Last night was a triumph for a very important documentary entitled The Cove. I held my breath as the winner of the Oscar was about to be announced and kept repeating "The Cove ... The Cove ..." as a mantra. It was extremely important to win that Oscar so that the atrocity of dolphin killing would get maximum exposure. The man responsible for getting this film made is Ric O'Barry who once trained dolphins for the popular TV show Flipper. O'Barry captured and trained wild dolphins and when one of those animals died in his arms of what he believes was suicide after weeks of depression he has devoted his life to help protect these creatures.
As a Montrealer I remember how thirty years ago dolphins did something similar when workers at the Montreal Aquarium went on strike. The dolphins showed signs of depression and distress and allowed themselves to starve to death. It has brought eternal shame to this city.
Here is an important link http://www.takepart.com/thecove/ which gives information on how to help.
The following excerpt is from the site:
"The Cove exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan and other parts of Asia, often labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening as the Taiji cove is blocked off from the public. The focus of the Social Action Campaign for The Cove is to create worldwide awareness of this annual practice as well as the dangers of eating seafood contaminated with mercury and to pressure those in power to put an end to the slaughter.
... Under intense pressure, Taiji called for a temporary ban on killing bottlenose dolphins. The film, which was originally rejected, was shown at the Tokyo Film Festival due to public outcry. Residents in Taiji are being tested for mercury poisoning, and for the first time Japanese media are covering the issue.
Close to a million people have signed on to the campaign, but this is just the beginning. The fisherman are clearly rattled, but haven’t stopped killing dolphins."
And here is a link to a petition:
"The Cove exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Japan every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan and other parts of Asia, often labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening as the Taiji cove is blocked off from the public. The focus of the Social Action Campaign for The Cove is to create worldwide awareness of this annual practice as well as the dangers of eating seafood contaminated with mercury and to pressure those in power to put an end to the slaughter.
... Under intense pressure, Taiji called for a temporary ban on killing bottlenose dolphins. The film, which was originally rejected, was shown at the Tokyo Film Festival due to public outcry. Residents in Taiji are being tested for mercury poisoning, and for the first time Japanese media are covering the issue.
Close to a million people have signed on to the campaign, but this is just the beginning. The fisherman are clearly rattled, but haven’t stopped killing dolphins."
And here is a link to a petition:
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Japan does not have a very good record when it comes to "harvesting" the seas. Food Inc must also have been dear to your heart. Civilization has taken some unfortunate turns.
ReplyDeleteSadly, every fish is now contaminated with mercury and it's not just the Japanese who are suffering the toxic effects of mercury.
ReplyDelete