Dolphins in Taiji Cove ~ Japan

In January 2014, the capture of 250+ Bottlenose dolphins, including a rare albino calf, sparked a media firestorm around the world; never before had this many dolphins been taken in a single capture for slaughter or captivity. The real-time reporting and live streamed pictures from our Cove Guardians on site made international headlines for days, horrifying people around the globe. Even U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy tweeted that she was “Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing.” The photographs and video footage exposing the greed of the Taiji Fishermen’s Union and the international captive industry is still creating shockwaves and garnering ongoing media attention. Indeed, not since “The Cove” won the Academy Award in 2010 has there been so much attention brought to this issue. Due to the efforts of the Cove Guardians to expose this holocaust to a worldwide audience, the slaughter is no longer Taiji’s dirty, little secret.

~ The photo and paragraph is taken from the Sea Shepherd Organization's facebook page January 2015, please follow the link below ~ Operation Infinite Patience: Frontline Reflections of the 2013-201 Cove Guardians and other links posted.

http://www.seashepherd.org/cove-guardians/

http://savejapandolphins.org/

http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/taiji-whale-museum-lawsuit-update

The world cannot bear witness to the slaughter and captivity of dolphins for the appetites of people (to eat and be amused by) without doing something about it. To gain knowledge about it and not do anything allows for it to continue. We must unite, speak and shout out about it and not keep it a secret!                    

Dolphins in Taiji Cove ~ Japan

Dolphins in Taiji Cove your cries make still our hearts and leave us cold for we cannot bear the senseless slaughter of your joyful lives being silenced forever when taken in this cruel and heartless manner, day after killing day in Taiji Cove, Japan.

Is this killing necessary? Do people so badly need to eat the flesh of dolphins in Japan? To continue the slaughter of helpless dolphins unable to escape the nets that hold them tight, it is a sickening and sorry sight that Taiji Cove showcases to the world and is what Japan is sorely known for worldwide.

But there is hope and with it courage stirring in the hearts of young people in Japan for it is the generation that can make the change for all people in Japan. We know of your kind compassion, we hold you not accountable for it is your Government that makes you take the blame for the killings in Taiji Cove.

People of Japan, it is you who must collectively unite to change the thinking minds of those who eat the flesh of dolphins caught and held in fear in Taiji Cove. Take courage and stand and fight so that all dolphins will swim fearlessly and free in blue waters not stained by blood, surrounding Taiji Cove, Japan.

Written by Maureen Towers ~ January 1, 2015

The Happy Hearts of Dolphins 

Dolphins with happy hearts in joyous play, they came and spent some time today.

Swimming alongside fast and flowing, swirling and twirling in the frothy wave below our boat.

One cannot help but laugh out loud and share their joy. Words cannot describe their exuberance and our delighted wonder.

It was a special treat gifted to us today, with their happy hearts the enthusiastic dolphins showed us the way to play!

~ Maureen Towers, July 2, 2014

(poem posted on our blog ~ see archives July 3, 2014)