22/01/2014
Update on the Horror Show in Taiji, Japan
Plus Some Inaccuracies and Misreporting From Taiji.
By Captain Paul Watson
There have been a few inaccuracies, primarily from "observers" who are not onsite. The Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians have a crew of 16 in Taiji
Reports that the baby albino dolphin is blind is unconfirmed. Reports that the mother of Shoujo, the albino calf committed su***de is unsubstantiated. There is observable evidence that the mother was killed.
Reports from the fishermen that the mother abandoned her baby are blatant lies. Cove Guardians documented the fishermen separating the calf from her mother.
Reports that the Japanese fishermen have ended the slaughter for the season has been confirmed as untrue. The fishermen in fact went out on another drive today.
Reports that this was the first hunt of the season and that the slaughter of dolphins at Taiji just began is untrue. Reports that this has been one of the largest number of dolphins driven into the Cove at one time are accurate.
This is a report from Cove Guardian leader Melissa Sehgal who is on site in Taiji:
"For the fifth straight day the killers of Taiji, Japan inflicted further pain and suffering on 42 of the 250 Bottlenose dolphins that were herded into the cove. After the killers arrived at daybreak they pushed the first Bottlenose dolphin pod to the killing shore with the same inhumane muscle and force typical in Taiji. Unfortunately, however, the pod that fought so hard in the previous days was unable fight from lack of food, exhaustion, and injuries sustained from killers and outboard motors over the last five days. Once on the shore 40 dolphins were each sentenced to a slow, painful, and conscious death as a metal rod was rammed into their spinal cord. The killers were not the only ones to witness each dolphin suffer on the shore, 1 Bottlenose watched its family murdered in front of her before she was transported to a tiny captive prison in the harbor. Death did not end on the killing shore this morning. One dolphin in the second remaining pod was seen struggling in the nets and ignored by the killers before he/she finally drowned. Killers tried to hide the death of this dolphin with tarps, but his/her struggle was not in vain as Cove Guardians were there for the world to see. Hungry from killing up an appetite, the dolphin murderers took a break for lunch before the remaining 130-140 starved and injured Bottlenose dolphins were driven back out to sea in the same deafening manner as the drive in. Many babies and juveniles were seen in the remaining pod. Too small to count for quota and deemed unsuitable for captivity. Many of these dolphins who were driven out will not survive and will soon be found washed ashore in the coming days."
This latest massacre of dolphins has attracted more attention than ever and the story and pictures of the horror at Taiji has been a front page story and the top of television news worldwide for the last five days.
The pressure continues to stop this small handful of fishermen from continuing to disgrace the nation of Japan with their sadistically ruthless behavior.
What was once a secret in Taiji, the town without pity, is now before the eyes of the world every day, as the Cove Guardians keep their cameras focused on the horror they have volunteered to document to keep this tragedy from being forgotten.
To all the Cove Guardian volunteers worldwide who have been to Taiji, presently in Taiji and who intend to go to Taiji, all I can say is thanks to all your efforts, this brutal massacre has been brought to the attention of the entire planet.
Thanks also to Louis Psihoyos who produced the Oscar winning documentary The Cove and to Ric O'Barry for their efforts to end this horror show.
And thank-you to U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, U.K. Ambassador Timothy Hitchens, To Richard Branson, William Shatner, Wynona Judd, Kirstie Ally, Yoko Ono, Susan Sarandon, Martin and Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Juliette Lewis, Melissa Milano, Simone Reyes, David Blaine, Ricky Gervais, Pamela Anderson, Ian Somerhalder and so many other official and celebrity voices worldwide condemning this massacre.
It is becoming clearer each day that the fishermen of Taiji are proud to disgrace their great nation before the eyes of the world. Their activities have become more brutally sadistic than ever before and the argument that they are simply trying to feed their families is a provable lie. They are the wealthiest people in Taiji as this picture of their cars parked near their fishing vessels shows quite clearly.
Former Cove Guardian leader Scott West reported that they "swagger through the town strutting like peacocks, displaying and boasting of their wealth."
These are not poor fishermen.
This is not tradition, and it has nothing to do with Japanese culture. These fishermen want the entire nation of Japan to justify their greed in the name of all of Japanese culture.
Japan is a great nation held hostage by a small group of vicious thugs who have apparently succeeded in equating the character of Japan with the inhumane and brutal slaughter of one of the most intelligent, peaceful, socially complex, and gentlest species on Earth.
This is the animal that has saved human lives at sea. This is the animal whose image is equated with peace, love and harmony. Beloved by the majority of humanity, brutalized by a small minority within Japan.
All of humanity is disgraced by these killers and it is our duty, responsibility and obligation to do all within our power, acting within the law and non-violently to stop this on-going murder of these dolphins in Japanese waters.
