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Good evening friends.  Dr. Harp Seal here.

Tonight we take it to Taiji Japan and shine more light on their horrific Dolphin Drive Hunt. Many of us first heard about this dolphin hunt from the award winning documentary movie “The Cove” that came out in 2009. —  The Cove put this barbaric hunt on center stage for the world to see. Unfortunately this has been going on for decades.  It has become to be known as “Taiji’s dirty little secret” — And my friends, that is putting it very mildly.

Lets see how the fisherman  lure the pods of dolphins into the cove. Once a pod is located, the fisherman form a V shape surrounding the dolphins with their boats. The dolphin hunters then lower steel poles, one on each side of each boat.  Then they start hammering the top of the poles. This creates sounds that terrify and disorient the dolphins causing them to swim into the open part of the V shape and in the direction of the driving boats, forcing the pod into the Cove where the shallow waters are.

Once the Dolphins are in the cove, the hunters simply lay the nets down from one side of the cove to other and the pods are trapped. At this point the marine mammal trainers will join the actual hunters in the shallow waters selecting the prettiest dolphins to take into captivity. The ones that are not selected get brutally slaughtered for their meat. No compassion whatsoever is shown by the hunters for baby dolphins, pregnant females, or grandparents, all are killed.

Normally the hunters wait until the very early next morning to inflict such horrors on these defenseless mammals.  The hunters deliberately wait until the next morning to commit their slaughter. They do this for two reasons.  Firstly, they’ve been out all day and want to get home. Secondly, by the time regular civilians of Taiji walk by, the bloodied waters have turned blue again.  The dolphins are killed by spear thrusts as well as sharp fishermen’s hooks. Another words, repeatedly stabbed to death.  Some dolphins take as much as 30 minutes to die.

Many people ask why the dolphins don’t just jump the nets ?  After all dolphins can jump very high out of the water, jumping the nets would be no problem for them.  The thing about that is Dolphins don’t understand artificial boundaries like nets and other fishing barricades, the only boundaries dolphin’s know are The shoreline and the Ocean’s surface.  So for them to jump the nets would be jumping into the unknown. That is not a jump they are willing to make.

Once the movie “The Cove” came out the Fisherman tailored their killing methods. One method they use is to force a sharp metal spike into the dolphins’ necks, which is supposed to sever the spinal cord and and kill them instantaneously. Meaning a more humane kill. Boy that sure does Not sound to Humane to me.  The hunters then use wooden corks to fill in the wounds and reduces the blood spilled to hide their dastardly acts. The Fisherman even pull the dolphins underneath plastics tarps to prevent cove guardians or the general media from getting footage of it. As I am reading this I cannot believe the Japanese government allows this to go on.

Now Its interesting to note the Captivity market acts innocent as they are not the ones actually killing the dolphins. And yet the Marine life trainers so cavalierly join the Hunters in the selection process knowing the vicious cycle they are partaking in.  I will take it a step further, not only are the Marine life trainers from the captivity market partaking in this barbaric hunt, but the Captivity Market itself is whats driving this hunt altogether. We will talk about that shortly .

Let’s look at why the Government of Japan allows this 21 Century Holocaust to harbor on their shores. And make no mistake, this is nothing short of a Holocaust.

Firstly, the Government says the main reason for the Dolphin hunt is to provide dolphin meat to the Japanese people. This has been shot down by Animal Welfare organizations as a result of dolphin meat containing very high levels PCB and Mercury.  Now just to note, PCB’s have been shown to cause cancer and a number of serious non-cancer health effects in animals and people including effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, The Japanese people are very aware of the health risks regarding dolphin meat, and as a result rarely eat it. So that reason by the government just Does Not add up.

Secondly, The Japanese Government says the Dolphin hunts are also a from of Pest Control. The fisherman argue that dolphins eat too much fish and therefore the fisherman need to kill the competition. Its hard to believe the dolphins are being blamed when overfishing in the Ocean by people is a global problem.  The dolphins are not the reason for the scarcity of fish, overfishing around the world is the reason.

The Japanese government says the same thing about Whales to the the International Whaling Commission — that Whales eat to much fish and therefore need to be killed.  The International Whaling Commission has put a moratorium on hunting whales, but to no avail. Japan continues their whale hunts.

Speaking of Moratoriums, in 2015, after years of negotiations, The World Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums suspended the membership of the Japanese Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums for not adhering to the policies that prohibit cruel methods of taking animals from the wild. The Japanese Association for Zoo’s and Aquariums also rejected a two year moratorium on taking animals from the drive. Japan has made it very clear that their dolphin hunt drives will be defended and continued despite all the world pressure.  Each year Japan allows up to 20,000 in total dolphin and small whales to be killed. In Taiji alone, 1500 to 2000 are killed in The Cove.

Its important to point out, its the Japanese Government and Fishery agencies that allow the fisherman to carry our this horrendous hunt. It is not the fault of Japanese people. Many of them now are in uproars over the dolphin hunt as well.

And of course the good ole “Tradition and cultural excuse” — Lets hear what Rick O’Barry, Director of Earth Island’s Dolphin Project has to say about that.  Here’s his quote; “This claim of ‘Japanese tradition’ is nonsense,” — “The dolphin drive hunts, according to the town’s own written history, says a couple of drive hunts occurred in 1936 and 1944, but the current series of hunts only began in 1969″ — I was always under the impression that traditions and Cultures had at least hundreds of years behind them, sometimes thousands.

