts of many decades.
But what we enjoy now, can be destroyed literally in one day. I beg of you to consider our precarious situation after the nuclear disaster (which could very well effect the rest of the world, as well).
Please use political tact and cancel the festival which will be considered by the rest of the world as a sign of Japanese arrogance, ignorance, and love for an act of violence.
Thank you.
Yoko Ono Lennon
20 January 2014
cc Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please help in any way you can! We need your continuing help to end the Taiji dolphin hunts.
Contact and ask them to release the dolphins in Taiji and Angel with his mother and end the dolphin hunts:
The Hon. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister, Japan
Please write your comment on the administration of Japan
https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html
Facebook of Japanese play minister Sinzo Abe
https://www.facebook.com/abeshinzo
Twitter of Japanese play minister Sinzo Ane
https://twitter.com/AbeShinzo
Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae
Embassy of Japan in the United States
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W
Washington DC 20008
Tel: 202-238-6700, Fax: 202-328-2187
Dr. Gerald Dick, Executive Director
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
http://www.waza.org/en/site/contact-us-1257966668
WAZA Executive Office
IUCN Conservation Centre
Rue Mauverney 28
CH-1196 Gland
Switzerland
http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/yoko-onos-open-letter-to-taiji
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/international-team-to-tackle-world-zoo-aquarium-organization/article/378022
Gland - An international team of dolphin advocates opposed to the Taiji dolphin drives, will gather at the headquarters of the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA) this week, to discuss the exclusion of one of its members.
The team, headed by The Cove star Ric O'Barry, will host a demonstration outside of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) building in Gland, Switzerland, which also houses the headquarters for the WAZA organization.
The rally will ask WAZA to oust one of its members, the Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums or JAZA, if the organization will not comply with WAZA's established Code of Ethics.
JAZA, whose member aquariums regularly purchase dolphins captured in the brutal Japanese dolphin drives, have long maintained that the drive hunts are "tradition." And WAZA, activists say, accepts the theory to justify JAZA's membership.
In a 2004 statement, WAZA urged its members not to, "accept animals obtained by the use of methods which are inherently cruel. An example of such a practice," they said, "is the catching of dolphins by the use of a method known as drive fishing."
But despite the strong wording, WAZA continues to list JAZA as a member of its organization even though several of its own members, still purchase wild-caught dolphins captured in the drive fisheries.
The demo, organized by Swiss activist Daniel Oliver Jost along with Maria Claudia Heidemann, hopes to finally force WAZA to stand behind its words. Supported by social media groups: 'Save the Blood Dolphins', 'Champions for Cetaceans' and 'I Love Dolphins', the rally will coincide with a planned meeting between the Dolphin Project's, Ric O'Barry, and Dr. Gerald Dick, the Executive Director of WAZA.
Accompanying O'Barry to the meeting is Sakae Hemmi from the Japanese conservation group, ELSA Nature Conservancy.
ELSA, along with two other Japanese-based animal organizations, has repeatedly asked WAZA not to condone the dolphin drives and to take strong action against JAZA.
Last January, ELSA requested that JAZA-affiliated facilities stop obtaining dolphins through the drive hunts in Japan or be ousted from WAZA immediately.
ELSA disputed JAZA's notion of 'tradition' by citing town records showing that "the drive hunt in Taiji was and is not, Japanese culture." ELSA maintained that, "it was not until 1969, that dolphin drives had been conducted on a large scale."
O'Barry, who values the importance of Japanese intervention in solving the dolphin drives, agrees with ELSA. He spoke with Digital Journal about the forthcoming demo, and what he hopes the meeting will achieve.
EB: WAZA claims it won't interfere with something that is considered Japanese culture. Yet Japanese conservation organizations have told WAZA that the drive hunts are new in comparison to the country's whaling history. Why won't WAZA listen to them?
R. O'Barry: It's not cultural or traditional. Gerald Dick needs to hear that from a Japanese NGO. Sakae Hemmi of ELSA Nature Conservancy will do that on March 28th. The culture card is all WAZA has left to play. It's the lame excuse for WAZA's non-action against JAZA. We hope to remove that card from the deck. WAZA will be out of excuses.
The demo is a way to bring WAZA out into the public eye. They have received thousands of email requests to expel JAZA. The requests are ignored. March 28th is a media event. They will not be able to ignore the Swiss media like they ignore their mail.
EB: How significant a voice for the dolphins could WAZA be, if it chose to hold JAZA to task?
