Issue # 19/17/2013

Introduction

Dolphin Times is a weekly magazine dedicated solely to dolphin-related issues. This issue will cover the new movie Blackfish, provide an update to the beginning season of dolphin slaughter this year, and discuss the dolphin slaughter in the Solomon Islands. Also featured is a video dedicated to our flippered friends in hopes that mankind will right their wrong.

The goal of this magazine is to spread awareness and unite together upon global issues. Please join us in the fight...we need your voice!!!

United we stand, divided we fall.

Featured MediaThe Promise – Let Dolphins Swim Free!

Watch the video NOW!!!

Go to https://vimeo.com/74580691

About “The Promise”Every year, thousands of dolphins are killed in the Solomon Islands and Taiji, Japan. The captive industry encourages and is fully responsible for this slaughter. Essentially what goes on is a dolphin Holocaust. The pretty, nice looking ones are selected to be displayed in "abusement" parks while their families are slaughtered for money.

How it is acceptable to imprison and slaughter in a mass scale one of the most revered and loved species on the planet is beyond my comprehension. Please speak up against this atrocity and turn blue the blood-red seas. If the oceans die, we die. And that is all we care about. Ourselves. That will be the downfall of the "superior" human race and all life on Earth if we don't change our ways.

Do we want to live in a world without dolphins? A world where the minds in the water are enslaved and murdered? A world where children are stripped of their mothers? See the beauty and elegance they display in their home, the ocean. It is time to stand together and FIGHT for our flippered friends. Educate yourselves to the horror now becoming exposed. Watch Blackfish, the new award-winning documentary exposing the truth about SeaWorld.

United we stand, divided we fall.

TAKE ACTION!!!

Blackfish: Friend or Foe? A Splash of an Impact!!!

Blackfish is an award-winning documentary that tells the life story of an orca named Tilikum. Many blame SeaWorld's falling attendance rates to the movie's success. Whether that is the case cannot be 100% proven, but Blackfish has definitely changed the views of many former SeaWorld supporters.

For over half a century, cetaceans have been held in an enclosed environment. One of them, captured in 1983 at the age of two off the coast of Iceland, has been involved in

multiple attacks on trainers. This just shows that captivity not only is harmful to the whales, but also the trainers. This orca, infamously known as Tilikum (meaning friend in Chinook) is the focus and inspiration for the now famed Blackfish documentary, which many see as the source of SeaWorld’s crumble in the stock market. Taking viewers through this whale’s tragic life story, Blackfish exposes the cruel treatment of these

intelligent creatures in captivity and how education has not placed a positive gain upon today’s society.

Tilikum swimming in circles at SeaWorld Orlando

According to Bloomberg, SeaWorld Orlando dropped 6.5 percent in shares this year. The franchise in San Diego has seen the same through ticket price deductions (an attempt to lure more customers in) to a forty-six percent deduction! Is this attendance drop because of Blackfish? Most likely. Considering that it has a box rate of over 1 million dollars, many people have seen it. Furthermore it is noted that protest numbers in San Diego doubled after its screening in local Edwards Cinemas.

Friend to the cetaceans placed in captivity and foe to the owners who hold them, Blackfish has stirred up the foundations of the social norm and has opened the eyes of many to the truth, though not easy to bear. A storm, a hurricane now rages against SeaWorld as the documentary gains popularity, exposing once-closed minds to the horror within the concrete walls.

Pixar Sequel Finding Dory to Change Depiction of Marine Park

Besides being allegedly responsible for the decline in attendance at SeaWorld and activism against it, Blackfish has made several other impacts. In the upcoming sequel to Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, the depiction of a marine park in the movie was changed after the documentary's release. This clearly has SeaWorld's reputation caught in a net. While the whales “just keep swimming,” the park's support is dwindling.

If such opinions were placed in subtext within a Pixar movie, it would perhaps deliver the final blow to SeaWorld. It is no wonder then why SeaWorld denies all claims made in this movie. They are trying the keep the captive industry alive.

Conclusion

All in all, Blackfish has dropped the bomb on SeaWorld's all-so-perfect reputation with the public. If you are one of the few who has not yet seen this movie, please do so. Even if you are already aware, this movie penetrates your innards like a torpedo.

Well, it is time to kiss SeaWorld goodbye, for it seems society has finally seen through the apparition of Mount Wanna-hock-a-loogie. Remember, fish are friends. NOT FOOD!!!

Dolphin Slaughter Resumes in Taiji

Last year's dolphin hunting season started off a bit late, seas remaining blue a few extra days. But as the season continued, the Cove Guardians exposed to the world numerous red seas, not just one.

Out of a quota of 2,089 animals from seven species, Japan managed to kill and profit from 899 deaths and 247 captures last year. Belonging to these numbers and aquariums that bought them are Bottlenose Dolphins, Pantropical spotted dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Risso's Dolphins, Short-finned Pilot Whales and Striped Dolphins.

