Today is September 1, 2009. It marks the first day of dolphin slaughter season in Japan and because of this, former dolphin trainer and activist Richard O’Barry traveled to Taiji today with media representatives from all over the world. When they got to the notorious cove from the movie, they were throroughly surprised with what they found…
nothing.
No dolphin killers. No fisherman.
What they did find arriving on the scene was something even better!!
Japanese media! And lots of it!
As told by O’Barry:
…suddenly a camera crew arrived from Japan! And then another! And then still another!
You have to understand that this is SO IMPORTANT. These TV stations have REFUSED to cover the story in Taiji for years and years. NOW, for the first time, they have shown up, with cameras rolling. The head policeman talking with me even said, for the cameras, that the police are not there to support the dolphin killing fishermen. We shook hands, and they left.
As I said, it is a good day for the dolphins. And for me personally, as the police only wanted to talk with me, not arrest me!
The Cove movie led to the strong action by the city of Broome, Australia, in suspending the sister-city relationship with Taiji. So now, the Japanese media are sitting up and listening, for the first time.
And I’m telling them: “This tour is to show journalists the GOOD things about Taiji. You see, with The Cove movie out now, we don’t have to show the BAD things about Taiji. Soon, the whole world will know about the Taiji dolphin slaughter. And all Japanese will soon know about the cover-up that has occurred by the government in refusing to stop mercury-contaminated dolphin meat from being sold to unsuspecting Japanese consumers and children.
But Taiji can change this image of shame, if they want to. I will be telling them that the town of Nantucket used to be the capitol of the whale killing industry in the US. Now, it uses its history of whaling combined with whale-watching to market tourism very successfully. Whales and dolphins are worth more alive than dead. Taiji can do this, too. But the killing has to stop.
Yes, today was a good day for dolphins. Tomorrow, I will take journalists with me around town to show them Taiji. Tomorrow, too, I predict will be a good day for dolphins. Every day that we are here and the fishermen KNOW we are here, will likely mean no boats going out to round up dolphins for the killing Cove.
Yaaaay Richard O’Barry!
Yaaaay Taiji, Japan!
(To read O’Barry’s full report, please click here!)
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