R. O'Barry: WAZA has the power to expel JAZA from the club. That would be very embarrassing to the Taiji Whale Museum. They are the main dolphin broker in Taiji. They are also a member of JAZA, which is a member in good standing with WAZA.
Isolating the Taiji Whale Museum from their own industry and their peers, would serve to get them out from under the protection of the WAZA umbrella, and place them into the category of renegades. That would be a good start. It would be harder for the museum to continue to traffic in dolphins, if they are renegades.
EB: WAZA brokered an agreement with JAZA that during the month of September, bottlenose dolphins captured in the Cove won't be slaughtered but may be captured for aquaria. This protection doesn't extend to other species of dolphin and after Sept., even bottlenose may be killed. Do you think that WAZA's agreement with JAZA, just endorses the dolphin drives?
Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project
The corpse of a dolphin is removed from a pen in Taiji. He has not survived the stressful capture.
Like this image
R. O'Barry: Yes. WAZA is part of the problem in Taiji. They protect the trainers and dolphin dealers by being complacent and making excuses for the Taiji Whale Museum. This facility is ground zero for the largest dolphin marketplace on earth. WAZA and JAZA are joined at the hip. Some people support the violent dolphin captures by direct participation, others support this abuse with their silence. JAZA does both. They continually violate the Code of Ethics with impunity from WAZA.
EB: So if WAZA made a stand and asked JAZA to oust those aquaria sourcing from the drives, do you think JAZA would agree to the request, or withdraw from WAZA?R. O'Barry: It is not possible to know what JAZA will do. These are not rational people. Their only motivation is money.Jost said around 50-100 people were expected to attend the demo. Barbara Napoles, founder of Save the Blood Dolphins, told DJ that the main objective of the day was, "for Ric and Sakae to have a discussion with Dr. Dick."O'Barry will also be hand-delivering a 14,000+ signature-strong petition to WAZA, on the day of the meeting.The meeting and the demo will be held at the IUCN building: Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, between 1 PM and 3 PM. Further details are available via the event's Facebook page.Napoles is hoping that the event, combined with a planned Thunderclap and attendance pledge, will get WAZA's attention." WAZA needs to wake up," Napoles said, "they need to expel JAZA."
About Ric O'Barry
Richard O’Barry has worked both sides of the dolphin street - the first ten years with the dolphin-captivity industry, the past forty against it. O’Barry graduated from the Diver’s Training Academy in 1960 as a commercial deep-sea diver and scuba instructor. He served in the U.S. Navy for five years, where he received a commendation for his underwater work. While working in the 1960s as a diver and trainer for Miami Seaquarium, O’Barry captured and trained dolphins, including Hugo, the first orca in captivity east of the Mississippi, and the five dolphins that played the role of Flipper in the popular American television show of the same name.
When Kathy, the dolphin that played Flipper most often, died in O’Barry’s arms, he realized that capturing dolphins and training them to perform silly tricks was simply wrong. From that moment, O’Barry knew what he needed to do with his life. On the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, he founded the Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the plight of dolphins in captivity and freeing captive dolphins without jeopardizing their well-being when the owners allow them to be released. O’Barry launched a searing campaign against the multibillion-dollar dolphin-captivity industry, informing the public about what really goes on at dolphin shows and urging people not to buy tickets to watch dolphins play the fool. O’Barry has since rescued, rehabilitated and released more than twenty-five captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, the Bahamas, and the United States. With more than fifty years of experience with dolphins, he has shared his firsthand knowledge of the dangers of dolphin capture and training methods at lectures and conferences around the world. In 1991, in recognition of his contribution to the protection of dolphins, O’Barry received an Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program. In January 2007, he became a marine-mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute and director of the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign. On behalf of Earth Island Institute, O’Barry leads the international effort to stop the killing of dolphins in Japan, end the trafficking in live dolphins to theme parks and swim-with-dolphins programs, and speak out against the captivity industry. O’Barry is featured in the Academy Award–winning documentary The Cove, which brought to the world’s attention the tragedy of dolphin slaughtering practices in Taiji, Japan. He has been involved in an international effort to publicize the film and, through it, to educate people everywhere about the largest mass killing of dolphins in the world, and the efforts to stop it. In 2010, O’Barry and his son, Lincoln, made Blood Dolphin$, a television series on Animal Planet and Planet Green, about O’Barry’s efforts to protect dolphins from harm. Also in 2010, O’Barry was voted the Huffington Post’s Green Game Changer and included in O Magazine’s Power List. In 2011, he received Europe’s prestigious BAMBI Award: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jw1gcMSZYc
The original edition of Behind the Dolphin Smile was published in 1988; a second book, To Free a Dolphin, also coauthored with Keith Coulbourn, was published in 2000. Both books are about O’Barry’s work and his dedication. O’Barry and author Hans Peter Roth’s new book, Die Bucht, about the actual cove in Japan and the making of The Cove, was published in Germany in 2010. O’Barry is a Fellow National in the Explorers Club, a multidisciplinary society that links together scientists and explorers from all over the world. Each member is an accomplished individual with at least one fascinating story to tell. O’Barry lives with his wife, Helene, and their daughter, Mai Li, in South Miami, Florida, and in Ribe, Denmark.
