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October 8, 2005
In thirty countries, activists held peaceful demonstrations in front of Japanese embassies and consulates protesting the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji and other fishing centers. Read the reports below.
Do you have a good story or photos of your demonstration? Send to marinemammal@earthisland.org.
A Special Thank You from Ric and Helene O’Barry:
We wanted to thank all the people and groups around the world who contributed to the success of our first international Japan Dolphin Day! Your response and enthusiasm has been incredible. By the time you read this, we will be in Taiji, Japan. Over the next few months we will be documenting the continued dolphin slaughter, and trying to figure out new and creative ways to stop it. Your protests have been heard, we know, and will speed the day when the slaughter will at last be banned. Keep sending those cards and letters to the Japanese government!
From our hearts, for the dolphins, thank you one and all.
– Ric and Helene
BOSTON: Joining Activists All Over the Globe
What a fantastic day Saturday was! At noon, 25-28 dolphin defenders braved hurricane Tammy in Boston at the Japanese Consulate, joining activists all over the globe to protest the brutal, annual dolphin slaughter.
A few Earth Island Institute and Sea Shepherd Conservation activists, including Captain Ron Canning, dolphin expert, joined Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC) activists to protest.
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| Boston Demonstration. Photo MARC |
Although the cynical, apathetic Boston media ignored the event as usual, one of the people on our media list actually joined us as a protester! And a packet will be hand delivered to the Japanese Consulate on Tuesday that includes footage of the slaughter and other pertinent materials. We have also begun a letter writing/phone calling campaign with our group.
One police officer showed up to check things out and told us he loved dolphins and wished us good luck and success!
We even managed to leaflet about 1500 copies of our flier that gave people ways to take action to stop this atrocity.
Altogether, a great, albeit wet and windy, day!!
– Thanks to Helen & Steve Rayshick, The Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition
BRUSSELS: The Protest Grows
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| Photo Dauphinlibre |
A big thanks to our great friend Ric O’Barry but also to One Voice, Earth Island Institute and Elsa Nature Conservancy who were able to gather such a lot of people around the world with one single precise target: To stop the awful and inhumane cetacean slaughter in Japan !
For more information and pictures to come on my website, but in short, we can say this demo was a big success in Brussels too!
www.dauphinlibre.be
– Thanks to Yvon Godefroid Bruxelles, For a Dolphinarium-free Belgium
DUBLIN: Young People Meet Japanese Embassy Officials
The Dublin protest was carried out by a group of young adults who emphasized the message that they were the ones who were going to have to deal with the problems created by the present generation and as such were asking that the slaughter be stopped.
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| Kevin O’Hare Photo |
Although the Embassy was closed, the Cultural Attaché and the Researcher/Advisor to the Ambassador met with the protesters to accept a letter. They stood and talked with the protesters and allowed everyone their say. While the group was relatively small we are very happy at the response of the Embassy and their promise to communicate with us on Tokyo’s reaction to the day and any decisions taken.
Lets hope we never have to protest on this particular issue again; nice thought eh!?
– Thanks to Pauline Beades, Irish Seal Sanctuary
HONG KONG: We Have Collected about a Few Hundred Letters
We passed the letters to the Japan Consulate General Office during the Japan Dolphin Day but the media didn’t show up.
So far, we have collected about a few hundred letters to protest against the Japan dolphin slaughtering, and the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society was interviewed by three local newspapers and a radio show about the Japan slaughtering. So we did our best to spread the news around despite our limited time, but hopefully we can gather more support in the coming year.
– Thanks to Samuel Hung, Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society
HONOLULU: Twenty People Gathered Outside the Consulate
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| Photo Cathy Goeggel |
The Consulate called Honolulu PD, and when Sgt Pink arrived, he told us that we were totally within our rights and told us to call 911 if we had any difficulty. No media came, but the security guard at the Consulate was very supportive, reading our literature, agreeing with us and even offering us ice water!
Twenty is a very respectable number for Hawai’i – we don’t generally have that many at our demos.
