The Cove...a billion dollar busines in killing thousands of Dolphins every year

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Acira

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Who hasn't grown up with the serie Flipper, apart from all who were born after the eighties?
I did and I liked it, it was entertaining and it gave me my first real feeling about marine life. Later years I used to watch lots on National Geographic, most about sea life, later on on travels I used to go snorklng as much as I could (scuba diving was a wasted on me as I get to claustrophobic), visited as many Dolphinaria/aquaria as I could. Had a first close encounter with dolphins in a course on Hawaii and was planning to visit the Dolphins here in POP but...

Yesterday evening I watched the movie "The Cove" and it was to say the least...a real eye opener.
For those who don't know what the movie is about : its a documentary about the trainer of Flipper (Kathy was her real name) who spend 10 years training this dolphin and others, spend years in dolphinaria to help to keep dolphins alive because in those early years they tend to dye quickly in captivity.
The further he went into interacting with dolphins, the more he got the feeling that there was something "else" that connected him with this creatures. As he said it himself, they can be called intelligent but that is scientifically hard to measure, what I am 100 % sure of is the fact that they are aware, aware of who they are, what is happening to them, aware of their surroundings...

You can see more and read more about this movie and the organisation at this link The Cove | TakePart - Inspiration to Action

What is happening to dolphins RIGHT NOW is whats part of the movie is all about, the slaughter of 25,000 dolphins every year in a small town in Japan called Taiji. They hunt the dolphins into a small bay where potential buyers/trainers from all over the world can take their pick which dolphins are suitable to be trained (cost US$ 150,000 per dolphin), they are sold all over the world to dolphinaria from that tiny small place and the rest is taken to "The Cove" to be slaughtered for their meat...just watch the movie and see for yourself how...

The movie is not about this man and his love for dolphins who turned him from being one of the first trainers of dolphins into an activist against dolphins in captivity. You follow the story through his eyes of course but its the tragic story about how a hit series in the seventies turned into a billion dollar industry where there is absolutely zero consideration for the dolphins, where the Japanese government deliberately and continuously tries to cover this up for the world and for its own people, its about politics around the world through the IWC (International Whale Committee) where the Japanese delegation has managed the last couple of years "buying" votes from other countries such as Aruba, Dominica and others to try to keep dolphins out of sight of the IWC.

My question to the Environment experts here is : is the Dominican Republic aware of the fact that 99,99 % of the dolphins in the Dominican Republic are coming from Taiji and are they aware that they are being hunted in a very barbaric way just for the sake of entertaining us and the ones who are not found suitable for that task are slaughtered in a still more barbaric way?

Awaiting your reply.

Acira
 
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CFA123

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Acira said:
My question to the Environment experts here is : is the Dominican Republic aware of the fact that 99,99 % of the dolphins in the Dominican Republic are coming from Taiji and are they aware that they are being hunted in a very barbaric way just for the sake of entertaining us and the ones who are not found suitable for that task are slaughtered in a still more barbaric way?
Click to expand...


99% of what dolphin in the DR? The ones at Ocean World?
I think you're really not thinking this one through... the purpose of the slaughter is not to find animals for entertainment and "those who are not suitable are slaughtered". That's laughable if it weren't that some people believe it.


conchman said:
I also deplore the killing of dolphins that has been going on in Taiji for hundreds of years, it is heart breaking.

The 12 animals collected for Ocean World are not captured like shown on the video. The footage taken was not even from Taiji but from another village. This is animal extremist propaganda trying to say that that footage is the Ocean World dolphins. Our animals were separated early in the 'drive' from the food animals, the ones that are not taken for aquaria are slaugthered in another bay.

The video that shows the Ocean World dolphins are not the Ocean World dolphins but dolphins that will be slaughtered. . Ric O'Barry and his friends with the video cameras were not even in the country when our animals were collected. Those dolphins would be food on the table if it weren't for us saving them from the slaughter house.

Our animals have a very good life in the largest dolphin lagoon in the world. They receive medical care, vitamins, quarterly blood exams, even ultra-sound exams when pregnant. Dolphins do not reproduce when stressed, this is proven. Our females are now getting into breeding age, we had our first baby dolphin born August 21st. Our sister facility in The Bahamas, Dolphin Encounters, has had 13 baby dolphins born.