Gland - An international team of dolphin advocates opposed to the Taiji dolphin drives, will gather at the headquarters of the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA) this week, to discuss the exclusion of one of its members.
The team, headed by The Cove star Ric O'Barry, will host a demonstration outside of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) building in Gland, Switzerland, which also houses the headquarters for the WAZA organization.
The rally will ask WAZA to oust one of its members, the Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums or JAZA, if the organization will not comply with WAZA's established Code of Ethics.
JAZA, whose member aquariums regularly purchase dolphins captured in the brutal Japanese dolphin drives, have long maintained that the drive hunts are "tradition." And WAZA, activists say, accepts the theory to justify JAZA's membership.
In a 2004 statement, WAZA urged its members not to, "accept animals obtained by the use of methods which are inherently cruel. An example of such a practice," they said, "is the catching of dolphins by the use of a method known as drive fishing."
But despite the strong wording, WAZA continues to list JAZA as a member of its organization even though several of its own members, still purchase wild-caught dolphins captured in the drive fisheries.
The demo, organized by Swiss activist Daniel Oliver Jost along with Maria Claudia Heidemann, hopes to finally force WAZA to stand behind its words. Supported by social media groups: 'Save the Blood Dolphins', 'Champions for Cetaceans' and 'I Love Dolphins', the rally will coincide with a planned meeting between the Dolphin Project's, Ric O'Barry, and Dr. Gerald Dick, the Executive Director of WAZA.
Accompanying O'Barry to the meeting is Sakae Hemmi from the Japanese conservation group, ELSA Nature Conservancy.
ELSA, along with two other Japanese-based animal organizations, has repeatedly asked WAZA not to condone the dolphin drives and to take strong action against JAZA.
Last January, ELSA requested that JAZA-affiliated facilities stop obtaining dolphins through the drive hunts in Japan or be ousted from WAZA immediately.
ELSA disputed JAZA's notion of 'tradition' by citing town records showing that "the drive hunt in Taiji was and is not, Japanese culture." ELSA maintained that, "it was not until 1969, that dolphin drives had been conducted on a large scale."
O'Barry, who values the importance of Japanese intervention in solving the dolphin drives, agrees with ELSA. He spoke with Digital Journal about the forthcoming demo, and what he hopes the meeting will achieve.
EB: WAZA claims it won't interfere with something that is considered Japanese culture. Yet Japanese conservation organizations have told WAZA that the drive hunts are new in comparison to the country's whaling history. Why won't WAZA listen to them?
R. O'Barry: It's not cultural or traditional. Gerald Dick needs to hear that from a Japanese NGO. Sakae Hemmi of ELSA Nature Conservancy will do that on March 28th. The culture card is all WAZA has left to play. It's the lame excuse for WAZA's non-action against JAZA. We hope to remove that card from the deck. WAZA will be out of excuses.
The demo is a way to bring WAZA out into the public eye. They have received thousands of email requests to expel JAZA. The requests are ignored. March 28th is a media event. They will not be able to ignore the Swiss media like they ignore their mail.
EB: How significant a voice for the dolphins could WAZA be, if it chose to hold JAZA to task?
R. O'Barry: WAZA has the power to expel JAZA from the club. That would be very embarrassing to the Taiji Whale Museum. They are the main dolphin broker in Taiji. They are also a member of JAZA, which is a member in good standing with WAZA.
Isolating the Taiji Whale Museum from their own industry and their peers, would serve to get them out from under the protection of the WAZA umbrella, and place them into the category of renegades. That would be a good start. It would be harder for the museum to continue to traffic in dolphins, if they are renegades.
EB: WAZA brokered an agreement with JAZA that during the month of September, bottlenose dolphins captured in the Cove won't be slaughtered but may be captured for aquaria. This protection doesn't extend to other species of dolphin and after Sept., even bottlenose may be killed. Do you think that WAZA's agreement with JAZA, just endorses the dolphin drives?
Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project
The corpse of a dolphin is removed from a pen in Taiji. He has not survived the stressful capture.