– Thanks to Cathy Goeggel
KAIKOURA: Protesting the Dolphin Slaughter
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/marlboroughexpress/0,2106,3439221a6008,00.html
Marchers ignored the rain in Kaikouram, New Zealand, on Saturday as they staged a protest against the slaughter each year of 20,000 dolphins and whales in Japan. Sixty people marched in the rain from Whale Watch to the town’s amphitheater in the only protest organized in New Zealand as part of a worldwide day of action. The French-based conservation group One Voice organized the protest. Staff from Whale Watch and from Dolphin Encounter, Kaikoura’s leading marine mammal viewing operators, took part. Kaikoura marine wildlife artist Rio Rossellini organized the march. Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society Australasia scientist Phillippa Brakes told the marchers 20,000 porpoises, dolphins and whales were killed around Japan every year.
One of the methods used - the drive hunt - involved rounding up large groups of mammals at sea and driving them to shore, where they were held, sometimes for days, in a shallow bay or harbor before being killed or taken for display in captivity.
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"The aquarium industry subsidizes the slaughter of these animals by offering thousands of dollars to buy a few dolphins, which are selected from the shallow waters of the blood filled slaughter pools," Ms. Brakes said. The society learned on Thursday of a meeting between the Taiji fisherman and the dolphin capture industry, in which the fisherman planned to take more dolphins and more species, one of which would be the Pacific white-sided dolphin, Ms. Brakes said.
There is an alternative to which Kaikoura is a testament to, that whales and dolphins are worth more alive than dead through responsible whale and dolphin watching ventures. Ms. Rossellini was delighted at the big turnout, as it showed people were really concerned about the issue.
– Thanks to Cathy Williamson, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
LONDON: Huge Protest
www.marineconnection.org/news/general/8Oct_protest_report.htm
Today’s protest in London to support the Japan Dolphin Day worldwide,
was a huge success with well over 200 people in attendance.
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| CARS Photo |
The dolphin van driven and arranged by Andy Starbuck, drove around the area with the "Stop the dolphin slaughter" message and mural which raised a lot of public interest. Red flowers covered the steps of the Japanese Embassy and the Marine Connection "dolphin" danced along enthusiastically outside the embassy holding a placard. More signatures were collected to hand over to the ambassador in the coming weeks, and all the group’s supporters and staff were fantastic - people brought along posters and banners in Japanese and English; we all chanted to the accompaniment of drums, rattles and whistles – it was a truly great atmosphere.
When the protest ended some retired to the nearby park to collect more signatures and drum for the dolphins. As we had to clear the steps of the embassy, the Marine Connection collected all the flowers which are gong to be placed at the "Animals in War" Memorial in Park Lane along with a poster in memory of the dolphins who have died in Japan.
Sincere thanks to all who came along and contributed to the protest, many of whom traveled long distances just to add their support. Special thanks to Will for his great organizational skills, and Andy for braving the traffic fumes of London to bring the message to the people - let us hope that we all, in our own small way, have helped to raise awareness of the slaughter – Japan can no longer hide behind closed doors and must be held accountable for, and made to stop all dolphin hunts which cause unnecessary suffering and death every year.
– Thanks to Margaux Dodds, Marine Connection
LOS ANGELES: How can you help but agree with our cause?
I went to the dolphin demo in downtown LA. Usually there are few people walking the streets on a Saturday since everybody goes home to the suburbs (it’s not like San Francisco or New York). Instead, there were hundreds of people because the demo took place at 350 South Grand and today was the day of the Grand Ave "Taste of LA" and Faire. There were opera singers, salsa bands, actors on stilts, food from top LA restaurants, etc.
The group actually ran out of petitions and had to find a copy machine. People were very polite, friendly and supportive as a rule. We were hassled by the police at first but it was so funny that we couldn’t stop laughing. We weren’t militant people who were posing a threat. This pretty Austrian girl charmed them, and they took pictures of us and the police with our sign. The police were smiling. Afterward, they said they shouldn’t have done it, but I don’t think the City police supervisors have anything against this particular demo. How can you help but agree with our cause?
– Thanks to Cecilia Elman
MEXICO CITY: Spectacular Success of Demo in Mexico City
The Mexican group Comarino made our demo at the Japan embassy on Friday (Oct. 7th), as on Saturdays, the embassy is closed, and there are no people inside or on the streets.
