It was just days ago that the world showed Japan that they are watching! Over 50 cities participated in support of the dolphin's lives in Taiji Bay by showing Japan they want the Dolphin Slaughter to end! From the pound of a hammer on a long metal pole, to the guiding of a large family pod of dolphins into a cove known as Taiji Bay. The dolphins enter this cove and never get the freedom they once had. The entrance is netted and the fishermen go home. It is the following day that one beautiful cove becomes the graveyard of so many. The morning comes and the fishermen return. The mist is on the water as the fishermen get in their small boats and make their way out into the dolphin filled cove. They then persuade the pod to the hidden area of the cove and do the final netting to create the most horrific scene that nature wasn't meant to see. The spears come out and the fishermen start to locate the dolphins and they just start to spear them! They ram it into the living bodies and pull it out making the dolphins scream with noise amongst the salt water while blood spews out profusely. The dolphins get pierced by the poles so much you can only imagine the pain they are feeling and the horror their children next to them are seeing. The dolphins are continuously speared until they die from exhaustion and blood loss, which can take hours for some. What a sick and sad way for such an intelligent and sentient being to die and with mercury tainted bodies they are used for human consumption that is really poisoning the citizens of Taiji Bay. The dolphins that do not get slaughtered – mostly young females – are kept to sell to dolphin trainers around the world to keep the multi-billion dollar industry going globally. One strong stand an individual can do is vote with their money and not support these “Swim with Dolphins” and “Marinelands/Seaworlds” around the world. It was about two years ago when I seen videos regarding this cove and I decided to paint it. I have never seen an ocean turn red before in my life until I witnessed this through video and pictures easily found online. So I created a 48″ X 40″ awareness painting to bring the story out to the art world and expose it for what it was “Horrific and Inhumane”. The painting shows a water goddess that has a blood tear while her hair becomes the waves of the cove in a bright blood red color. I paint these types of stories to educate to empower people's minds to create positive action. You can see the paintings here. Currently at the cove the Sea Shepherd have been presently monitoring the actions of the fishermen and doing their best to intervene. The Sea Shepherd is calling them “Guardians of the Cove” and many people are flying to Japan to help out and have more eyes on the ground to show support for the dolphins. There have been two hunts so far this season that started in September and goes till March that dolphins have been killed. The last cove kill they separated the young baby dolphins from their mothers and then slaughtered all the adults according to the Sea Shepherd Taiji Blog. Then the fisherman thought they would do what they felt was a good choice and that was release the baby dolphins back to the ocean but the babies wouldn't go! They went through the blood filled cove looking for their mothers. This was one of the most extremely sad sights of orphan dolphins that no longer have the family it once swam with only 24 hours before. Being so young and not have learned all the skills it could have learned with its family the orphan dolphins have a small chance of survival. Well it was about a month or so ago when Ric O'Barry of Save Japan Dolphins put a call out to have a worldwide protest at all the Japanese Embassy's and Consulates on October 14th. With 50 cities strong Ocean Activists United in Toronto organized one for this day. With 30 strong supporters these animal activists hit the streets at #77 King Street West in front of the Japanese Consulate. This group was showing their passion to save these animals by expressing loudly for an hour and a half of constant chants! Some chants were “We're here for the Dolphin's Fight ~ Taiji its time to do what's right” and “Shame on Japan” to name a couple. They came wearing red and white holding signs that spoke against the slaughter in English and Japanese. Most of these activists drove far distances to make their voice heard for the voiceless – the dolphin. Its 2010, the Internet needs to be used as an International tool and make all actions count as a global action! One city's problem isn't always a local issue but most time it's a global issue and bringing support together internationally is the way to do it! I myself do not organize too much local specific action but more globally united actions to show we are here, we are strong, and we will not back down! When we all have this view we can do so much and allow this action to evolve into the only action and from there it can bring many passionate and strong-minded individuals together to make positive changes! Facebook has been a great starting tool to build networks for this type of action but it cannot be the only one since these sites do not always last and the network could be lost! We need to come together on a privately run site and be connected in more than one way – email, phone, website, etc. Globally united is the key to the positive changes of the future for animals, the environment, and our own species. When individuals and organizations come together it will be one strong foundation to fight the wrongs on this planet. BM