You might be against dolphins under human care, but I invite you to our facility to see what we do and how we do it, and then you can make an informed opinion.
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mountainannie

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CFA123

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Acira said:
Have you seen the movie CFA?
Click to expand...

I've seen videos of the annual slaughter, yes. Do I believe that the purpose of the slaughter is to obtain dolphins for entertainment? No. Do I support the slaughter of dolphins? No. But then I find myself in a bit of a pickle as I accept other animals being slaughtered for human consumption. So, if they cleaned up the manner in which it's done... I would probably accept it as well.

As I understand, dolphin/whale hunting has a history of 100's of years in that area of the world.
If any animals come out of the hunts alive... we probably should be happy that they survived, no?
 
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Acira

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CFA123 said:
I've seen videos of the annual slaughter, yes. Do I believe that the purpose of the slaughter is to obtain dolphins for entertainment? No. Do I support it? No.

As I understand, dolphin/whale hunting has a history of 100's of years in that area of the world.
If any animals come out of the hunts alive... we probably should be happy that they survived, no?
Click to expand...

That may be your opinion but I cannot in an honest hart say after seeing that movie and after reading up more, that I consider this a fair "hunt".
 
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mountainannie

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well,,, look I do not think that all those animals are being hunted for entertaining us.. that is just silly.. they are eaten.. but I am concerned about the humpbacks.

Those whales are DOMINICANS!!! And for them..I think that we ought to STAND UP! ALL of the NORTH ATLANTIC HUMPBACKS come HERE to BREED..

they wail in bachata, for heaven's sake...

they come down here, to Samana and the Silver Banks and go for six months without eating just so that their kids can be born in the soft sweet waters off the Dominican Coast.,,,

I have a friend from Samana who came down and stood with a group in front of the Danish Embassy last year to protest the killing of those Humpbacks.. but he did not tell me about it.. but next year,,

I am gonna be there with him,.
with my yellow 4% umbrella and
two liberated parrots on my shoulders......
I mean.. really..


HAVE YOU SEEN OUR HUMPBACKS????

and shame on you if you have not...
 
A

Acira

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CFA123 said:
I've seen videos of the annual slaughter, yes. Do I believe that the purpose of the slaughter is to obtain dolphins for entertainment? No. Do I support it? No.

As I understand, dolphin/whale hunting has a history of 100's of years in that area of the world.
If any animals come out of the hunts alive... we probably should be happy that they survived, no?
Click to expand...

That may be your opinion but I cannot with an honest hart say after seeing that movie and after reading up more, that I consider this a fair "hunt".
This kind of dolphin hunting is not "tradition", it sprouds from the demand for trainable dolphins, questions from all over the world from Dolphinaria who have been uprising the last couple of decades all over the world.
The slaughter of the remaining dolphins is NOT a demand on the food market of the Japanese people, they want the upper scale whale meat but the fishermen who capture the dolphins, saw their chance to make still more money so instead of releasing the ones who are not fit for training, they slaughter them and selling the meat as whale meat, regardless of the fact that dolphin meat is highly toxic.
 
Conchman

Conchman

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www.oceanworld.net
"The Cove" is nothing but animal rights extremist propaganda and filled with lies and misinformation. The 'star' Ric O'Barry is a known liar and hypocrite who was fined by the NOAA over $60,000 (the highest fine ever doled out by this organization) for violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, for 'releasing' captive dolphins into the wild which later died from starvation and injuries from boat propellers. In his mind, just like the Taiji dolphins, they are better off dead than in an aquarium.

Not a single dolphin in the Dominican Republic comes from Taiji, not a single dolphin currently cared for by Sea World is from Taiji. The Cove is a clever propaganda piece disguised as a documentary.

Ocean World tried to buy dolphins from Taiji back in 2006, but due to Ric O'Barry's interference (using lies and misinformation) with Dominican government officials, the import was not allowed. This is the basis of two multi-million dollar lawsuits we have filed in Florida against Ric O'Barry and his boss Earth Island Institute (some eco-warriors who's mission statement is to "control earth, land, and sea"), for tortious interference in a contract and for defamation.

Those dolphins would have come out of the annual slaugther in Taiji, since Japan has a legal quota to kill thousands of dolphins per year. In Taiji, they have been doing this for hundreds of years as it is part of their culture. The dophins are eaten and not 'killed for entertainment.' The Japanese are horrified that we kill Bambi in hunting trips the same way we are horrified when they kill flipper.

