Quick Links
An open letter to Karen Sausman, President of WAZA:
Karen Sausman, President
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Palm Desert California, U.S.A
Dear Ms. Sausman,
The SaveJapanDolphins coalition is calling on you as president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to take action against the Japanese zoos and aquariums that continue to violate the WAZA code of ethics outlined here: www.waza.org/ethics/index.php?main=ethics&view=ethics.
As WAZA President, you issued a statement (please see attachment) condemning the brutal dolphin slaughter and the related dolphin captures. But, so far, this is all you have done. We appreciate your new statement, but nothing has changed in Taiji or Futo where the brutal dolphin hunt will get underway in September. It’s business as usual for some WAZA members, the Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) and the Japanese dolphin hunters and dolphin dealers.
WAZA’s official position on the Japanese dolphin hunts can be seen as nothing more than an impotent statement if nothing tangible is done to punish the WAZA and JAZA members who continue to ignore WAZA’s code of ethics.
The town of Futo, Japan has a new permit to capture white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) and false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens). We expect to see Pacific bottlenose dolphins (T. gillii or T. truncatus gillii) captured in Taiji. These brutal captures are being conducted by members of JAZA, which is under the umbrella of WAZA. Also the Taiji Whale Museum announced that they intend to capture Orcas (Orcinus orca).
We know that you are expected to step down as president of WAZA sometime in late September. The time is ripe for you to take action. The SaveJapanDolphins coalition and the international marine mammal protection community is calling on WAZA to expel all of the JAZA members who have participated in the violent dolphin captures in Japan before you leave office. Almost every one of the 50 dolphinariums in Japan have purchased dolphins from Futo or Taiji.
As you know, the infamous Taiji Whale Museum is the main dolphin broker in Taiji. We are also calling on you to take action against the Taiji Whale Museum before you leave office in September.
We appreciate that this is a difficult issue for you, but we feel, of course, that the situation of the dolphins is critical, as does the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission and other scientific experts. By taking this important and decisive action, we feel you will leave a legacy of real constructive conservation as WAZA president, and our organization (and many like us) will praise you for your courage.
Sincerely,
Richard O’Barry for:
Susan Millward, Research Associate, Animal Welfare Institute
Dave Phillips, Executive Director, Earth Island Institute
Eiji Fujiwara, President, Elsa Nature Conservancy-Japan
Dr. Elliot Katz, President, In Defense of Animals
www.SaveJapanDolphins.org