This year, the boats have left the harbor again looking for more blood and more money. Who are they still fed by? Aquariums looking for new stock in slaves. Doesn't sound right? Told slavery was abolished in your country? Sadly and unfortunately not. 165 victims have already been netted inside the infamous killing cove this year, and all have been sent to marine parks, except for one who died during the capture process.

savejapandolphins.org

WAZA Agreement

The fishermen aren't allowed to slaughter Bottlenose Dolphins during the first month due to a new regulation passed by WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) forbidding it, yet an illegal killing took place on September 6th. Ceta-Base doesn't show these records, conveniently enough. But on-site Cove Guardians reported that a juvenile Bottlenose was placed into a sling for captivity and proceeded to be hauled away. Where to? The slaughterhouse.

The clearly violated agreement is shown here:

WAZA has worked with JAZA and the Port of Nagoya Aquarium, to establish a new, transitional approach to the capture of dolphins as part of a tradition of Japanese inshore fishery. At this time it has been officially confirmed that during September dolphins will be collected for aquaria, the only species taken will be the Bottlenose dolphin, and the method employed will be ‘herding’. No dolphins will be taken for human consumption during September, and all surplus animals will be released.

On September 11th, a pod of Pilot Whales were slaughtered, ironically enough. Out of the net pod total of 35, 18 were killed, 0 taken by aquariums, and 17 released. Within the agreement is a loophole which allows fishermen to hunt and kill other species. It describes only applications to an event involving a bottlenose dolphin for this month, since they are the only ones collected.

This is extremely misleading and shows that WAZA clearly doesn't care about dolphins at all, rather wishing to help dolphinaria. It gives justification to the slaughter even though there is none and dilutes the truth from watchful eyes. One may even argue that this is a violation of the agreement; it is after all stated that dolphins will only be collected for aquaria in September, and the lone species being bottlenose. The Pilot Whale slaughter on the 11th would violate this, should it be the right interpretation.

No matter which way you interpret the agreement, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that violates WAZA's agreement or renders it misleading and fraudulent. Please take action and contact WAZA to urge the termination of JAZA and the slaughter immediately. 

TAKE ACTION!!!

Last Few Days in The CoveThe past days in The

Cove since the 11th of September have been blue. But then despite a storm and torrent of mother nature's power, the boats go out hunting on the 16th and drive in more Pilot Whales. There they waited overnight to be brutally slaughtered the next day, screaming, fighting, thrashing about hoping to

escape from the nets. It is evident that mankind's greed cannot be stopped by a single lone storm. We must join hands if we wish to see a blue cove again and forevermore. Alone, one only makes a ripple. But together we can make a towering, powerful wave.

Conclusion

Is it too late to change our ways or will this be the year that the dolphin slaughter finally ends? I hope so, but that can only happen if people stop supporting the captive industry and those who use soft words to deceive.

Open your eyes and wake up!

Dolphin Slaughter in the Solomon Islands

Though many know about the slaughter taking place September through March in Japan, few realize the award for the largest dolphin capture and slaughter belongs to the Solomon Islands. Dolphins numbering in “the tens of thousands” have been hunted and killed every year for hundreds of years according to those who have documented its existence.

A Whale of a Problem!This said, we have to point out that at first glance the problem seems immensely complex involving government officials and policies, corruption, bribery, foreign tuna fleets, legal and illegal, foreign traders, domestic traders, dolphin-tooth currency, dolphin-meat

consumption, foreign tourists, foreign activists and their foibles, foreign animal welfare organizations and their failings, and, most of all, the age-old native culture itself.

BUT…

In this day and age barbaric customs based on ancient culture do not justify this slaughter due to the fact that these tribes have stated that are more than ready to give up this slaughter, but do not want to starve in the process!

$$$$What it would cost per annum is minimal in any currency other than Solomon. When we hear the local chiefs mention that $1,000 USD to $2,000 USD a year would give the life back to thousands of dolphins, it saddens many a heart to realize that with such a minimal subsidy so many lives could be saved.

This is the bottom sad line…

Two tribes doing the hunting would stop with the aid of about $2,500 USD total annually. This amount would feed members of both tribes for a year. And if there were no hunts to feed the coffers of the dark traders, they would have one hell of a time actually acquiring and hiding their terrible captures and the transport of dolphins into a life of captivity. Accordingly, the solution when found, might still be comparably complex. There is no simple or simplistic fix without the intervention of the Royal Family. 

Please take action and sign the petition by clicking here

Thank You!!!

Many thanks for reading and I hope you found it a good read. For suggestions regarding the next article or questions regarding what you read here please email  dolphindefender@globalwildlifewarriors.org and expect a response within 48 hours. 

Zach Affolter Global Wildlife Warriors 

“the dolphin man” 

Sources/Disclaimer

Sources:

Tilikum (Orca)Bloomberg News

IMDBLA Times

Ceta-Base

Graphic credit: Mystic Rebel, magpictures.com, whalesandmarinefauna.wordpress.com, www.change.org, Google Images

All text has been originally written by Global Wildlife Warriors (with only 2 exceptions in Finding Nemo quotes and WAZA agreement) and may only be reproduced if appropriate credit is given. Links to facts are provided that were used to write this article.