The dolphins that Ocean World would have gotten, would be alive today, had it not been for people like O'Barry and the makers of The Cove, however, they would rather see the dolphins dead than alive, frolicking in the largest man made dolphin lagoon in the world, with free healthcare, food, and a state of the art filtration system - because it doesn't suit their extreme fantasy agenda that all animals should be 'free' to roam in an untouched (by man) Mother Earth.

The lawsuit is going good for us, especially now that we can prove that the video tape O'Barry and EII were using to influence the Dominican Government officials (dolphins being slaughtered and blood splattering on the camera lens), was not the video tape of the 2006 collection of the our dophins, but footage that they lifted from a 1999 PBS special.

This time, they will have to pay for their lies. They have been getting away with this way too long.
 
A

Acira

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mountainannie said:
well,,, look I do not think that all those animals are being hunted for entertaining us.. that is just silly.. they are eaten.. but I am concerned about the humpbacks.

Those whales are DOMINICANS!!! And for them..I think that we ought to STAND UP! ALL of the NORTH ATLANTIC HUMPBACKS come HERE to BREED..

they wail in bachata, for heaven's sake...

they come down here, to Samana and the Silver Banks and go for six months without eating just so that their kids can be born in the soft sweet waters off the Dominican Coast.,,,

I have a friend from Samana who came down and stood with a group in front of the Danish Embassy last year to protest the killing of those Humpbacks.. but he did not tell me about it.. but next year,,

I am gonna be there with him,.
with my yellow 4% umbrella and
two liberated parrots on my shoulders......
I mean.. really..


HAVE YOU SEEN OUR HUMPBACKS????

and shame on you if you have not...
Click to expand...

Yes, I have seen the humpbacks.
My point is that this movie has shaken me up to the point that I was not aware how the IWC works. You are absolutely right that its not only about the dolphins in Taiji, its about the whole whaling industry.
 
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belgiank

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In my view a lot of dolphinaria around the world do mean well towards these mammals, and do take very good care of them, and do their best to make them known to the public, thus in a way making people aware of their plight. I'm equally sure Ocean World is one of them.

Nevertheless it is an undeniable fact that by dolphinaria buying dolphins from taiji they may save some from the slaughter, but they also support taiji to keep this slaughter alive.

I would have less problems with dolphin killing if it met some criteria. First of all if the meat was fit for human consumption, and secondly, if the first was a fact, then if it was done in a humane way.

Maybe dolphinaria around the world should make people aware of this as well.
 
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belgiank

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In my view a lot of dolphinaria around the world do mean well towards these mammals, and do take very good care of them, and do their best to make them known to the public, thus in a way making people aware of their plight. I'm equally sure Ocean World is one of them.

Nevertheless it is an undeniable fact that by dolphinaria buying dolphins from taiji they may save some from the slaughter, but they also support taiji to keep this slaughter alive.

I would have less problems with dolphin killing if it met some criteria. First of all if the meat was fit for human consumption, and secondly, if the first was a fact, then if it was done in a humane way.

Maybe dolphinaria around the world should make people aware of this as well.
 
K

kdeer

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Dolphin Slaughter

The dolphins are coralled into a cove in Taiji and hemmed in with nets. Then the fittest are selected for sale to the various aquariums around the world. The balance are then slaughtered and sold as "whale" meat. The babies are thrown back over the net to the wild where their chances of survival are limited.

A large portion of the dolphin meat was going to the local schools for school lunches. However, dolphin meat is one of the most contaminated meats (extremely high mercury levels) and is not suitable for human consumption. The instances of birth defects has increased considerably in those areas that consume dolphin meat. Most consumers in Japan who buy "whale" meat at their local grocery store are not even aware that they are purchasing highly contaminated dolphin meat. Since the release of The Cove schools are no longer allowed to serve dolphin meat as part of the school lunch program. However, the "hunt" still goes on.

The filmmakers who worked on The Cove should be commended for bringing this situation to light. Recently the movie was translated into Japanese to try and bring awareness to the Japanese population most of whom are unaware of the "hunt". If you haven't seen the movie and you get a chance to watch it, it is definitely an eye-opener.
 
