“You’re either an activist or inactive” – The Cove

I recently re-watched the film The Cove and with each viewing the film has a fresh impact on my life. I first watched The Cove when I was in high school and while watching it there wasn’t a single dry eye in the room. The film inspired a few of us to join the Save Japans Dolphins protest that was held outside the Japanese Consulate in Cape Town. There, we saw people gathered together for one cause, we weren’t protesting for ourselves or for better housing in Cape Town instead we were protesting for dolphins that were continents away but the location difference didn’t matter. Instead, we came together in the street that day screaming “Save The Dolphins, Stop The Slaughter” as we had all realized that there was no justification for the inhumane killing of those dolphins.

Recently I re-watched the film, but this time with a different crowd and at the end of film the comments were shocking and truly upsetting. Someone tried to justify the acts of the Taiji fisherman explaining that they are simply trying to make money and a livelihood. *insert my shocked face*. The fact that, after someone has just watched The Cove, wants to justify the act of killing the dolphins, means that they have completely missed the point of the film. And yes I do agree that we all need to survive and in our world we need money to do so, but there is no excuse for taking a life and getting paid for it. I then spend the next 20 minutes trying to explain this to the person, but to avail. I left and promised to create not only awareness but understanding of what was happening in Taiji as it seems that people are aware of what’s happening but they don’t understand it.

The Cove simplified:

The Cove follows Ric O’Barry and a team of experts who try to expose a small town that holds a big secret. The small fishing town of Taiji Japan, seems to love dolphins and whales as they have dolphin shows and boats shaped as whales everywhere. During the months of September to March the fisherman of Taiji have an annual dolphin hunt. When migrating dolphins pass by they are corned off and forced into a little bay. Once they are captured dolphin trainers come to select a dolphin they feel would be best for their next dolphin show and off they go. So what’s so bad about this you might ask? Hundreds of dolphins are captured and only a hand full are selected, so what happens to the rest? Freed you might say? No! They are then taken to a secluded cove and killed. Mmm, maybe they are given an injection? Nope, they are slaughtered; stabbed, over and over again until they finally sink underwater. This process then goes on and on and on for 6 months and day after day dolphins are slaughtered and at the end of the dolphin hunt thousands are left dead. The dolphin meat is then falsely labeled as healthy whale meat. Why cover up that dolphin meat is whale meat? Because if locals knew that the “whale meat” was actually dolphin meat they wouldn’t buy it because dolphin meat contains toxic levels of mercury. 

Some of you might say that dolphin shows are entertaining and make for good outings for kids, but lets take away your freedom, lock you up in a restricted space and make you do jumps and flips. Not so entertaining anymore right?

And I feel that as South Africans we should be more inspired to help make a difference as we are able to relate to the situation in more ways than one. Firstly, we spent years fighting for our freedom, for the nations release from oppression. And secondly, we recently had a horse meat scandal in which horse meat was falsely labeled. The country went crazy when we found out and we were demanding reasons and naming and shaming those involved. Why no hype now? Just because we’re not directly affecting by the dolphin meat threat doesn’t mean we are in isolation. In a few years time when our kids ask us “what did dolphins look like” would our response be a simple description and a picture in a story book or a detailed description of how you did everything in your power to stop the dolphin slaughter? Because if Taiji continues with their dolphin hunt, this is exactly what will happen.

Are you going to sit back and hope that someone else decides to take action or will you be part of the change?

Save a life, save a dolphin.

Want to be part of the change?

Like the facebook page and stay up to date with news from Taiji

 https://www.facebook.com/SaveJapanDolphinsSA

Or visit this site and see how you can be part of the change

http://www.savejapandolphins.org

Hope to see your name on the petition and you at the next protest!