FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Guest guest]

Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan

Earth Island Institute

One Voice - France

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 5, 2005

 

Contacts: David Phillips, Earth Island

(415) 788-3666 x145

 

Richard O'Barry, One Voice

(305)-668 4834

(33) 6 79 83 1661 (France)

 

Sakae Hemmi, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan

(81)-298511637 (Japan)

 

 

Memo Reveals Japan Aquarium Industry's Secret Sponsorship of Dolphin Slaughter

 

 

An international consortium of environmental organizations*, fighting to end the

world's largest dolphin slaughter in Japan, today released an internal memo

prepared by the Japan Cetacean Conference on Zoological Gardens and Aquariums to

its member aquariums encouraging the buying of more dolphins from the Taiji

drive fishery.

 

" The aquarium industry is secretly subsidizing the violent slaughter of

thousands of dolphins in Taiji and other fishing villages in Japan, " stated

David Phillips, Director of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth

Island Institute. " This memo is the first direct proof from the Conference to

its member aquariums soliciting buyers for dolphins. "

 

" In a key part of the memo, " adds activist Richard O'Barry, former trainer of TV

star Flipper and marine mammal specialist for One Voice, a leading French animal

welfare organization, " the Conference encourages its member aquariums to request

even more dolphins that are currently not available due to permit restrictions. "

 

" Fishermen herd dolphin schools into shallow waters, where around two thousand

are annually slaughtered for meat, " adds Sakae Hemmi, spokesperson for Elsa

Nature Conservancy. " The aquarium industry subsidizes the slaughter by offering

thousands of dollars to buy a few prime specimens of dolphins from the shallow

waters of the blood-filled slaughter pools. Without these enormous prices for

prime specimens, it will be quite difficult for the drive fishery to survive,

for dolphin meat is much contaminated with mercury. "

 

The memo was prepared by Senzo Uchida, Executive Secretary of the Japan Cetacean

Conference on Zoological Gardens and Aquariums and sent to the directors of

aquariums that are members of the Conference. The memo outlines a meeting held

by representatives of the Conference, the Taiji Fishing Cooperative, Taiji town

councillors, and the Isana Union, representing the drive fishermen at Taiji.

Even the Japanese government was involved, as Mr. Hidehiro Kato of the Japan

National Research Institute, a government agency, originally recommended this

meeting be held. The memo states in part (English translation):

 

" ...for the purposes of continued cetacean capture and stable supply, it is

necessary to have frank expressions of opinion from fishers involved in dolphin

drive fisheries and from aquariums needing cetaceans. "

 

" Currently when dolphins are captured in drive fisheries, they are sorted live

to select individuals for captivity, after which the rest are all used for

meat. "

 

" Pacific striped dolphins cannot be taken in drive fisheries at Taiji because no

permits have been granted. However, if the capture of this species at Taiji were

to become possible, this would benefit fishers and the aquariums which keep

cetaceans...Applying for a permit to capture a new cetacean species at Taiji

would require that there is a need. Accordingly, from the perspective of

exhibiting cetaceans for educational purposes, we would like to perform a

questionnaire survey to determine the extent to which aquariums participating in

the Cetacean Conference want Pacific striped dolphins, and then use the results

to justify applying for a permit to capture them at Taiji. "

 

A copy of the original memo in Japanese and an English translation are attached

to this press release.

 

David Phillips concluded: " The public, including the people of Japan, would be

outraged if they knew the truth -- that thousands of innocent dolphins die a

horrible death so that a few can be shown doing tricks in aquariums. The drive

fishery and the slaughter must be stopped, and the aquarium industry should be

ashamed of sponsoring the killing of thousands of dolphins annually. "

 

* The campaign to stop the dolphin slaughter is a joint project of the Elsa

Nature Conservancy of Japan, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth

Island Institute, and One Voice, a leading French animal protection organization

 

- 30 -

 

Copies of the original memo and English translation are attached as an Acrobat

" pdf " file.

 

MEDIA ALERT: VIDEO FOOTAGE and PHOTOS of the dolphin drive fisheries of Japan is

available from Earth Island Institute by calling (415) 788-3666 or faxing (415)

788-7324. For further information, visit

http://www.earthisland.org/saveTaijiDolphins/.