FW:(JP) Urgent/Sign-on letter re dolphin-assisted-therapy program

[Guest guest]

Please consider adding your name to below sign-on

letter regarding the cancellation of

dolphin-assisted-therapy program in Sanuki City,

Japan.

 

<PAH03724

New Letter for Sign on

 

GOOD NEWS--the Mayor of Sanuki city finally rejected

the project of Dolphin Healing Center and declared

that the city would not draw up a budget for this

project for next year. He received nearly 900 protest

letters from abroad, and this is one of the reasons he

decided to stop the project. We thank you again for

your cooperation.

 

The following are the Update and a new letter for sign

on to express thanks for the Mayor as well as to URGE

HIM TO CLOSE DOWN the facilities for the Dolphin

Healing Center.

 

Best wishes,

Sakae Hemmi/Fujiwara

Elsa Nature Conservancy

P.O.Box 2, Tsukuba-Gakuen Post Office

Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8691 Japan

Tel & Fax:+81-29-851-1637

 

*****

Update

 

Please sign on to letter below.

 

We have been working to stop the local government's

plan to expand its facilities for dolphin assisted

therapy which uses dolphins caught by the drive

fishery in Taiji.

 

Thanks to your support, the Mayor of Sanuki city

decided to stop the project and did not draw up a

budget of \25,000,000 (US$220,000) for the next fiscal

year. The Mayor provided the following reasons to

explain why he decided to stop the project.

 

1) It is difficult to allocate \25,000,000 every

year to proceed with the plan.

 

2) The environment of the Seto Inland Sea is not

suitable for dolphins to live. He reportedly explained

that no bottlenose dolphins live in the Seto Inland

Sea and that wild animals should not be kept there by

force.

 

3) He received 893 protest letters from 19

countries.

 

4) The number of visitors to the facilities is

decreasing.

 

The dolphins are owned by Ask Japan Corporation, a

company which was entrusted with the implementation of

the plan by Sanuki city. Ask Japan Corporation works

with Japan Dolphin Assisted Therapy Association

(JDAT), which was established in October 2002 and

newly registered as NPO corporation in August this

year.

 

According to a local newspaper named the Shikoku

Shimbun, Ask Japan Corporation, JDAT, and people who

welcomed the expansion of the dolphin healing center

are furious with the Mayor's decision. There is a high

possibility that Sanuki city will lend the facilities

to Ask Japan Corporation and take a conciliatory

attitude with people who want to proceed with the

project.

 

We succeeded in stopping the local government's

financial support to expand the facilities for the

dolphin assisted therapy, but it's possible that Ask

Japan Corporation and JDAT will manage to expand their

plan using the facilities of Sanuki city.

 

New Letter for sign on:

This letter is sent to express our thanks to the Mayor

and request that he not lend the facilities to the

company concerned. We also request that this business

is closed in Sanuki.

 

We hope that many organization/individuals will sign

on to this letter.

 

Very Urgent - We would like to send this sign-on

letter as soon as possible before the Mayor agrees to

lend the facilities to the company.

 

Please let me know (pah03724) if you can

sign. We are grateful, if you would circulate this

letter to others who might not be on the list.

 

***

 

Mr. Shinya Akazawa, Mayor of Sanuki city

5385-8, Shido, Sanuki-shi, Kagawa-ken,

769-2195 Japan

E-mail: hisyo

Fax: +81-87-894-4440

 

Dear Mr. Shinya Akazawa,

 

First, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks

and applaud your decision to stop the Dolphin Assisted

Therapy Project and not budget for it for next year.

 

It is appropriate that you declared, as one of the

reasons you had decided not to proceed with the

project, that the environment of the Seto Inland Sea,

where the facilities are located, is not suitable for

the dolphins to live. We appreciate that your decision

does not involve cruelty to animals.

 

The undersigned organizations and individuals strongly

urge you to:

 

1) Please close down the facilities, and seek

programs to utilize the facilities without using

dolphins.

 

2) Please do not permit the company, Ask Japan

Corporation, to use dolphins or any animals at the

facilities. It is our understanding that the surviving

three dolphins are owned by Ask Japan Corporation and

they want to continue their dolphin business in the

same facilities owned by Sanuki city. By allowing Ask

Japan Corporation to use the facilities, Sanuki city

supports and participates in this animal abusive

business. Allowing dolphins to be used contradicts

your assertion that the environment is not appropriate

to expand the Dolphin Healing Center.

 

We encourage you to follow through with your

courageous decision and to do right thing again.

 

Thank you very much for your time and effort regarding

this issue.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sakae Hemmi, Director of Marine Mammal Project

Elsa Nature Conservancy, Japan

 

Signatories:

 

1. The Humane Society of the United States, USA

 

2. Lolita Legion, USA

 

3. OrcaLab/Pacific Orca Society, Canada

 

4. BlueVoice.org, USA

 

5. Dolphin Project, USA

 

6. One Voice, France

 

7. Project Thursday 's Child, USA

 

8. The Marine Connection, UK

 

9. Cetacea Defence, UK

 

10.Reseau-Cetaces, France

 

11.Captive Animals' Protection Society, UK

 

12.Animal Friends Croatia, Croatia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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