Anti-Taiji Protest
Demonstration outside the Japanes Embassy; Mon 1st Sept 2014
Australian Cove Guardian Emillie describes the scene she witnessed at Taiji Cove…
“A pod of 250 bottlenose dolphins spent days netted in the cove while their family unit was torturously torn apart. Dolphins deemed worthy for a life of captivity were stolen away. The remainder waited - disoriented, frightened and hungry until the eventual slaughter. On an almost daily basis I continued to witness intelligent, wild and free dolphin pods systematically driven into the cove only to depart as a commodity, either as a petrified prisoner or lifeless meat for human consumption. Every day, six months of the year, this is the reality of Taiji. And it is a visibly decaying town, symbolic of its archaic practices.”
The Japanese government maintain that Taiji is part of a cultural tradition, and yet the evidence is clear that this is a commercially driven endeavour, with the animals ending up in captivity, on the food market, or simply left injured in the oceans to die. Unlike whales, dolphins do not have an international organisation to offer them protection, so it really is down to us - the people of the international community to care enough to take action for these animals which scientists are increasingly discovering to be highly intelligent, emotional and social beings. "
Read MoreAustralian Cove Guardian Emillie describes the scene she witnessed at Taiji Cove…
“A pod of 250 bottlenose dolphins spent days netted in the cove while their family unit was torturously torn apart. Dolphins deemed worthy for a life of captivity were stolen away. The remainder waited - disoriented, frightened and hungry until the eventual slaughter. On an almost daily basis I continued to witness intelligent, wild and free dolphin pods systematically driven into the cove only to depart as a commodity, either as a petrified prisoner or lifeless meat for human consumption. Every day, six months of the year, this is the reality of Taiji. And it is a visibly decaying town, symbolic of its archaic practices.”
The Japanese government maintain that Taiji is part of a cultural tradition, and yet the evidence is clear that this is a commercially driven endeavour, with the animals ending up in captivity, on the food market, or simply left injured in the oceans to die. Unlike whales, dolphins do not have an international organisation to offer them protection, so it really is down to us - the people of the international community to care enough to take action for these animals which scientists are increasingly discovering to be highly intelligent, emotional and social beings. "