Like this image
R. O'Barry: Yes. WAZA is part of the problem in Taiji. They protect the trainers and dolphin dealers by being complacent and making excuses for the Taiji Whale Museum. This facility is ground zero for the largest dolphin marketplace on earth. WAZA and JAZA are joined at the hip. Some people support the violent dolphin captures by direct participation, others support this abuse with their silence. JAZA does both. They continually violate the Code of Ethics with impunity from WAZA.
Albino Dolphin 
Vulnerable youngster at risk in captivity, expert says.
An albino bottlenose dolphin is seen swimming in a pool at the Taiji Whale Museum on January 18, 2014.
A rare albino dolphin calf, rounded up in a dolphin hunt off of Japan earlier this month, is now on display at a Japanese whale museum, where experts say its long-term survival is in doubt.
"Albinos stand out and tend to be targeted by predators," said Taiji Whale Museum Assistant Director Tetsuya Kirihata in a statement, according to some media reports. "She must have been protected by her mother and her mates. We will take good care of her."
But that may be difficult, according to Stan Kuczaj, director of the Marine Mammal Behavior and Cognition Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi.
"Calves that have stranded for various reasons have sometimes been nursed back to health by humans, but others have died," Kuczaj said. "So the calf could survive, but that is certainly not guaranteed.
"We know little about the effects of trauma [and] stress on young marine mammals, but it seems likely that this calf was very stressed by the hunt and so could be at even greater risk," he continued, "especially since it was separated from its mother."
Efforts to reach the Taiji Whale Museum directly were unsuccessful.
Animal advocates quickly dubbed the dolphin "Angel" in an effort to draw the world's sympathy to what they say is the brutality of dolphin hunting.
The young albino calf proved attractive to Taiji's dolphin brokers, who sell captured dolphins from Taiji to marine parks across Asia and beyond.
According to the animal-protection group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which closely monitors the Taiji drive hunts, the albino was the first dolphin selected for capture and sale.
Naomi Rose, a dolphin and killer whale expert at the Animal Welfare Institute, said that despite assurances from the museum about the calf's safety, the young dolphin shouldn't be there in the first place: "Taking a dependent calf goes against every established conservation principle there is.
"It was wrong ethically, biologically, and in terms of management," she said. "It was wrong on every level and just plain cruel."
Animal Albinism
Albinos in the wild—which can be shunned by others in their group or make easy targets for predators—often don't survive.
Most albino alligators, for example, are taken by predators before they reach adulthood. Albinos are also more susceptible to diseases.
Albinism is relatively unusual: Scientists estimate that albinism in mammals occurs in about one of every 10,000 births.
The condition is seen across a very wide range of species and is due to genetic defects that inhibit the production of melanin, or skin pigment. (See more pictures of albino animals.)
Other albino cetaceans—which include whales and dolphins—of note include "Migaloo," a white humpback whale that can be seen off Australia, and "Iceberg," a white killer whale first seen in the waters off Russia in 2012.
Concerns About Hunt
The Taiji hunt, in which fishers herded an unusually large pod of 200 to 250 bottlenose dolphins into a netted shoreside bay, reportedly killing 42 dolphins, drew criticism from the likes of Caroline Kennedy, the new U.S. ambassador to Japan.
"Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing," Kennedy said in a Tweet. "USG opposes drive hunt fisheries."
The hunt takes place annually in the small Japanese village of Taiji from September to March and and was the subject of the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. (See pictures of the Taiji dolphin roundup.)
This year, over the course of four days in mid-January, the Taiji fishers selected 52 dolphins for sale into captivity, slaughtered 41 for meat, and then drove the surviving pod members back out to sea, according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Despite the fishers' use of tarps and other screening strategies, Sea Shepherd and some news organizations obtained photographs and video of the hunt, which helped fuel global response.
In Japan, some 50 aquariums keep around 600 dolphins and take many of the Taiji dolphins, with business also coming from many aquariums abroad, including a growing number in China.
Japan bucks trend: Captive dolphin biz big
Surging numbers: Visitors learn about dolphins at Shimoda Aquarium in Shizuoka Prefecture on Sunday. The aquarium is one of just a handful in Japan that does not take dolphins from the wild but instead breeds them on-site. | ROB GILHOOLY
Despite an international trend taking the opposite tack, the number of aquariums in Japan is growing and sales of dolphins continue to flourish, results of an independent study have revealed.
Animal welfare groups Elsa Nature Conservancy and Help Animals have collated data from official documents, marine facilities and other organizations showing Japan is the world’s leader in aquariums and the numbers of cetaceans kept in them.
