The Dolphins of Taiji

When I was young, my absolute favorite place to go was the San Francisco Zoo. There's truly nothing greater than getting a chance to see wild animals close-up. But at what cost? I distinctly remember asking my mom, "Why aren't any of the animals playing? Why are they just lying around?" She and my dad would tell me that they're tired. Well I guarantee that is not the case: they are severely depressed. The same goes for places like Sea World. If you ask someone that works at a zoo or animal water park and they tell you that they love animals, then they are either lying to you or lying to themselves. The only way for these animals to be truly happy is to be free.

In places like Sea World and Six Flags Marine World, dolphins and orcas are captured from the wild and put into these glass prisons where they are forced to perform everyday. In the past, they were hunted in enormous quantities. Luckily, the Whaling Commission has made the hunting of dolphins and whales illegal, and it is supported by virtually every nation on Earth.

However, in the small fishing town of Taiji, Japan, the dolphin slaughter rages on. Every year, thousands upon thousands of dolphins and pilot whales are killed in a small cove outside of Taiji. Many are captured and sold to Sea World and other aquarium-style parks. But most are killed and illegally sold to Japanese fish markets, labeled as tuna, mahi mahi, or some other kind of fish. You see, in Japan, there is no market for dolphins as food. This is due to the high level of mercury found in dolphins. So the dolphin meat is mislabeled, and often served as school lunches for children.

*Here are some images of the slaughter. (WARNING: very graphic) http://thevibe.socialvibe.com/index.php/2009/10/29/the-taiji-dolphin-slaughter-continues/

Luckily, there are many people working very hard to stop this atrocity. At the top is former dolphin trainer Richard O'Barry. Originally the capturer and trainer of the multiple dolphins who portrayed Flipper in the 1970's television series of the same name, he has since become one of the world's leading activists against dolphin capture and imprisonment.

*Learn more about Richard and what you can do to help: http://www.savejapandolphins.org/

I hope this post has awakened many of you to the reality of what zoos and aquariums truly are, and hopefully you will join me in my boycott against them.