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Open letter condeming orca captures in Japan
Mr. Shuji Yamada
Director of Fisheries
Director-General of Fisheries Agency of Japan
1-2-1 Kasumigaseki
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo
100-8907
Japan
Dear Director-General Yamada
We, the undersigned, represent 148 international environmental & animal protection organizations comprising more than 15 million members, including leading members of the financial and entertainment industries. With one unified voice, we hereby urge you to deny the permit request to capture orcas in Taiji, or any other port in Japan.
To our knowledge, at least 1193 orcas have been slaughtered in Japan since 1954. Approximately 63 have been captured for public display, where most of them have died prematurely as a result of captivity.
Some argue that the number of orcas in Japanese waters has shown a small increase since the 1970s. However, no comprehensive survey of Japan’s orca populations has ever been undertaken. Details regarding population size, prey preferences and range remain unknown. Moreover, it is likely that entire sub populations and communities have already been eliminated. At the very least, it will take decades for Japan’s orca populations to recover from the decimating slaughters and captures of the past.
Japan is a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As such, Japan has an obligation to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals does not threaten their survival.
We urge you to honor your commitment to CITES and conduct a proper scientific population study of the orca populations before you consider issuing permits to remove any more orcas from Japanese waters. We further urge an end to trafficking in captive orcas due to the documented high mortality such captures and captivity entail.
Sincerely,
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