WFLF COMPASSION FOR DOLPHINS

The Cove, A Review

2009-08-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Compassionate Animal TV Review: The Cove
By Alice Bruckenstein
www.compassionateanimal.tv
Posted: Au. 4th, 2009 4:20 PM

Shadowy figures filmed using thermal photography and a voiceover saying, “You try to do the story legally” is the beginning of The Cove, and its director, Louie Psihoyos, has us hooked. This account of obtaining forbidden footage of the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan is as exciting as any thriller.

Along the way we learn about the almost surreal marketing of a town that “loves dolphins” with tourist-laden dolphin-shaped boats cruising along its shore and razor-wired areas hidden from view, a massive cover-up of mercury-tainted meat poisoning Japanese children, and the evils of marine parks where visitors can swim with “smiling dolphins.”

At the center of the movie is Ric O’Barry, dolphin trainer for the famed television series Flipper, who has been trying to stop the killing of thousands of dolphins for the past 30 years. O’Barry’s internal anguish over the dolphin recreation industry, which he feels he helped to create, is as compelling as the intrigue of the external circumstances surrounding these events.

Add fake rocks designed by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic with hidden cameras inside, champion free divers, and of course Psihoyos himself, whose heartfelt presence in the movie gives it an immediate, you-are-there feel, and your eyes will be glued to the screen every step of the way. But in the end it’s the sight of the dolphins, whose intelligence is reflective of an as-yet-unknowable alternative reality that leaves us with the feeling that allowing their harm is a profound violation of ourselves as well.

The Cove - a heart wrenching drama, an undercover thriller, and a rich and compelling documentary all rolled into one...

2009-07-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Compassionate Animal TV Review: The Cove
Katia Louise
www.compassionateanimal.tv
Posted: July 28th, 2009 9:30 AM

The Cove is a thrilling new documentary about the Taijii dolphin slaughter. It releases to theatres Friday, July 31st. In a word; PHENOMENAL! - A definite must see!! This film will appeal to a large demographic of viewers. I would encourage even the faintest of heart to see this film. As stated in The Cove, people are either “activists or they are inactivists”, and apathy empowers corruption, destruction and cruelty. This film is a must see not only to expose Japan and stop them from poisoning human populations with toxic waste, but to shut down the hideous killing of intelligent mammals as supported by the international captive wildlife trade.

This film pulls from a wide range of factual content and presents it in a cohesive format laced together by the heroic story of how the team of filmmakers captured the forbidden footage of the Taijii dolphin slaughter without getting arrested.

The Cove not only exposes the cruel dolphin trade and slaughter, but it also highlights issues of wild capture, the international captive animal trade, animals in entertainment, animals as food, disease from toxic waste, pollution, the destruction of our oceans, and corrupt governments driven by capitalism.

(cont'd)

Brazil declares whole coastline as a whale and dolphin sanctuary

2009-01-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

South Atlantic whale sanctuary proposed.
January 2009. The Brazilian government has decreed that the whole Brazilian coastline has become a sanctuary for whales and dolphins.

The decree, signed just before Christmas 2008, reinforces the total prohibition on hunting whales and dolphins in Brazilian waters, while promoting the non-lethal usage of cetaceans, specifically for tourism and research purposes.

Brazil's environment minister, Carlos Minc, said the creation of the new sanctuary is partly in response to Japan's pressure to allow resumption of whaling and sends a message to the whalers that Brazil will protect cetaceans along its whole coastline.

South Atlantic whale sanctuary proposed.
To further increase the protection of whales and dolphins in the South Atlantic, Brazil has proposed a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary that it hopes Argentina and Uruguay will sign up to, as well as the countries of southern Africa.

Photo: Barra de São Miguel on the coast of Brazil. Credits Christian Knepper.

Aquarium Industry Spurs Dolphin Slaughter

2008-11-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

People's love for dolphins has led to a cruel business. Hundreds of dolphins are slaughtered in the process. The increase in demand for live dolphins, captured and shipped to aquariums and swim-with programs around the world, has created a huge incentive for fishermen to step-up the dolphin drives which result in so may brutal deaths. [ more ]
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Photo taken Nov 10, '04 using telephoto lens because
fishermen sealed port to conceal their brutal work.

Japan:The Cruel Reality of Dolphin Swim-with Programs

People's love for dolphins has lead to a cruel business. Looking at the dolphins at a swim-with program you could image that they were happy. But the harsh reality is that it is a prison sentence for a dolphin, who must "behave" day in and day out in a confined space for the rest of its life. [ more ]

Keeping highly intelligent animals such as dolphins in captivity is extremely cruel. Many dolphins die in the capture process. The dolphins who are captured are taken from their families. They are condemned to spend the rest of their lives in cement tanks, often in unsanitary conditions, forced to perform tricks for food.
Resource: Blue Voice

Save Our World's Dolphins from Cruel Slaughter

2008-06-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals thrill us with their splendor, intrigue us with their highly developed intelligence and complex societies, and awe us with amazing displays of agility and grace. Across the world, dolphins and whales are revered as symbols of nature in all its strength and glory.

But dolphins, whales and other sea mammals are also under attack throughout the world's oceans. Countries like Japan and Norway are pressing hard to overturn the international ban on commercial whaling. The U.S. government has authorized whaling within its shores by the Makah tribe of Washington. The U.S. military is implementing a devastating new sonar system that will blast deafening and potentially fatal sound waves through the world's seas. The aquarium and public display industry is proliferating worldwide, supplied in part by the brutal drive fisheries in Japan that involve the slaughter of thousands of dolphins annually.

The heartless cruelty of the drive fisheries, along with the Japanese Government's endangerment of the public's health, are fueling the worldwide opposition to the annual dolphin slaughter taking place every year in Taiji and other Japanese coastal villages. Dolphin meat is tainted with deadly mercury, a heavy metal poison that can cause permanent neurological damage and death. Despite warnings from medical authorities and elected leaders, the Japanese Government supports expanding the use of dolphin meat in the country's school lunch program, putting schoolchildren at grave risk. As reckless as this is, the latest news is that the government has actually endorsed an increase in the number of dolphins killed in the town of Taiji's annual drive fisheries, so that even more people will eat the marine mammals' toxic flesh. Before the slaughter, fishermen segregate the best looking "specimens" and confine them in sea pens, where they are set aside for sale to marine parks and aquariums. At $3,000 per dolphin, this market provides strong incentive to the Japanese fishermen to continue this brutal practice.

"Aquariums, particularly marine mammal circus acts, are bound to disappear as the public is educated and revolts against it."
...Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Click here to learn more about the plight of marine mammals.

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Click here to learn more about saving the world's Dolphins.