Dolphins in Captivity ~ the Taiji connection
by Helene O'Barry (One Voice)

A coalition of three organizations; One Voice of France, Earth Island Institute of the United States and Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan - was established earlier this year to expose and abolish the annual dolphin slaughter in Japan.

Working together with our European allies, we held a successful demonstration at the 33rd annual symposium of the European Association of Aquatic Mammals (EAAM). The demo was organized by our colleagues at Een Dier Een Vriend (EDEV), a highly respected animal protection organization in the Netherlands.

The EAAM symposium was held at the French-owned dolphinarium in Harderwijk, Holland, on March 12th. On the opening day of the symposium, at precisely nine in the morning, demonstrators greeted the delegates with banners protesting captive dolphin facilities that support the dolphin slaughter by purchasing dolphins from the Japanese dolphin hunters. Other captive dolphin facilities stimulate the brutal dolphin slaughter by simply ignoring the issue.

The delegates responded to the attending media by denying any involvement in the dolphin slaughter. The dolphinarium of Harderwijk, for example, told Dutch media that they have never bought any dolphins from Japan. But the Marine Mammal Inventory Report (MMIR), which we gave to the media, proves this claim to be false. The MMIR shows that Harderwijk imported at least four dolphins from Japan more than 30 years ago. In other words, they have known about the dolphin massacres for at least 30 years and yet have done nothing to stop the inhumane practice.

Dutch media and the general public were stunned by the revelation that members of the dolphin captivity industry are directly linked to the Japanese dolphin massacres. Being exposed on national TV was extremely embarrassing to an institution that claims to display dolphins in order to sensitize the paying audience to the necessity of respecting and protecting these animals.

The demonstration also brought attention to the alleged educational value of captive dolphin displays in dolphinariums, zoos and aquariums. The entertainment industry has been capturing and confining dolphins since 1938 under the guise of "education and research" but has failed miserably in educating the public to the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world. It is estimated that more than 20,000 dolphins and other small whale species are butchered annually in Japan.

The demonstrators greeted the symposium delegates with handouts exposing the fact that members of the dolphin captivity industry are fueling the dolphin slaughter by rewarding Japanese dolphin hunters with thousands of dollars in exchange for dolphins that can be used in dolphin shows and dolphin swim programs. Special thanks to the Director of EDEV, Geoffrey Deckers, and his staff for organizing the event. And to our dear friends at GAIA in Belgium who got up very early in the morning to drive all the way from Brussels to participate.