UPDATE: Please click here to see details from the protest outside the Japanese Embassy in London, 20 September 2006

Join us outside the Japanese Embassy for the worldwide protest against the largest annual slaughter of dolphins in the world.

Where: 101-104 Piccadilly, London
When: September 20 2006, 12noon - 3pm
Nearest Tube: Green Park tube station

The Marine Connection is once again supporting the annual international protest against the brutal slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. At noon on Wednesday 20 September 2006, marine conservationists and concerned individuals will be gathering outside the Japanese Embassy, in Piccadilly, London, as part of a peaceful world wide protest at what is widely claimed to be a "crime against nature".

We urge people to bring along a red ribbon to represent the blood of dolphins and small whales killed during these drive hunts; and if possible please also bring items such as a whistle, megaphone or anything to make some noise outside the Japanese Embassy to raise public awareness and show disgust at this continued practice.

So why not make a difference in your lunch break - help save the lives of thousands of dolphins by coming along to support our efforts to end this violent slaughter of dolphins during drive hunts in Japan View the Japanese Dolphin Day leaflet here

Japanese dolphin drive hunt, Taiji

Update: 13 September 2006 - This year the dolphin hunt has begun one month early, on 6 September. It has been reported that 25 bottlenose dolphins were driven into Hatakejiri Bay, by 13 fishing boats. Six of these dolphins were purchased by the Taiji Whale Museum which will train and display them in captivity.

We are unaware as to why the hunt has begun early - it has been reported by authorities that the quota for dolphins has not been filled in previous hunts, therefore more time was needed. However, considering the worldwide condemnation this hunt brings, the early start could be a tactic in order to disrupt the campaign against this brutal practice. (Information courtesy of Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan)

Every year in Japan the annual drive hunt (fishery) season - which runs from 1 October to 30 March, sees the slaughter of countless dolphins and small whales. During this time, Japanese fishermen are responsible for the killing of the largest number of dolphins anywhere in the world.

The most notorious of these "hunts" occurs in the village of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. Local fishermen sweep the area in fast boats and drive pods of dolphins into shallow coves. The coves are then blocked by the fishing boats, where most of the dolphins are netted and hacked to death and their bodies hauled to a makeshift slaughter area for butchering. Some animals, injured during the capture/killing process who manage to escape are left to die slowly in agony.

Fueled by the captivity industry
A number of the trapped animals are kept alive and selected by marine parks who pay extortionate rates for animals to re-stock their facilities; this is the mainstay of the drive fishery. Many of these animals die of shock before they can be killed or lifted from the blood-red waters.

If the captivity industry did not subsidise these hunts though their purchase of animals, they would not be as lucrative for the fishermen as there is not enough profit in the sale of dolphin/whale meat for consumption alone to sustain them - in short the captivity industry are the reason these hunts continue to operate in profit.

For the past three years the Marine Connection have supported this campaign, working in association with our colleagues Ric and Helene O'Barry of One Voice to highlight the suffering these hunts cause to the animals. Ric & Helene have, and continue to, go to great efforts risking their safety, to document the annual slaughter and bring this to the attention of the public.

Read more about the Taiji Dolphin Hunts

Take Action
If you are unable to attend the dolphin day protest, please express your opposition to the dolphin drive hunts by doing any of the following (preferably between 12 noon and 3pm on 20 September):

1. Call the Japanese Embassy in your country to voice your protest
2. Get your friends and family involved, come along on the day or collect signatures for our petition which will be handed to the Japanese Ambassador at a later date
3. Writing/emailing/faxing Japanese officials

Contact details for Japanese Embassies worldwide

Sign a petition opposing the Taiji drive hunts - download the petition here

Write a polite letter/fax expressing your views to:
Mr. Junichiro Koizumi Prime Minister of Japan 1-6-1 Nagata-cho 1 Chome Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968 JAPAN Email the Japanese Prime Minister here	Ambassador Yoshiji Nogami The Japanese Embassy 101-104 Piccadilly London W1J 7JT Email Phone 020 7465 6500 Fax: 020 7491 9347
Sir Graham Fry British Ambassador to Japan British Embassy No 1 Ichiban-cho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102-8381 Email Phone : 00 81 3 5211-1100 Fax: 00 81 3 5211-1111

Images:
(Marine Connection homepage) ©Elsa Nature Conservancy
(Top of page) ©CAPS;
(Hunters in blood-red sea) ©Sea Shepherd;
(Trainers selecting dolphins) ©Helen O'Barry (One Voice)