The Barbaric Taiji Dolphin hunting season spans 7 painfully long months. From September to March every year, 1500-2500 dolphins are slaughtered in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji.
The dolphins are chased into a small cove and butchered in a manor that NO modern day slaughterhouses would even dare to imagine.
HELP US: End The Slaughter Of Taiji Dolphins.
Sign this petition to show Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe, and his cabinet that you DO NOT support the sale and slaughter of Taiji dolphins. But you DO support the town of Taiji and want to help them implement sustainable alternatives.
Awesome Ocean has been vocal in its opposition to this mass killing and we’ve also given credit and praise to organizations who have the potential to make a real impact on ending this sad annual event. Organizations like the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and SeaWorld have been leading organizations and lending their voices to the outcry.
Last year, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums threatened to suspended the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums for housing dolphins captured in drive hunts. Japanese facilities have since pledged to end this practice.
Emotions run high when witnessing events like the Taiji hunts and some activists use this as an opportunity to promote their agenda, ignoring the fight against the slaughter.
Sometimes these blind and misleading attacks on US facilities wantonly omit the fact that they operate under laws and agreements that prevent dolphins captured from drive hunts from being housed in the States.
Today there are ZERO Taiji dolphins in the Continental U.S.
Here are the facts:
- The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and all of their members oppose these drive fisheries.
- Any facility that participates or receives animals from these hunts are not eligible to join the Alliance.
- It is against US law to import animals that were acquired from these type of hunts.
It is an emotional issue, but we believe logical solutions will provide the most expedient path to its end. Thus providing alternatives to the locals who are financially dependent on this industry is the key.
We ask you to please support and share these alternatives to commercial whaling.
- Support Taiji Fisherman – for the 100 people who depend on the drives, this is how they feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. By purchasing other forms of catch like the Taiji lobster and other local fish, you are giving them economic incentive to move to a more profitable catch.
- Support Responsible Whale Watching – Recently in Taiji and across Japan, whale watching tour operators have been banding together to create a great alternative to the whaling industry. If you want to donate money to support whale watching, please consider helping these companies create great awareness.
- Support Eco-friendly Tourism in Taiji – Since whaling is now less than 3% of the local economy, supporting other local industries can help the local population transition away even further from whaling. You can directly affect the local economy and support local fisherman who do not participate in drive hunts.
Real solutions to world problems take more than 140 characters. It also takes a lot of people working together to solve problems. It’s time to put our actions and money where our tweets are.
Fans of zoos, aquariums and marine parks can unite with other activists as we work together to end the slaughter of dolphins in Japan, and make our oceans a little more awesome together.