We brought a big banner eight meters long with the legend: “Japan: stop the dolphin slaughter in Taiji”. We also brought some posters written both in Spanish and Japanese with the same legend.
Although the weather has been terrible due to the hurricanes that have devastated my country, there was no rain during our demo, which contributed to many people coming with us.
We were approximately 120 people plus the people that were passing by and supporting us.
The Japanese Embassy is located on the most important avenue in Mexico City: Paseo de la Reforma. And on Friday noon it is a crowded avenue, with people both on foot and in cars.
We were outside the embassy, and we decided to take all our propaganda, including the very big banner, to the line of cars at the red light. Every time the red light came on, we would step in front of the cars screaming our chant: “Dolphins yes, not blood!” (This makes sense in Spanish, and it is also a chant that we call in Spanish a Porra – what people say in baseball games to support their team.) In this case, our chant was for “the dolphins, the dolphins, rah-rah-rah!”
In an incredible response, people in their cars started to sound the claxons of their cars in a way Mexicans use to express solidarity. We use this on the same Paseo de la Reforma Avenue when a Mexican soccer team wins and people want to celebrate, but most of all express solidarity. They also raised their thumbs to us saying “well done”.
There was coverage on TV, radio and newspapers. Every red light we would be in front of the cars with our big “Japan, stop the dolphin slaughter!”, and all our posters, pictures, etc., letting people know, so that people in cars could learn what our demo was about… And always we had the same strong response.
Let me tell you just one story: In one of the cars there was a couple just married; in the back of the car, the bride in her white dress. When she saw us she raised her thumb, then her husband tried to stop her! Then she stood up and went to the claxon and started to sound it to us in that Mexican way – just amazing!!
In this way we were doing this all the time. I can say we were 120 people, but made noise as 500, and no less than 800 people supported us from their cars.
Finally we all went back to the embassy gate, which was closed to us and with 3 police cars, to deliver our letters addressed to the ambassador. We were giving the person, in charge of receiving, the letters and about 500 signatures, when someone from the embassy from the 4th floor dropped some plastic white scrap pieces on our people in a clear sign of aggression. In a very civic/pacific manner, we responded with a strong porra-chant for the dolphins.
Finally we said good bye and peacefully applauded all of the participants in this great demo.
I cannot remember a better demo for any environmental issue in Mexico City, at least in the last 8 years.
People were fully with us which means they love dolphins and hate the killing.
We have been working hard to get to TV stations, passing along the video that Ric sent us. So far TV Azteca, which is the second biggest TV station in all Mexico had an excellent report on TV, including the recreation and dolphin slaughter.
Next Tuesday we will be on TV and radio stations nation-wide too. We brought all the Futo and Taiji videos we have. The journalist is a very strong and aggressive man, and he is completely on our side, since his wife and daughter love dolphins.
– Thanks to Laura Rojas and Yolanda Alaniz, Comarino
MIAMI: Even the Police Officer Was Sympathetic
The protest in Miami was very successful, with about 40 protesters showing up carrying graphic banners and signs.
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| Malcom Brenner Photo |
Protesters were stationed at 3 corners of the busy intersection. Many cars and trucks honked in approval of our message: JAPAN, STOP THE DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER.
Many thanks to those who attended on a very hot Saturday afternoon to speak out on behalf of the dolphins in Japan.
– Thanks to Helene O’Barry & Gwen McKenna, One Voice
NASSAU: Bahamas Protest
Nassau had rain during most of our protest, however we had a lot of traffic from tourists. We have no embassy here, so we protested in our main square on the main street and got quite a bit of international exposure.
Those that watched the video were horrified – we collected over 500 signatures. We have also collected signature via our web site.
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| Sam Duncombe, Reearth Photo |
The press interviewed us, so there should be a news story or 2 breaking on Monday.
Huge thanks to everyone who sent support materials and to everyone who turned up in the Bahamas to gather signatures, set up video, make signs, and ads.