“When it comes to aquariums, Japan is the globe’s superpower,” leads the report, “Dolphins Raised in Japanese Facilities,” released July 20. The majority of dolphins kept in captivity are taken from the wild and cetacean deaths within facilities “are not unusual,” it continues.
Elsa and Help Animals found some 30 million people annually visit 65 facilities that are members of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Nonmember facilities take the nation’s aquarium count close to 100, meaning almost one-fifth of the world’s total are located in Japan.
Around 57 percent of JAZA member institutions keep a total of 600 dolphins.
“When I started the research in 2003 there were 500 dolphins in captivity, meaning numbers have since increased 20 percent,” said Elsa’s Sakae Hemmi. “This is a dire situation . . . especially in light of an international trend to reduce (the) numbers of aquariums and dolphins in captivity.”
The United Kingdom closed all its dolphinariums back in 1993 and more than 23 other nations, including Australia, Mexico, Thailand and Croatia, have either banned the catching or trade of wild dolphins, or keeping them in captivity. This is mainly due to a growing belief that to do so constitutes a form of animal abuse.
In March, India announced the banning of new dolphinariums after they were deemed unlawful under the country’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The United States has around 30 of the facilities, down by 14 in the past 20 years, according to Naomi Rose at the Humane Society International, headquartered in Washington. Around one-third of them refuse to keep dolphins, Hemmi and Yukari Sugisaka of Help Animals have discovered.
“Overall, the upward trend is only seen in the developing world, while it’s the reverse in the developed world,” said Rose, who specializes in marine mammal protection issues. “Japan is considered a first-world country, but when it comes to this industry, it’s in the same camp as China and other developing nations.”
China’s aquarium industry is also growing rapidly, with most of its dolphins Japan-caught imports, according to the report. Japan’s overall exports have climbed steadily over the past decade, from eight in 2003 to 51 last year, the study says.
Between the first six months of this year, a known total of 67 dolphins have been either exported or transferred within Japan. Some species reportedly sell for as much as ¥15 million.
Over the past decade, an average of more than 100 bottlenose and other popular species have been caught annually for aquariums by fishermen in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, which was the subject of the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove.”
The film focused not only on what many experts worldwide believe to be inhumane hunting methods employed by Taiji’s fishermen, but also their annual slaughter for the meat of hundreds more of the cetaceans.
According to Hemmi, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums last year called on associate members to ban the import of dolphins caught in Taiji’s “inhumane” drives.
Diana Reiss, a specialist in dolphin cognitive psychology at Hunter College, New York, says it is “unconscionable” that institutions claiming to be guardians of such “highly evolved, cognizant animals” should purchase dolphins from a fishermen who “sell dolphins with one hand, and slaughter even more with the other.”
She also said that dolphins are not suited to aquariums.
“Great Apes are now in sanctuaries . . . and dolphins need the same treatment. They are not suited to aquariums and the current trend in the advanced world reflects that,” she said.
JAZA is unable to meet WAZA’s call due to national catch quotas set by the fisheries ministry that permit the drives based on the “scientifically disproven” belief that dolphins are depleting yellowfin tuna stocks, Reiss added.
Shuhei Hasegawa, a dolphin specialist and manager of Minami Chita Beachland in Nagoya, argued that Japan’s catch quotas are set at “levels that will not impact their survival.”
“People are aware of dolphins’ abilities because they see them in dolphin shows,” he said, adding that dolphins’ perceived intelligence is largely a result of aquarium training.
“Off-site conservation . . . is one role of aquariums. This is why we are making efforts to breed (dolphins),” Hasegawa said.
The authors of the Elsa-Help Animals report claim that in captivity, the dolphin reproduction rate is low and mortality high. Many dolphins die within months of captivity, according to Sugisaka.
But HSI’s Rose says captive dolphins live as long as their counterparts in the wild — roughly 45 years.
“The difference is, in captivity dolphins have no predators and they are well-attended. They should be living much longer, as other captive animals do,” said Rose of the Humane Society International.
Elsa’s Hemmi says Japan is doing to its dolphins what the U.S. did to American buffalo in the 19th century.
“At the present rate, in some regions there is a distinct possibility that (some species) will be wiped out,” Hemmi said. Drives in Futo, Shizuoka Prefecture, were suspended in 2004 due to drastically depleted stocks, she added.
Photos of Angel in the Taiji Whale Museum by Ric O'Barry/Dolphin Project.
Despite an international trend taking the opposite tack, the number of aquariums in Japan is growing and sales of dolphins continue to flourish, results of an independent study have revealed.