Rick O’Barry has really lead the charge against the Dolphin Hunts in Taiji Japan. Mr. O’Barry arguably knows dolphins better than anyone in the world. He actually started out as a dolphin trainer. Rick O’Barry was first recognized for capturing and training 5 dolphins for the 1960’s TV series: “Flipper” — Soon after, O’Barry went from training dolphins in captivity to tirelessly combating the Captivity industry. This was triggered by one of the five dolphins he trained named Kathy who died in his arms. O’Barry believed Kathy committed suicide.

In 1970 he started the Dolphin Project and has never looked back. He’s been fighting for Dolphins and other marine life for the last 46 years.  He has put Taiji’s dirty little secret on the world stage for all to see. Friends when you have time, please checkout DolphinProject.net to keep up with the latest news on the plight of the dolphins.

So what is the real reason behind the Dolphin Hunts in Japan ?

The Captivity Market is a Multi Billion Dollar market.  Captured dolphins can go for anywhere from $30,000 to up $250,000. Just think about those numbers for a moment, they’re staggering. Its interesting to note that for a dead dolphin’s meat, hunters only get 600 dollars. Why is the price so low for dolphin meat ?  Very simply, nobody really wants it anymore. Money is whats driving the captivity market, plain ole money. As to why the hunters slaughter the dolphins, it has very little do with the 600 dollars they receive for dolphin meat that nobody wants. And has everything to do with killing off the competition so they have more fish for themselves.

Resorts around the world offering “Swim with Dolphin” activities buy them, aquariums buy them, Parks and Entertainment companies that have Dolphin up close tours buy them, and so on and so on and so on.

Dolphins can live up 70 years old in the Ocean.  In captivity they die within 20 years or less. Also to note, dolphins swim up to 100 miles in a day or more in the Ocean. Confining them to the waters of theme parks is literally a prison for them.

We also want to give a big Shout Out to Captain Paul Watson.  Captain Watson founded Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 1977. They are known as the Cove Guardians. Sea Sheppard is literally on the front lines trying to get in between the hunters and the dolphins, or trying to lure the dolphins in the opposite direction of the Cove. Some have said She Shepherd’s tactics are sometimes too aggressive.  I beg to differ. We should ask the dolphins being bludgeoned to death how they feel about Sea Shepherd’s efforts. I would imagine we would hear rave reviews from the dolphins.

Captain Watson and Sea Sheppard have made a huge difference in regards to dolphin and whale hunts. Here is a direct quote from him ” “I have been honored to serve the whales, dolphins, seals – and all the other creatures on this Earth. Their beauty, intelligence, strength, and spirit have inspired me. These beings have spoken to me, touched me, and I have been rewarded by friendship with many members of different species” — Please checkout their website; SeaShepherd.org/

We also would like to salute Australia for Dolphins. They have making a substantial difference with the Dolphin Drive hunts in Japan as well and other parts of the world too.  One of Australia for Dolphins key strategies is using the law and the court system to stop illegal hunts.  Additionally they will hold organizations that support Dolphin Hunts accountable through legal actions.

There are many animal activists around the world all over this topic.  Each and everyone of them make a difference.  But the three organizations I just mentioned have really put the spotlight on Taiji Japan for hosting one of the most barbaric and evil hunts on Earth.

Lets flip the script and pretend human beings were getting slaughtered instead of dolphins.  Lets see how the world would tolerate this.  Basically hunters walk into random homes, stab to death a couple of the members of the family in front of other members who have to watch them bleed to death for about 30 minutes. Then the other members of the family are taken and sent to different countries to become slaves and entertain large crowds for amusement. Sometimes the hunters will let a family member or two go because they have no use for them. They don’t like their appearance and feel they would not do well in theme parks.

So the three choices are;

1. You get repeatedly stabbed to death.

2. You have just witnessed your family getting murdered and you are shipped off to another country to be a slave until you die.

3. You are set free having witnessed your family being bludgeoned to death, the other members taken as slaves whom you will Never see again, and you are free to go back to your life and act like none of this happened.

As I just read those three options for Dolphins I realize exactly what is going on here.

This is a 21st Century Holocaust on Dolphins, no question about that. Its every bit as evil.

This is also slavery in the 21st Century. Its Every bit as evil as it was in the 1800’s.

I guess I am in the dark because, I never got the email from God or Mother Nature saying people can decide which animals live, which animals die, and by what numbers.  But I can tell you this, I can certainly understand why Mother Nature hits us with Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tsunamis, Tornado’s, Avalanches, Typhoons, and so on, and so on and so on.

To our dolphin and whale friends we want you to know, None of your lives will go in vain. None of your pain will go unnoticed. Amen. Dr. Harp Seal for Sammy & Family.

Good evening friends.

In the spirit of Poppy Rocky Tuesday evening.  Lets continue the beat of Hope and Possibilities. In all reality, everyday can be a day of Hope and Possibilities.

Which kind of reminds me of Billy Joel’s song “This is the time to remember cause it will not last forever” — Same principal, you really could apply that song to everyday of your life.

We hope you all had a nice day today.  If you did, hit the replay button tomorrow. Let’s repeat what works. If you did not, a good night sleep can give a whole new perspective by tomorrow morning.

OK friends. Lets bring this evening in with a nice Positive Notion.

I. I gave my best today, and my best is always good enough. God willing we get another shot tomorrow.

Signing off from Puerto Rico on day