– Thanks to Sam Duncombe
Nassau Guardian
October 10, 2005
Save the dolphins
By JIMENITA SWAIN, Guardian Senior Reporter
Environmentalists and president of re-Earth, Sam Duncombe, protested the slaughter of 20,000 dolphins and small whales Saturday, when she took to the streets seeking signatures to end the practice.
Mrs. Duncombe collected just over 500 signatures for her petition, to urge Japanese officials to stop the slaughter of Japanese dolphins.
The global protests were observed by 81 environmental groups from 40 cities, who expressed their displeasure with the slaughter of the dolphins by Japanese fishermen. While in Rawson Square for about three hours, she also allowed members of the public to view a 30-minute document produced by a French Animal protection agency called ’One Voice,’ on the killing of dolphins in Japan in a process called "drive fisheries".
"The Japanese fishermen say that the reason they are doing it is because dolphins and the fishermen are competing for fish," she said.
She pointed out that, "The fact of the matter is the reason that there are less fish is that globally, we are fishing out the fisheries. The other reason is that Japanese people do eat dolphins and whales."
She explained that the problem with people eating dolphins and whales "is that their mercury level is six times higher than what the accepted levels should be. They are very contaminated and mercury leads to a lot of birth defects and problems for children".
The other side of the coin with regard to dolphins is that "the captive dolphin industry actually goes in, and in the middle of the slaughter, they select the dolphins that they want to put in aquariums and "swim-with-the-dolphin" programs around the world," she said.
Mrs. Duncombe said the ban of this practice is important because dolphins are in decline worldwide.
A local concern for her "is that the Marine Mammal Act which was passed, allows for the importation of dolphins. The government of the Bahamas has allowed, as far as we know, Atlantis to operate a dolphin facility. We are very concerned about where Atlantis is getting their dolphins from and that has never been brought to the public."
The Marine Mammals Protection Act passed in June, provides for the protection and management of marine mammals within an exclusive economic zone, the appointment of marine mammal inspectors, licensing of captive marine mammal facilities and the implementation of restrictions.
Research indicates though that several local animal rights organizations, such as the Alliance for Marine Mammals, Advocates for Animal Rights and The Bahamas Humane Society, have been pressing the government since 1994 to prohibit the capture, import and export of dolphins.
The re-Earth president said she in no way supports the practice of dolphin swim with programs. In addition she called on the Government tostringently monitor what is happening with the imported dolphins.
Even though it is considered traditional the eating of dolphin and whales, Mrs. Duncombe said, "bull fighting is traditional in Spain but its barbaric and cruel. This fisheries is no different."
Simply put she stated that, "some traditions need to be stopped".
She asked The Bahamas government how they determined whether or not the imported dolphins were not selected at these Japanese slaughter sites.
NEW YORK: International Day of Protest
Standing in a constant rain from the remnants of the latest tropical storm, and despite threats of bombs in baby strollers in the NYC subways, NEW YORK STOOD FIRM FOR DOLPHINS with a GREAT SHOW of support to SHUT DOWN THE DRIVE FISHERIES.
The NY Police Department accommodated us with a barricaded area on Park Ave. in front of the Japanese Consulate building. Wet protesters chanted loudly, 3 bullhorns strong, while a large blow-up dolphin hung upside down, imitating the treachery in the Taiji video. Bill Rossiter wore one of Ben White’s dolphin suits from the Cancun WTO meetings, and passers-by on the streets and in cars responded positively.
Considering the rain and terror threat that came with a psychological effect that made people uncomfortable, having approximately 40 people was simply amazing! Most of the groups sent a few representatives, and lots of flyers were given out. ABC, one filmmaker, and two reporters also joined us.
There was a heavy police presence in transit hubs in NYC which probably explains why only one police officer stood with us during the event; this also explains the difficulty getting that permit in hand yesterday.
Waking up this morning I thought, we have rain, we have a bomb threat, and we will have no one at this event. How wrong I was! MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO JOINED US UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, and the spirit you brought with you!
Use this link to tell the Japanese prime minister and his cabinet to SHUT DOWN THE DRIVE FISHERIES!
www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment.html
Oddly, the contact link for Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is not working.