Animal welfare groups Elsa Nature Conservancy and Help Animals have collated data from official documents, marine facilities and other organizations showing Japan is the world’s leader in aquariums and the numbers of cetaceans kept in them.
“When it comes to aquariums, Japan is the globe’s superpower,” leads the report, “Dolphins Raised in Japanese Facilities,” released July 20. The majority of dolphins kept in captivity are taken from the wild and cetacean deaths within facilities “are not unusual,” it continues.
Elsa and Help Animals found some 30 million people annually visit 65 facilities that are members of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Nonmember facilities take the nation’s aquarium count close to 100, meaning almost one-fifth of the world’s total are located in Japan.
Around 57 percent of JAZA member institutions keep a total of 600 dolphins.
“When I started the research in 2003 there were 500 dolphins in captivity, meaning numbers have since increased 20 percent,” said Elsa’s Sakae Hemmi. “This is a dire situation . . . especially in light of an international trend to reduce (the) numbers of aquariums and dolphins in captivity.”
The United Kingdom closed all its dolphinariums back in 1993 and more than 23 other nations, including Australia, Mexico, Thailand and Croatia, have either banned the catching or trade of wild dolphins, or keeping them in captivity. This is mainly due to a growing belief that to do so constitutes a form of animal abuse.
In March, India announced the banning of new dolphinariums after they were deemed unlawful under the country’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The United States has around 30 of the facilities, down by 14 in the past 20 years, according to Naomi Rose at the Humane Society International, headquartered in Washington. Around one-third of them refuse to keep dolphins, Hemmi and Yukari Sugisaka of Help Animals have discovered.
“Overall, the upward trend is only seen in the developing world, while it’s the reverse in the developed world,” said Rose, who specializes in marine mammal protection issues. “Japan is considered a first-world country, but when it comes to this industry, it’s in the same camp as China and other developing nations.”
China’s aquarium industry is also growing rapidly, with most of its dolphins Japan-caught imports, according to the report. Japan’s overall exports have climbed steadily over the past decade, from eight in 2003 to 51 last year, the study says.
Between the first six months of this year, a known total of 67 dolphins have been either exported or transferred within Japan. Some species reportedly sell for as much as ¥15 million.
Over the past decade, an average of more than 100 bottlenose and other popular species have been caught annually for aquariums by fishermen in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, which was the subject of the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove.”
The film focused not only on what many experts worldwide believe to be inhumane hunting methods employed by Taiji’s fishermen, but also their annual slaughter for the meat of hundreds more of the cetaceans.
According to Hemmi, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums last year called on associate members to ban the import of dolphins caught in Taiji’s “inhumane” drives.
Diana Reiss, a specialist in dolphin cognitive psychology at Hunter College, New York, says it is “unconscionable” that institutions claiming to be guardians of such “highly evolved, cognizant animals” should purchase dolphins from a fishermen who “sell dolphins with one hand, and slaughter even more with the other.”
She also said that dolphins are not suited to aquariums.
“Great Apes are now in sanctuaries . . . and dolphins need the same treatment. They are not suited to aquariums and the current trend in the advanced world reflects that,” she said.
JAZA is unable to meet WAZA’s call due to national catch quotas set by the fisheries ministry that permit the drives based on the “scientifically disproven” belief that dolphins are depleting yellowfin tuna stocks, Reiss added.
Shuhei Hasegawa, a dolphin specialist and manager of Minami Chita Beachland in Nagoya, argued that Japan’s catch quotas are set at “levels that will not impact their survival.”
“People are aware of dolphins’ abilities because they see them in dolphin shows,” he said, adding that dolphins’ perceived intelligence is largely a result of aquarium training.
“Off-site conservation . . . is one role of aquariums. This is why we are making efforts to breed (dolphins),” Hasegawa said.
The authors of the Elsa-Help Animals report claim that in captivity, the dolphin reproduction rate is low and mortality high. Many dolphins die within months of captivity, according to Sugisaka.
But HSI’s Rose says captive dolphins live as long as their counterparts in the wild — roughly 45 years.
“The difference is, in captivity dolphins have no predators and they are well-attended. They should be living much longer, as other captive animals do,” said Rose of the Humane Society International.
Elsa’s Hemmi says Japan is doing to its dolphins what the U.S. did to American buffalo in the 19th century.
“At the present rate, in some regions there is a distinct possibility that (some species) will be wiped out,” Hemmi said. Drives in Futo, Shizuoka Prefecture, were suspended in 2004 due to drastically depleted stocks, she added.
