[Skinwalker]

SURFERS RETURN TO TAIJI AND EXPOSE PILOT WHALE SLAUGHTER

http://www.seashepherd.org/video/futo_slaughter_1.wmv

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OSAKA - Less than 24 hours after professional surfer and Sea Shepherd supporter Dave Rastovich led an international group of surfers, celebrities, and musicians on a peaceful paddle-out ceremony to honor the spirits of the over 25,000 dolphins killed each year in Japan, the fishermen in the tiny village of Taiji resumed the slaughter that had been delayed by the increased worldwide media attention drawn by the group’s arrival in late October.

In response, this group, decided in solidarity to make a pre-dawn return to the killing cove to recreate the ceremony, albeit smaller, within a stone’s throw of the captive pilot whales, paddling through waters stained red with blood.

“The reason we surfers were there was to share the water, stained red with blood, at eye-level, with our ocean kin awaiting their execution,” said a dripping, visibly shaken Rastovich just after paddling in. “Despite the fishermen taking great pains to hide their acts of cruelty, we seized this as an opportunity to bring this travesty to the world’s attention.”

Area fishermen, who kill dolphins and whales for their meat, netted off the bay and constructed green tarps to shield the slaughter from prying eyes and front-line cetacean activists bent on shutting down the dolphin trade forever. When the surfers learned of over 30 pilot whales, including calves, being herded into the narrow rocky cove at Taiji, they did not hesitate to return despite the distinct possibility of violent resistance and police arrest.

Rastovich and his core team of surfers trailed by camera crews arrived at the infamous Taiji cove to paddle out to the captured pilot whales. After crossing the netted enclosure they quickly arrived alongside the whales who swam back and forth along the edge of the seaward net.

The six paddlers, including Rastovich, his wife Hannah, Heroes star Hayden Panettiere, Australian actress Isabel Lucas, author Peter Heller and professional surfer Karina Petroni, formed a traditional surfers’ memorial circle sited between the whales and the blood-ridden shallows. Local fishermen converged almost immediately, harassing the paddlers with yelled threats and brandishing whirling propeller blades. At times, the irate fishermen, who yelled “Why are you here?!”, “Go Home!” while using a long wooden pole to intimidate the surfers.

“Even though the fishermen used force to try and break us up we held our peaceful circle,” said model Hannah Rastovich.

With tensions escalating and the police sirens growing, the surfers quickly paddled back to shore where Hayden Panettiere fell to her knees overwhelmed by the carnage she and the group had just witnessed. “I couldn’t believe how red the water was,” said Panettiere. “The whales were so scared. Hopefully their deaths won’t be in vain.”

After a long journey enroute to Osaka, 30 policemen readied with a paddy wagon stopped the three-van convoy at the border of the Wakayama prefecture. After checking passports and questioning the group intently, police waved the crew on their way.

Reflecting on the day’s experience, a somber Isabel Lucas said, “The worst part is that whales are probably all dead by now. We couldn’t save these whales but hopefully shining the light on their deaths will save others.”

For photos and video:
Sea Shepherd Media Center

Surfers For Cetaceans
Surfers for Cetaceans - whale and dolphin protection

Save the Whales Again
http://www.savethewhalesagain.com

Save Japan Dolphins
Save Japan Dolphins - end the annual drive fishery slaughter

Minds In the Water Visual Petition
MINDS IN THE WATER - Visual Petition

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an International non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations. Founder and President Captain Paul Watson, also a co-founder of Greenpeace Foundation, is a renowned, respected leader in environmental issues.

[Jamroll]

Why do they stab their eyes? That is, like, major gay.

[Variable]

I can't handle this stuff... the pictures et al.

but I'm checking out the links.

[Bluestar]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Why do they stab their eyes? That is, like, major gay.

It's the easiest way to kill/disable them.

It looks like a massacre in the pictures. I don't agree letting their blood run in the water, or killing as many whales and dolphins they killed. But how is this different to killing and eating any other animal?