Here is my message to the Japanese government sent from this site:
By this time, you have certainly been made aware of the International Day of Protest against the Japanese Drive Fisheries/Dolphin Slaughter occurring all around the world on October 8, 2005. Please listen to the voices of the people of the same Earth that Japan shares its home with. In case you didn’t hear it on the streets:
STOP THE DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER.
STOP THE MASSACRE KNOWN AS THE DRIVE FISHERIES.
BAN THE SALE OF DOLPHINS FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN, FROM JAPANESE WATERS, TO ANY AQUARIUM OR SWIM-WITH-THE DOLPHIN FACILITY.
OBSERVE THE HIGH LEVELS OF Hg (MERCURY) and CH3Hg (Methyl Mercury) and BAN THE SALE OF CETACEAN MEAT, whale or dolphin, in any location in Japan, to PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC.
The outrage, the disgust here on the street is incredible. Pay attention, because through public perception this shame hangs over the Japanese nation, although only only a few greedy whalers and dolphin aquarium owners facilitate it.
You will continue to hear our voices of protest, loudly and clearly, from all corners of the world, as long as this brutal assault on cetaceans continues. This will not be over until you stop the killing.
STOP IT NOW!
– Thanks to Taffy Lee Williams, New York Whale and Dolphin Action League
OKINAWA: A Very Successful Japan Dolphin Day
I am hopeful that you shared the same positive response that we received from Okinawan citizens and thought you might be curious how it went for us here.
Briefly, despite an 11th hour panic attack after realizing I had mis-translated a Japanese portion of our t-shirts and fliers, and thus only 2 1/2 hours of sleep – we feel that we had a very successful Japan Dolphin Day!
Today, Okinawa had several events going on around the island that we had to compete with – but to our luck – the sea wall area was hosting a surfing contest! Therefore we moved our petition walk to this location. It was the RIGHT choice!
To prepare, we:
- Ordered multiple copies of all 5 petitions.
- Created t-shirts with a logo on the front and a large graphic photo on the back (with website addresses) so that we were walking billboards.
- Laminated copies of the Drive Fishery Leaflet (only in English, unfortunately) to hand to people to look over before signing the petitions.
- Created "quick glance" info cards for printing onto business cards to pass out to those who sign the petition.
- Carried large helium dolphin balloons (tied to our backpacks).
- Decided that interacting with the public vs. sitting at a table in one location would make us more approachable, therefore we chose to walk the length of the sea wall, which is a very popular public location that attracts every walk of life (tourists, locals, surfers, divers, fisherman, families, couples, businesses, etc).
While there were only 4 of us – it was truly for the better. Individual, one-on-one discussions seem to go MUCH further here than to have a large-group-approach, which might have intimidated people.
The results: During our entire walk of the sea wall, we had only a handful of rejections and 200+ signatures!
This number certainly pales in comparison to other worldwide locations I’m sure, however, this is Okinawa – and 200 signatures from an otherwise very "shy" public was beyond our expectations! Signers ranged in age from early 20’s to an 80-something woman (who was very supportive).
We feel that promotional/informational materials MUST be in JAPANESE as well as English. We were somewhat surprised that there are very few "materials" available in Japanese. While the rest of the world is outraged over the dolphin drives (and info is easy to find in English) – it is apparent that the Japanese simply do not know enough about them and need proof of their existence in order to rally against them. As for what we created, we will gladly share it with anyone who requests it.
After our positive experience today, we feel that Okinawa could, with an organized effort, come to embrace a ban on dolphin fishing & consumption – and – PERHAPS – Okinawa could be a stepping stone to getting all of Japan aware of what’s going on in places like Taiji.
If Okinawa is going to be dependent upon selling itself as a land of environmental awareness while professing their love and concern for the protection of their pristine waters and marine life, then they need to walk the walk – which means including ALL "at-risk" marine life that inhabits the waters here, not just an exclusive few.
It was a privilege to participate in Japan Dolphin Day, and our only regret is that we didn’t consider this MUCH sooner. But, as the old saying goes, "Better late than never." We have already decided that this will not be a one-day event for us, but rather something we will focus on as often as possible. We will continue to pursue signatures on petitions, and awareness walks/events.
