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| Elsa Nature Conservancy |
| Futo Drive Fishery |
Each year in a coastal town in Japan, thousands of dolphins are rounded up. Most are brutally killed for their meat. A few of the more attractive animals are sold at exorbitant prices for dolphins shows and swim-with-the dolphin programs where they are likely to suffer for years.
On Sept. 25, 2007, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International will join the Animal Welfare Institute and many other concerned groups and individuals in observing the third annual worldwide Japan Dolphin Day. The HSUS/HSI are also inviting individual animal advocates to take part. (To join an event in your city, click here.)
Japan Dolphin Day aims to show Japan that the world will not tolerate its cruel drive fisheries. Protesters plan to gather at Japanese embassies and consulate offices in cities across the globe.
High Mercury Levels Pose Human Risk
| What Happens to Dolphins During a Drive Fishery? |
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Fishermen in Taiji use small motorized boats to locate a pod of bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins, or false killer whales (and other species such as melon-headed whales and white-sided dolphins).
Once they locate a pod, they herd the animals toward shore using the noise of the boats' engines and the banging of pipes underwater to stampede and terrorize the dolphins ahead of them.
The fishermen then either drive the animals onto the shore or trap them in a bay. The fishermen slaughter the dolphins by getting into the water or reaching over the side of a boat and stabbing the animals to death.
Occasionally they drag dolphins out of the water still alive by their tails (possibly breaking their spines or dislocating them) and transporting them to a slaughterhouse where they will sever their neck arteries and let them bleed out in agony. More» |
Adding to the pressure to end the hunt is the recent admission by Taiji officials that the dolphin meat contains dangerously high levels of mercury. Town officials made the admission in an Aug. 1 interview granted to The Japan Times. High mercury levels poses serious health risks for those who consume it, especially in children and pregnant women.
International Outrage Focuses at Japanese Embassies
The HSUS/HSI will join the Animal Welfare Institute and other concerned individuals and groups in an event in Washington D.C. The HSI Costa Rica office is also part of a Latin American whale coalition holding an event in San Jose, Costa Rica. We urge all our members and supporters to join any events being held in your city.
To join an event in your city, click here.
Participants in Washington D.C. will stage a street theater re-enactment of the brutal Japanese drive hunts. Beginning at noon at Dupont Circle, "fishermen" will drive pods of "dolphins" to the Japanese Embassy where we will end with a rally to voice our abhorrence at the Japanese dolphin hunts. All are welcome to join us along the walking route or at the Embassy to protest the Japanese drive fisheries.
WHEN: 12 noon at Dupont Circle, 1 p.m. at The Japanese Embassy, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
WHERE: March begins at Dupont Circle (Connecticut Avenue & 19th Street) and proceeds to the Japanese Embassy (2520 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008)
| Take Action |
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If you cannot make it to a rally, you can still help by writing or calling the Japanese embassy in your country. Click here for a list. |