Video
Video from 'The Dolphin Project'
TELL ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS TO STOP AIDING THE DOLPHIN KILLING
Some members of the dolphin display industry support the slaughter by rewarding whalers with cash for live show dolphins. Others support the slaughter by simply ignoring it.
With more than 1300 members, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the world's largest network of zoos and aquariums. WAZA describes itself as "the umbrella" organization for the international zoo and aquarium industry, and its huge membership includes leading zoos and aquariums, zoo veterinarians and so-called educators.
More than 200 zoos and aquaria are institutional members of WAZA. Additionally, about 1100 zoos and aquaria are associate members, linked to WAZA "through their membership in a regional or national Association Member of WAZA."
In its mission description, WAZA uses catch-phrases typical of the dolphinarium industry:
'WAZA's mission is to guide, encourage and support the zoos, aquariums, and like-minded organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, environmental education and global conservation." In their so-called Code of Ethics, WAZA states that, "The continued existence of zoological parks and aquariums depends upon recognition that our profession is based on respect or the dignity of the animals in our care." Furthermore, WAZA officially opposes what it refers to as "Cruel and non-selective methods of taking animals from the wild."
One would think, therefore, that it would be impossible for a dolphinarium that is linked to the Japanese dolphin slaughter to be accepted as a WAZA member. But it is not. WAZA has welcomed several such dolphinariums into their umbrella organization, thereby giving them their stamp of credibility.
Most of the approximately 500 dolphins currently held in Japan's 50 dolphinariums were captured during a violent and deadly dolphin drive hunt. Many of these Japanese dolphinariums are members of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, also known as JAZA. Despite the fact that JAZA members keep the brutal dolphin hunt alive by doing business with the dolphin killers, WAZA welcomes JAZA as an association member!
TAKE ACTION:
Click HERE to sign a petition urging WAZA to expel all facilities that provide direct or indirect support for the drive capture of dolphins.
Click HERE to check out A Conversation with Scientist Dr. Lori Marino in opposition to Dolphin Captivity
Write a letter to WAZA:
Dr. Gerald Dick, Executive Director
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
IUCN Conservation Centre
Rue Mauverney 28
CH-1196 Gland
Switzerland
Fax: +41 (0)22 999 07 91
Ask WAZA to take action to expel member aquariums that buy dolphins caught in association with the drive fisheries in Taiji, Japan, and any other such location. The Taiji Whale Museum, for example, is a member of the Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA), which is the association member of WAZA.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Dr. Dick:
I am asking you to take action against those member aquariums of WAZA that continue to purchase dolphins and small whales that are caught by the dolphin-killing fishermen of Taiji, Japan. These aquariums should be expelled from WAZA, including member groups of JAZA, the regional association member of WAZA. In these barbaric hunts, hundreds of dolphins are ruthlessly slaughtered each year. Yes, aquariums and dolphin brokers actually HELP the dolphin killers in their work, picking only a few for captivity. The rest of the dolphins' families are killed for meat that is poisonous and should not be consumed by anyone, yet the aquariums pay the fishermen high prices for the live dolphins, far more than the dolphins are worth for meat. The result is WAZA and the world aquarium industry subsidizes the killing of dolphins in Taiji. Please take steps now to end the hunts.
Sincerely,
In October 2005, following heavy pressure from us to take a stand on the Japanese dolphin drive hunt, WAZA issued a long-awaited statement opposing the Japanese dolphin hunt. WAZA, in polite terms, reminds its members to "adhere to the WAZA Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare and ensure that they do not accept animals obtained by the use of methods which are inherently cruel." The statement, which is entitled "WAZA Members not to Purchase Dolphins from Drive Fisheries," goes on to say: "In a resolution adopted at the WAZA ...it was clearly stated that the catching of dolphins by the use of a method known as "drive fishing" is considered an example of such a non acceptable capture method. WAZA appeals also to those aquaria and dolphinaria, which are not institutional members, to refrain from purchasing dolphins obtained by drive fisheries."
No requirements. No demands. No warnings of being expelled from WAZA if the Code of Ethics is not followed. Today, the statement is hidden away on WAZA's website, under "Archives."
On its website, WAZA says: "All members of the WAZA Network are obliged to comply with WAZA's Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare."
And: "Failure to satisfy or adhere to the Bylaws, Code of Ethics and all other rules and regulations shall be sufficient cause for suspension or denial of membership."
So here it is in black and white: WAZA should expel JAZA immediately.