– Thanks to Kim Petersen, Jennifer Ratliff, Greg Leisure and Rika Leisure, Voices For Animals, Okinawa
PARIS: Fight for Cetaceans
The protest was also successful in Paris and Strasbourg! I think we were around 200 people in Paris! The good thing was to fight against the captivity industry and not against Japanese people who don’t know what is happening in their own country.
Thank you to One Voice, which organized it very well and to Ric O’Barry who, succeeded in gathering so much people everywhere!
Some journalists and photographers came too, and a friend will write an article for the French magazine "Oceans". It was also a very nice thing that people came to fight for cetaceans and not to represent their organization!
Hoping it will be heard so that we won’t have to protest again next year!
Merci!!
– Thanks to Pamela Carzon, Nomades des Oceans
ROME: Japan Dolphin Day in Italy
Today (Oct. 11th) we had a very successful demo. It was today because the 8th there it was the media strike until Sunday, and we changed the date.
We were 37 people from our association, and at first the Police central office refused to us to give the permit for the demo in front of the embassy. But the detective inspector was in agreement with the reason of our demonstration and gave us the permit to stay there in front of the Embassy gate! They all signed the petition and took the leaflets. But no one signed, gestured or even a nod from the Embassy. I had sent a letter to the Ambassador asking for a meeting, but I still have not received a reply. We had many pictures taken by an Italian who is working in the Embassy…maybe it was for a report, like the police inspector?
As you can see from the pics on our website from the demo, we were dressed in dolphin costumes, and we had signs in Italian, English and Japanese. Many people walking in the street were very attracted by the video and by the big posters with the dolphin slaughter – they stopped and took leaflets and signed the petition, too. A bus driver stopped his bus, in the middle of the street, and he came to sign the petition! Everything was very funny. People in cars passing through the street said to us: "Well done. Thanks for all you doing for dolphins.” Everything was very funny and made us very happy. And this helped us to understand that most of the time, people simply ignored many “crimes” like this.
Many journalists covered the event and on the evening news on the first RAI channel was the demo report. We will see it in the newspaper tomorrow. Many press agency, ANSA included, made their report.
I want to thank very much Ric O’Barry for his idea and all his important work that through the years has given us sense and argument for our battle against the dolphins’ slaughter. Thanks to Paul Watson and to the Sea Shepherd crew for their precious images and their work. Thanks to all the anti-captivity people and groups that they have helped me in these years to lead a campaign and to learn so many things from their most precious experience. Thanks to Ben White.
Following an appeal by the Animalisti Italiani Association, the Green Parliamentary Luana Zanella has presented a motion in Parliament asking our government and the EU for initiatives aimed at condemning these act and asking the Japanese Government to put an end to this barbarous and cruel practice. The motion has also been seconded by the Italian Parliamentary: Boato, Bulgarelli, Cento, Cima, Lion e Pecoraro Scanio.
– Thanks to Ilaria Ferri, Animalisti Italiani Onlus
RUSSIA: Animal Rights Group Protests Japanese Dolphin Slaughter
(MOSCOW) Oct 8 (Interfax link) – The Russian animal rights protection center Vita has urged the Japanese government to impose a ban on the catching and slaughtering of dolphins. In connection with Japan Dolphin Day, internationally observed on October 8, Vita sent an appeal to Japanese Ambassador in Russia Issei Nomura, calling on Japan "to stop one of the major dolphin slaughtering campaigns in the world, conducted annually near the Japanese coast."
The dolphin hunt near the Japanese coast is "carried out in the cruelest way," the appeal says. Japanese fishermen approach the migration routes of dolphins and other whales on small boats, Vita said in the document. "Once dolphins find themselves near the boats, fishermen surround them, put metal pipes underwater and start banging. Dolphins, hypersensitive to sound, lose their orientation, panic and try to escape the noise. They are so directed into a shallow bay. Then fishermen wound several dolphins with a knife or a spear, knowing that dolphins never abandon their wounded fellows. After that, the entire shoal is locked in the bay with nets, and they are killed with spears and knives the next morning," the document says. "The dead and dying dolphins are thrown into the boats and later cut into pieces for sale at Japanese supermarkets and restaurants, often under the guise of meat of larger whales, which is more expensive. A number of dolphins are left alive for sale to dolphinariums in different parts of the world," the appeal reads.