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by Bluestar

It's the easiest way to kill/disable them.

It looks like a massacre in the pictures. I don't agree letting their blood run in the water, or killing as many whales and dolphins they killed. But how is this different to killing and eating any other animal?

Cos they're cute and they can do tricks.

And also, if they're killing them to eat them, ok, but why oh why do they have to stab them in the eye. It seems, like, soooo mean.

[Pushpa]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Cos they're cute and they can do tricks.

And also, if they're killing them to eat them, ok, but why oh why do they have to stab them in the eye. It seems, like, soooo mean.

I thought whales and dolphins were endangered? We always buy 'dolphin-friendly' tuna. It seems like a sacrilege to kill them, even for food, because they have such long lives and it would take lifetimes to bring their numbers up again if the fishing were to continue commercially.

[shadha]

Yes, both are beautiful smart animals, but if people are killing these animals as a source of food, then what the problem is? Instead of restricting the hunting of them entirely, maybe there can be a limit on what time of year they can be hunted, similar to what they do here in the states for bears/deer? Then maybe have protected areas of the water, that the hunters can't go into, again like here in the states?


shadha-

[Variable]

Originally Posted by shadha

Yes, both are beautiful smart animals, but if people are killing these animals as a source of food, then what the problem is? Instead of restricting the hunting of them entirely, maybe there can be a limit on what time of year they can be hunted, similar to what they do here in the states for bears/deer? Then maybe have protected areas of the water, that the hunters can't go into, again like here in the states?


shadha-

It sounds more like they're luxury foods. And they're hunting them exactly, they're herding them into pens... it sounds more like a 'buffalo jump' style.

[Bluestar]

I could never bring myself to eat a dolphin, but chickens are pretty smart too. My chickens used to lay eggs in the corner of the kitchen, if we didn't open the door, they used to peck the windows until we opened the door. One of the chickens, i tamed into sitting in my lap and eating corn from my hand. My goats used to be sweet and loved being tickled in between their horns. The only animals, i didn't feel guilty eating were turkeys, purely because they shat everywhere and had bad tempers constantly.

Animals are more intelligent than we think, it's just part of the natural food chain that we kill and eat mostly anything that we can. Obviously, alhamdulillah, we are able to prevent that animalistic attitude by enforcing what we believe in, on ourselves.

[Aryan_]

Whale tastes okay. Never had the opportunity to sample the dophin, but as soon as I get offered a plate I will tuck in.

[MossadConspiracy]

i'd like to try whale and dolphin

[Skinwalker]

You Say that the battle is Over

And you say that the battle is over
And you say that the war is all done
Go tell it to those
With the wind in their nose
Who run from the sound of the gun

And write it on the sides
Of the great whaling ships
Or on ice floes where conscience is tossed
With the wild in their eyes
It is they who must die
And it’s we who must measure the loss

And you say that the battle is over
And finally the world is at peace
You mean no one is dying
And mothers don’t weep
Or it’s not in the papers at least

There are those who would deal
In the darkness of life
There are those who would tear down the sun
And most men are ruthless
But some will still weep
When the gifts we were given are gone

Now the blame cannot fall
On the heads of a few
It’s become such a part of the race
It’s eternally tragic
That that which is magic
Be killed at the end of the glorious chase

From young seals to great whales
From waters to wood
They will fall just like weeds in the wind
With fur coats and perfumes
And trophies on walls
What a hell of a race to call men

And you say that the battle is over
And you say that the war is all done
Go tell it to those
With the wind in their nose
Who run from the sound of the gun

And write it on the sides
Of the great whaling ships
Or on ice floes where conscience is tossed
With the wild in their eyes
It is they who must die
And it’s we who must measure the loss
With the wild in their eyes
It is they who must die
And it’s we who must measure the cost.