The WAZA Network consists of "educators" and marine mammal veterinarians. If their mission is all about encouraging animal care and welfare, and that's what they say, then how can they continue to be friendly with dolphinariums that endorse and even participate in the annual massacres and deadly captures of dolphins?
The infamous Taiji Whale Museum, which has become the Japanese brokering facility for dolphins captured during a dolphin drive hunt, is a member of JAZA. So are numerous other Japanese dolphinariums that take advantage of the dolphin massacres to obtain dolphins.
WAZA has the power to document, expose and stop the world's largest dolphin slaughter. Doing so would put action behind their promise that their profession is based on "respect" and dignity" of their animals. WAZA's lack of action is even more shocking when one realizes that more than 600 million people walk through the gates of the WAZA Network each year! WAZA could reach all these people with a message to help stop the dolphin slaughter. After all, the world's dolphinariums claim that they capture and confine dolphins in order to educate the public to the various threats that dolphins face in nature. If the world’s largest network of zoos and aquariums is not going to educate the public to the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world – then what exactly are they doing? When does this alleged "education" begin? Is WAZA perhaps afraid to offend those of their own colleagues and fellow members who make a living doing business with the dolphin killers? And could that also be the reason why WAZA does not immediately enforce their own Code of Ethics and expel those of its members that take advantage of the Japanese dolphin massacres?
Date: 2013/09/12 Statement of clarification
WAZA does not support, and has never supported, the Taiji dolphin fishery in any way. To the contrary, WAZA has attempted to intervene directly, and has endeavoured to use its influence to bring to an end a practice which surely has no place in modern times. WAZA's efforts will continue, through direct engagement and influence, until the practice is halted. Secondly, WAZA does not represent ALL zoos and aquariums - it represents a group of progressive and passionate conservationists who are united in support of wild animals and wild places around the world.
IUCN Conservation Centre | Rue Mauverney 28 | 1196 Gland | Switzerland
Hyatt Antognini Amin
Communications Executive
Phone +41 22 999 07 93 | Fax +41 22 999 07 91
hyatt.antogniniamin@waza.org | www.waza.org
Iwasaki and Kai (2010) also report that other methods are employed in the killing:
Placing a vinyl sheet over the rocks facilitated the transport of the striped dolphins to the killing area and also the full application of the spinal transection technique. In addition, by driving a wedge into the cut, bleeding was controlled. Exsanguination occurred 10 to 30 minutes later at the time of gutting, and this did not affect the quality of the meat (for consumption).
Iwasaki and Kai (2010) concluded:
Harvest time was shortened, improving worker safety. Bleeding was controlled by the wedge, and this opens up the possibility of commercial utilization of the blood and prevents pollution of the sea with blood. The individual who developed the spinal cord transection technique has pointed out that prevention of bleeding and internal retention of blood using the wedge risks prolongation of the time to death. An additional review to compare time to death with the Faroe Islands is required.
Based on this minimal data, Iwasaki and Kai (2010) claimed that the new method is more humane. This claim is based on a shorter TTD recorded in four species where the spinal transection technique was utilized, compared to only one instance where the conventional spear method of killing was used on a striped dolphin. TTD is defined by Iwasaki and Kai (2010) as the termination of movement and breathing.
METHOD
We analyzed videotape footage of a dolphin drive hunt involving striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) conducted in Taiji, Japan in January 2011 (for the video, see http://youtu.be/dzOw51BmqWK ). The video material was systematically analyzed by one of the authors (A. B.), a veterinarian. The video footage used in this analysis was recorded covertly and provided by an independent video journalist.
Events and event intervals were documented, tabulated, and timed using the time base available on the video material. The authors also compared their observations and analysis to the data and assessment reported in Iwasaki and Kai (2010).
RESULTS
The results of the author’s veterinary and behavioral analysis of the video documentation of the killing method used are presented in the table (Table 1). The timing of events and the method of killing are described in detail in relation to dolphin anatomy and the physiological and behavioral responses during this process.
For illustration and clarification purposes, still images derived from the video material were used to overlay outlines of cetacean anatomical structures in relation to use of the rod and wooden plug (Figure 1, Figure 2). The images are still photographs taken from the video footage of the drive hunt that we analyzed and referenced to the written description of the killing method described in Iwasaki and Kai (2010).
FIGURE 2. Dolphin skeletal and soft tissue and point of insertion of the metal rod. This image shows the overlay of skeletal and soft tissues on a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). This overlay shows the relationship between the skeletal and soft tissues compared with the external anatomical features (eye, mouth, blow hole, dorsal fin, and pectoral fin) and with the course and positioning of the metal rod.
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