– Thanks to Howard Garrett, Orca Network, and the Russian folks at Vita
SAN FRANCISCO: A Glad Time Was Had by All
About 80 people showed in San Francisco for our Japan Dolphin Day event. No media came, although I did field a call later from local Berkeley radio station KPFA (the reporter had previously talked with Helene O’Barry in Florida). We got great footage of the demo and especially the children in HD digital.
Represented were In Defense of Animals (IDA), America’s Whale Alliance (with their Whale Bus, although an electrical problem shut down their video & stereo), the Endangered Species Club of Sonoma (about half-a-dozen high school girls), Seaflow, Sea Shepherd, Hardy Jones from BlueVoice.com, and Earth Island Institute (plus one very large inflatable blue dolphin and lots of dolphin foam hats). Michael Reppy also made a very nice memorial to Ben White, with a photo of him and flowers, and his name has been added to the Whale Bus as a dedication.
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| Photo by Michael Reppy |
The high school girls were really a treat and into it. They got into chanting, then borrowed the megaphone and began parading around the four corners during green lights, shouting slogans "Mammals for mammals," "Save the dolphins," "We love dolphins," and holding their save-the-dolphins signs, etc. They were followed by two cute children dressed all in pink, carrying a banner between them. Our videographer said they gave him the best shots of the day. I managed to be in the middle of our blue inflatable dolphin, which others made us hold up on our heads so "people can see it better," and then WE began dragging the dolphin around the corners (also during green lights) following the high school girls.
So, good turn-out, good footage of the demo (lots of still photos too for the website and Earth Island Journal), and everyone had fun. Sorry about the lack of media, but the SF press is pretty jaded about demonstrations. Plus they don’t come out on a Saturday if they can help it…
Thanks to IDA, Michael Reppy, the high school kids, the Seaflow crowd, and America’s Whale Alliance for helping pull all this together and coordinating a very successful demo.
– Thanks to Mark J. Palmer and Michael Reppy, Earth Island Institute
SEATTLE: They heard all About the Japan Dolphin Slaughter Today
The people of Seattle and western Washington heard all about the Japan dolphin slaughter today. Fanning out to cover all four corners of one of the busiest downtown intersections, in front of the Japanese embassy, about 60 demonstrators held a wide variety of signs telling people the dolphin slaughter has to stop. Many hundreds of flyers were handed out and the response was overwhelmingly supportive. Most people simply had no idea the dolphin drives were still going on.
The message was amplified to the public on Seattle talk radio, and all three major TV stations. Seattle now knows the dolphin slaughters are still going on, and I’m pretty sure Seattle doesn’t like it.
Thanks to everyone who showed up and helped make this happen - it was great to join together to speak out on behalf of the dolphins.
– Thanks to Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, Orca Network
TORONTO: We Marched through Downtown Toronto
More than 125 protesters attended the Toronto demo wearing dolphins on their heads and carrying banners and signs. We gathered in front of the consulate to do the media, but the location was not ideal to get the message to many people as it is located in our business district, which is very quiet on weekends. Then we marched through downtown Toronto with a police escort stopping traffic for the protesters. All the police were very supportive of the issue - a nice change for us. We ultimately stopped at Toronto’s busiest square in the center of the City and handed out more than 500 leaflets and talked to people about the issue.
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| Photo Zoocheck Canada |
It was quite a sight to see with dolphins dancing in the street; we had no problem attracting attention to the issue.
We got lots of great photos and video to send along to the Japanese government officials.
I will send out some photos with a letter to the Canadian Japanese Embassy in Ottawa explaining what happened in Toronto and our position on the drive fishery next week.
Thanks so much Ric, Helen, Paul, Allison and others who are working so hard on this issue.
– Thanks to Julie Woodyer, Zoocheck Canada
TURKEY: We Protect the Dolphins Today
We protect the dolphins TODAY.