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Acira

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Its stated here that the movie The Cove is propaganda. Yes it is, absolutely! And a damn good one too. Propaganda is there to open the eyes of the ignorant. Well my eyes are wide open, thank you Ric!!
 
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mountainannie

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Conchman said:
"The Cove" is nothing but animal rights extremist propaganda and filled with lies and misinformation. The 'star' Ric O'Barry is a known liar and hypocrite who was fined by the NOAA over $60,000 (the highest fine ever doled out by this organization) for violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, for 'releasing' captive dolphins into the wild which later died from starvation and injuries from boat propellers. In his mind, just like the Taiji dolphins, they are better off dead than in an aquarium.

Not a single dolphin in the Dominican Republic comes from Taiji, not a single dolphin currently cared for by Sea World is from Taiji. The Cove is a clever propaganda piece disguised as a documentary.

Ocean World tried to buy dolphins from Taiji back in 2006, but due to Ric O'Barry's interference (using lies and misinformation) with Dominican government officials, the import was not allowed. This is the basis of two multi-million dollar lawsuits we have filed in Florida against Ric O'Barry and his boss Earth Island Institute (some eco-warriors who's mission statement is to "control earth, land, and sea"), for tortious interference in a contract and for defamation.

Those dolphins would have come out of the annual slaugther in Taiji, since Japan has a legal quota to kill thousands of dolphins per year. In Taiji, they have been doing this for hundreds of years as it is part of their culture. The dophins are eaten and not 'killed for entertainment.' The Japanese are horrified that we kill Bambi in hunting trips the same way we are horrified when they kill flipper.

The dolphins that Ocean World would have gotten, would be alive today, had it not been for people like O'Barry and the makers of The Cove, however, they would rather see the dolphins dead than alive, frolicking in the largest man made dolphin lagoon in the world, with free healthcare, food, and a state of the art filtration system - because it doesn't suit their extreme fantasy agenda that all animals should be 'free' to roam in an untouched (by man) Mother Earth.

The lawsuit is going good for us, especially now that we can prove that the video tape O'Barry and EII were using to influence the Dominican Government officials (dolphins being slaughtered and blood splattering on the camera lens), was not the video tape of the 2006 collection of the our dophins, but footage that they lifted from a 1999 PBS special.

This time, they will have to pay for their lies. They have been getting away with this way too long.
Click to expand...

Well .. I, for one, have a lot of respect for Earth Island Institute...Earth Island Institute | About Us which has been around for 25 years and has done a great deal of very good work. You are right that O'Barry did release the two dolphins without looking after them, but they did not die. Richard O'Barry, and his associate Lloyd A. Good III, have been found guilty of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act I do not think that that would make him either a liar or a hypocrite.

I have not seen the film.

I have not been to your Ocean World.. but I am sure that you treat your dolphins well.

You probably have attorneys and perhaps a PR firm who might do a better job of speaking on behalf of OCean World than you are now doing.

But.. I do think that the Dominican Republic should pay the $10,000 membership fee in order to become a voting member of the whaling commission. Perhaps Ocean World would pay it on their behalf? To protect our humpbacks?

mesi d'avant
 
A

Acira

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belgiank said:
In my view a lot of dolphinaria around the world do mean well towards these mammals, and do take very good care of them, and do their best to make them known to the public, thus in a way making people aware of their plight. I'm equally sure Ocean World is one of them.

Nevertheless it is an undeniable fact that by dolphinaria buying dolphins from taiji they may save some from the slaughter, but they also support taiji to keep this slaughter alive.

I would have less problems with dolphin killing if it met some criteria. First of all if the meat was fit for human consumption, and secondly, if the first was a fact, then if it was done in a humane way.

Maybe dolphinaria around the world should make people aware of this as well.
Click to expand...

Its not fit for human consumption, way to much mercury in it but still the Japanese Government denies that although at least its not on the kids school lunch anymore since 2009.
Humane way? They just hang nets over the cove now so that nobody can see anymore how its done.
 
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IslandDreaming

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Acira said:
That may be your opinion but I cannot in an honest hart say after seeing that movie and after reading up more, that I consider this a fair "hunt".
Click to expand...

Damm, I don't condone killing Dolphin (Mammals not fish) but what "hunt" for animals concerning food production is fair?
 
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