auksinis_kardas
The pod swimming for their lives back out to sea. Babies desperately jumping by their mothers sides - Taiji, Japan
February 26, 2017 – Pantropical Spotted Dolphins Capture – Taiji, Japan
Today a large pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins were driven into the cove. 17 dolphins were taken from the ocean for a life in captivity.
Late this morning, a large pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins were driven into the infamous cove in Taiji by a near full fleet of 11 banger boats. The pod were split out at sea, some dolphins driven back out to sea by the banger boats, away from their family swimming for their lives. The remaining 75-100 dolphins were netted inside the waters of the cove just before midday, swimming close together in fear, awaiting their brutal captive selection from the dolphin hunters and trainers.
The dolphins were driven below the tarps by the skiffs using their outboard engines, and man handled by the trainers to determine which dolphins were the most profitable for captivity. This caused immense trauma to the dolphins, and we could see from our view point dolphins with bloody beaks, dolphins being wrestled by the divers who were checking their sex and examining them for markings.
3 skiffs emerged from beneath the tarps carrying the bodies of 17 dolphins, trainers atop them holding them still. Tiny dolphins who are now no longer free, confined in the tiny sea pens in Taiji harbour and beyond.
The rest of their pod were driven to the outskirts of the net that trapped them in the cove by skiffs and divers chasing them with immense speed and noise. Six banger boats awaited these dolphins on the outside of the nets. The angry men on board drove them out with haste and impatience, the dolphins needed no prompt, swimming fast, jumping high and diving deep, fleeing for their lives after losing 17 members of their family, babies jumping with their mothers, trying to keep up with their pod.
We all breathed a sigh of relief, but the release of a pod is always bitter sweet. These dolphins have a chance of survival in the wild once more, but many of them may not make the treacherous swim for freedom back out to sea, suffering injuries from being grossly manhandled by the hunters and trainers, from the exhaustion of fighting so hard on the long drive in, and the stress and anxiety experienced throughout the entire traumatic ordeal.
The captive selection of dolphins is the driving force behind the dolphin drives that happen every year from September through March. Every dolphin slaughtered for meat, every dolphin who dies due to injuries sustained during a drive or selection process, every dolphin who drowns after becoming entangled in a net, every dolphin who starves to death or death by dehydration, every baby ripped from their mother, or dumped out at sea... These deaths are a result of the demand for captive dolphins. The demand by humans to see, swim with, kiss, touch, control cetaceans in such an artificial and unnatural environment. The dirty truth of the matter is, there is an exorbitant amount money to be made in the captive trade of live dolphins, and these drive hunts will not relent until the demand for dolphins in the entertainment industry is subdued.
This campaign spanning years back, and for six months of every year is Operation Infinite Patience. We will not relent, we will not stop sharing the stories of these dolphins... Not let their lives be forgotten. Our strongest weapon is a camera, our greatest tool is education. When the consumers of the captive trade become aware of the horrifying truth of the inhumane practices that fuel the industry the walls will come crumbling down, and only then the dolphins will swim free. Only then will we ever have a truly blue day, with no rows of prison pens containing hundreds of cetaceans. Only then these wild dolphins will be left to be just that... Wild.
Sites for more information :
Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians Page (official)
www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdCoveGuardiansOfficialPage
Cove Guardians
www.seashepherd.org/cove-guardians
Photo: Sea Shepherd
The pod swimming for their lives back out to sea. Babies desperately jumping by their mothers sides - Taiji, Japan
February 26, 2017 – Pantropical Spotted Dolphins Capture – Taiji, Japan
Today a large pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins were driven into the cove. 17 dolphins were taken from the ocean for a life in captivity.
Late this morning, a large pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins were driven into the infamous cove in Taiji by a near full fleet of 11 banger boats. The pod were split out at sea, some dolphins driven back out to sea by the banger boats, away from their family swimming for their lives. The remaining 75-100 dolphins were netted inside the waters of the cove just before midday, swimming close together in fear, awaiting their brutal captive selection from the dolphin hunters and trainers.
The dolphins were driven below the tarps by the skiffs using their outboard engines, and man handled by the trainers to determine which dolphins were the most profitable for captivity. This caused immense trauma to the dolphins, and we could see from our view point dolphins with bloody beaks, dolphins being wrestled by the divers who were checking their sex and examining them for markings.
3 skiffs emerged from beneath the tarps carrying the bodies of 17 dolphins, trainers atop them holding them still. Tiny dolphins who are now no longer free, confined in the tiny sea pens in Taiji harbour and beyond.
The rest of their pod were driven to the outskirts of the net that trapped them in the cove by skiffs and divers chasing them with immense speed and noise. Six banger boats awaited these dolphins on the outside of the nets. The angry men on board drove them out with haste and impatience, the dolphins needed no prompt, swimming fast, jumping high and diving deep, fleeing for their lives after losing 17 members of their family, babies jumping with their mothers, trying to keep up with their pod.
We all breathed a sigh of relief, but the release of a pod is always bitter sweet. These dolphins have a chance of survival in the wild once more, but many of them may not make the treacherous swim for freedom back out to sea, suffering injuries from being grossly manhandled by the hunters and trainers, from the exhaustion of fighting so hard on the long drive in, and the stress and anxiety experienced throughout the entire traumatic ordeal.
The captive selection of dolphins is the driving force behind the dolphin drives that happen every year from September through March. Every dolphin slaughtered for meat, every dolphin who dies due to injuries sustained during a drive or selection process, every dolphin who drowns after becoming entangled in a net, every dolphin who starves to death or death by dehydration, every baby ripped from their mother, or dumped out at sea... These deaths are a result of the demand for captive dolphins. The demand by humans to see, swim with, kiss, touch, control cetaceans in such an artificial and unnatural environment. The dirty truth of the matter is, there is an exorbitant amount money to be made in the captive trade of live dolphins, and these drive hunts will not relent until the demand for dolphins in the entertainment industry is subdued.
This campaign spanning years back, and for six months of every year is Operation Infinite Patience. We will not relent, we will not stop sharing the stories of these dolphins... Not let their lives be forgotten. Our strongest weapon is a camera, our greatest tool is education. When the consumers of the captive trade become aware of the horrifying truth of the inhumane practices that fuel the industry the walls will come crumbling down, and only then the dolphins will swim free. Only then will we ever have a truly blue day, with no rows of prison pens containing hundreds of cetaceans. Only then these wild dolphins will be left to be just that... Wild.
Sites for more information :
Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians Page (official)
www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdCoveGuardiansOfficialPage
Cove Guardians
www.seashepherd.org/cove-guardians
Photo: Sea Shepherd