Please open the website and click the ENGLISH PAGE.
www.geocities.com/yunussevgisi/
(English page)
www.geocities.com/yunussevgisi/english.htm
Please send group emails to protest JAPAN / TAIJI. Please forward this website to all your friends.
– Thanks to Gizel Hazan, Izmir-Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC: We Had People of All Ages
The Washington DC protest took place in torrential rain, but despite the weather, we had a great turnout - around 70 very wet people by one count. NBC showed up for about an hour though sadly we didn’t see any TV coverage later in the day. We had fifty-odd foam dolphin headdresses which looked very effective and had people banging PVC ’pipes’ to simulate the way the fishermen use noise to drive the dolphins ashore. A couple of bullhorns and some great chants by Kelcey Meadows of Humane Society of the US (HSUS) kept everyone’s spirits up.
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We had people of all ages and from all walks of life, the oldest being in his 80’s and the youngest a babe in arms. The protest was dedicated to Ben White, and one of his friend’s, Deb Adams, evens flew in from Ohio to come to the event. We were all lined up along either side of the usually sedate and conservative Massachusetts Avenue in the Embassy district of DC and had signs and banners to signal to passing cars. We received loads of honks and thumbs up. The secret service and DC police and were pretty cooperative and controlled the traffic for us - one policeman even took a dolphin home for his daughter.
I am very grateful to everyone from Animal Welfare Institute, HSUS and Sea Shepherd who all worked so hard before and during the event and to all the poor souls who turned out in such miserable weather.
– Thanks to Susan Tomiak, Animal Welfare Institute
ZAGREB: We Joined the Thousands of Protesters from Around the World
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| Photo Animal Freinds Croatia |
The protest on the Japanese Dolphin Day was held in Zagreb, 8th October 2005, in front of the Japanese Embassy in the street J. R. Boskovica 2, starting at 12 noon.
Three TV crews and four newspapers reported from the demo.
– Thanks to Bernard Vjeran Franolic, Animal Friends Croatia
ZURICH: A Slightly Different Approach
In Switzerland, OceanCare has been joining the international protest against the drive fisheries in Japan with a slightly different approach:
Protest card: We have distributed 100‚000 cards and are convinced that most of them have been sent to the Japanese Embassy in Berne by individual people.
Lucky ribbons : We handed out 7500 textile ribbons (8x80cm) with the emblem of the postcard. On them, friends of the endangered dolphins have created good luck oracles in word and image. This is part was done in a cooperation of OceanCare, Vier Pfoten, Zürcher Tierschutz and Tierschutz Bund. So far we have received approximately 800 painted ribbons, which we tied on long ropes and will continue to do so.
Protest drumming in Zurich and Press Conference : At the famous Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich near the Paradeplatz, we held a public protest action on October 1st right before the world animal day. With us were two Swiss musicians playing the Japanese drums. With this element we showed that we respect and honor culture and tradition, yet reject and protest against something which has nothing to do with these elements. The square was decorated with hundreds of lucky ribbons that we had received. From 10:30am until 14:30pm the majestic drum beats could be heard very far and attracted hundreds of people, who were obviously very touched by what is going on in Japan. Different radio stations announced the event, the local TV station was with us, and a number of Swiss newspapers wrote about the drive hunts and protest. At the press conference that was held just before the drumming started, a prominent Swiss business lady, well known and respected for her clear words, spoke about ethics and tradition in regard to the cruel hunts. Another guest who supported us was a lady who is well known from the national Swiss TV. Some larger articles by important Swiss newspapers and magazines are still in the pipeline.
Further actions : We are planning to present the lucky ribbons to the Japanese Embassy in Berne. The date is not yet defined, but it will be in the near future.
We are aware that our contribution to the pressure was not completely in line with the international coordination. However, our work leaves us also the possibility to do various follow-up actions with the lucky ribbons (i.e. at the Japans Embassy in Bern, at the Consulate in Bern and Zurich, the Japanese Culture Centre in Bern as well as the Swiss Japanese Chamber of commerce in Zurich).
Serving the common goal, we hope with you all that the madness of Japanese drive hunts will come to an end.
– Thanks to Sigi Luber, OceanCare