Words and music by David Mallett sung by John Denver

[Skinwalker]

Originally Posted by shadha

Yes, both are beautiful smart animals, but if people are killing these animals as a source of food, then what the problem is? Instead of restricting the hunting of them entirely, maybe there can be a limit on what time of year they can be hunted, similar to what they do here in the states for bears/deer? Then maybe have protected areas of the water, that the hunters can't go into, again like here in the states?


shadha-

The problem is that these aanimals are already protected yet Japan is ignoring world law regarding this. The whales have a sanctuary in the antarctic ocean, but Japan plans to go down there this year to hunt these protected species. They say that this is for scientific research, but it is really for commercial gain. I think that we as humans have taken our so called 'superiority' too far and are depleting the wolrd's resources at a rate that cannot be replaced. we also have to shift our mentality from thinking that everything is here for our benefit and greed alone. there are other sources of food around that you don't have to kill these majestic mammals.


Overexploit, cheat, deplete. The cycle of greed behind the global whaling industry drove one whale population after another toward oblivion. It is still not known if some species will ever recover, even after decades of protection.

The statistics say it all. The blue whales of the Antarctic are at less than 1 percent of their original abundance, despite 40 years of complete protection. Some populations of whales are recovering but some are not. Only one population, the East Pacific grey whale, is thought to have recovered to its original abundance, but the closely related West Pacific grey whale population is the most endangered in the world. It hovers on the edge of extinction with just over 100 remaining.

Facts and figures
Recent DNA evidence shows that the impact of commercial whaling may be even worse than previously thought. Most estimates of historic whale population size have been extrapolated from old whaling figures, but this method is often very inaccurate, argues marine biologist Steve Palumbi of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in California, USA.

In 2003 Palumbi and his colleagues used DNA samples to estimate that humpback whales could have numbered 1.5 million prior to the onset of commercial whaling in the 1800s. That number dwarfs the figure of 100,000 previously accepted by the IWC based on 19th century whaling records. Humpback whales currently number only 20,000.

Japanese delegates to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) constantly refer to a 1990 estimate of the Antarctic minke population of 760,000. But that figure was withdrawn by the IWC in 2000 because recent surveys found far fewer minkes than the older ones. The new estimates are half the old in every area that has been resurveyed. The IWC’s scientists do not understand the reasons for this and so far have not been able to agree a new estimate.

Consumption, contamination, catastrophe
Whaling is no longer the only threat to whales. The oceans, or rather, human impacts on the oceans, have changed dramatically over the half-century since whales have been protected. Known environmental threats to whales include global warming, pollution, overfishing, ozone depletion, noise such as sonar weaponry, and ship strikes. Industrial fishing threatens the food supply of whales and also puts whales at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.

If you’re thinking of eating whale, you might want to think again – the blubber of dead whales in some areas is so highly contaminated with organochlorines such as PCBs and pesticides that it would be classified as toxic waste! Organochlorines are known to damage development of children and affect reproduction.

Despite these accumulating threats, an increasing number of nations in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are voting for an immediate resumption of commercial whaling. Some new and enthusiastic members of the IWC include Benin, Gabon, Tuvalu and Nauru. Obviously, these new memberships and voting numbers do not reflect a change in world opinion. These countries have all been recruited to join the IWC and vote under what is termed a “vote consolidation program” by the Fisheries Agency of Japan.


Great Expectations
Expectations for the recovery of whale populations have been based on the assumption that, except for commercial whaling, their place in the oceans is as secure as it was a hundred years ago. Sadly, this assumption is no longer valid. This is why we believe that commercial whaling in all forms must be stopped.

[Skinwalker]

Originally Posted by Aryan_

Whale tastes okay. Never had the opportunity to sample the dophin, but as soon as I get offered a plate I will tuck in.

Why don't you just make yourself a plate of toxins instead and save the whale if you are so determined to poison yourself?

.. Yeah and that goes for Mossad too.


However I know what cards the two of you are and you should be dealt with.