Activist Confronts Japanese Dolphin Hunters

Animal rights activist Richard O'Barry faced Japanese dolphin hunters at a seaport in Japan on Wednesday (September 2), but was quickly shooed away by angry locals.

According to Japanese television station YTV, O'Barry was visiting the fishing town to film a new documentary for the Discovery Channel just in time for the dolphin hunting season that begins in September each year. He's a former dolphin trainer who trained "Flipper" from the 1960s television series of the same name.

For nearly 40 years O'Barry has worked to free these marine mammals and publicize their plight.

Teaming up with conservation organizations, he zeroed in on Japan's small coastal town of Taiji where fishermen catch most of the dolphins displayed in marine parks. He created a documentary called "The Cove which was released in the U.S. this summer.

"The Cove" has already been praised by critics and won the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Beyond objections to the Taiji fishermen's hunting practices, which force the animals into nets, O'Barry suspects the town is concealing secrets related to the exploitation of dolphins passed over for capture.

O'Barry assembled a crack team of marine specialists, high-tech experts and experienced divers to investigate the fate of dolphins herded into a cove adjacent to the Taiji capture site.

They battle Japanese police and fisherman to gain access to the cove where barbed wire blocks people from filming dolphin killings.

O'Barry has been visiting Taiji several times a year for the past eight years. He now wears disguises in the town to avoid the attention of fisherman and the police, predicted the film would have a big impact.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• NTD
• News
• Japan
• Animal aActivist
• Dolphin hunters
• Richard O'Barry
• Animals

[jsdptenis]

@CN073 ur a fucking idiot. thats all I gotta say. Dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury which is toxic to the human body. Dolphin meat is being packaged and sold as around the world "whale meat" misleading and harming millions. Being a good human is also for ur fucking information not a "wacko sense" or whatever bullshit u said. Would u like me to take u to my country, put u in a cage and fuckin stab u to death infront of your loved ones? Dolphins like humans are self aware you piece of

[jukio02]

@fastballonly if the japanese were to do the slaughtering in doors, out of the public views, i bet the faggot activist wouldnt care. just like here in america, if you dont see it, then it doesnt bother us.

[JapOfflimit]

ugly jap

[darkchibicosmos]

While I also am squirmish and upset over this, I think it's unfair to say bad things about all Japanese people. Not many were aware of this and people act like these things don't go on in other countries. In the US, you should watch the documentaries on cows, chickens and wolf air gunning. Its far worse than this practice because it happens everyday and in large numbers and they are purchased by many well known companies. The steroids put in these animals are also harmful at times. :(

[ColoradoKing26]

This is disgusting. Leave them animals alone.

[Yvesyew]

@AaronPaulJacobs Japanese : dolphins are food, not friends.

[jstitus916]

There is a place for all of gods creatures, next to my green beans and mashed potatoes. lol

[deanmullen10]

All species deserve equal rights, no species should be consumed by living beings whom do not have to eat the species for survival but merely for pleasure.

Eating animals for survival is okay but those days are gone for most of humanity, now its only for pleasure but not enough people have realized this because they grow up in a similar mind frame in the sense of eating animals to that of their ancestors as unchanged ideas are passed on.

please help stop this.

The century's only begun.

[crazybananas75]

@thunderhawk64 This isn't culture or tradition, the Japanese people don't know what happens in the cove. At the beginning of the film Ric tells us about a fisherman who said if the world finds out what happens there they will be shut down.

[AaronPaulJacobs]

Dolphins are friends, not food.

[thunderhawk64]

i know this is part of their culture, but this is fucking horrible, and after watching the cove, i was disgusted with these fisherman, why doesnt our media ever report about this? I never knew about this until watching the cove, these fisherman have no morals or respect towards dolphins. and i a m not saying i hate the japenese people but those fisherman, and guards and anyone else who is involved with this, i hate them with every part of my body. I have no feelings or remorse for them.i hate em