Wanted: Whale Whisperers

(Artist credit:  Eva M Sakmar-Sullivan)

Congratulations to the city of New Orleans in claiming it's first ever Super Bowl championship :-)  That was honestly the first SB game in years I've actually enjoyed. 

Latest updates via Sea Shepherd:

Countering Japan's Ministry of Truth

Whalers Escorted out of the Whale Sanctuary by the SSCS Crew

In the Japan Times:  Watson to Whalers: We Will Never Surrender

Is Japan finally starting to give up on whaling in the Southern Ocean?  This article says yes:  Japan May Scale Back Antarctic Whaling

If Japan actually decides to do this and do their whaling closer to home, is there anyone out there that speaks whale?  Be nice to warn all the whales and dolphins to stay away from Japan ... far far away. 

Besides, this article should be enough to tell anyone, including whaling friendly countries like Japan and Norway, that killing our marine mammals is NOT sustainable:   Man Made Ways of Killing Dolphins

The Huffington Post had an interview with Paul Watson:  Bob Barker Rammed by Whalers

Please check out and support Blue Voice.  They are another terrific organization doing wonderful things to raise awareness and working overtime to protect our friends in the sea.

Another organization deserving of everyone's support:  Surfrider Foundation

Do you live in Florida? Are you against oil drilling off your coast?  Are you free this Saturday?  Be sure to check out Hands Across the Sand

Between the greed of the oil industry, the damaging sonar noise from the military, and the fishing industry leaving their nets, longlines, etc. in the water and causing many species to get trapped and to drown, is it any wonder they are dying off?  Is it any wonder so many are beaching themselves?  I see it as a cry for help.  They are sending a blunt message to each of us that this can not go on. I don't know about you, but I personally can not envision a world without whales, dolphins, manatees, etc.  Can you?   Do enough people care?

A Message From the Dolphins and the Whales 

The dolphins and the whales commit to serving humanity. 

We do so with great compassion.  

We serve you with the essence of our heart song;

Be the Peace
Love yourself as you love another
Give our Earth Mother your commitment to treasure her natural resources.
Develop safe sources of energy that give back to Earth what she has given.
Live your lives as heart centered, conscious, light filled seekers of the truth;
Love is the only answer

(Source:  Blue Dolphin Essences)

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Whales Spared!

(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)

The Prime Minister of Australia backs the anti-whaling campaign to stop Japanese whaling near Antartica.

The pressure is on internationally, with over 2100 signatures coming in via an online petition, as of last night.

Excerpt:

By last night, more than 2100 people had signed an online petition urging the Japanese Government "to abandon its abhorrent whaling programme", including actress Lucy Lawless, singer Hollie Smith and radio and television presenter Marcus Lush.

Signatures had come from Papua New Guinea, France, the United States - and Japan.

According to the email alert I just received from Blue Voice, Japan has basically buckled from the pressure and has now suspended their whale hunt!

Email in full from Blue Voice:

JAPAN TO SUSPEND HUMPBACK HUNT

Reports from Tokyo indicate the Japanese have told the American Ambassador they will not hunt humpbacks this season.

Australia has indicated she will send an armed vessel and aircraft to monitor the Japanese fleet and bring back evidence to support Australia's legal action against Japan in the World Court.

BLUE VOICE BARRAGE JAPANESE EMBASSIES

Your phone calls and faxes protesting Japan's whale hunt sent a strong message to Japanese embassies around the world. Faxes and phone calls forced them to pay attention. Thanks for the reports you sent us of your interactions with embassy officials. Your voices were heard.

:: happy dance ::

In doing an internet news search on this press release, I have not yet found this update. So I hope it is a valid update as it did come directly from the Blue Voice organization.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the online campaigns, who sent emails, letters, and faxes to the Japanese government voicing their displeasure and disgust over the slaughter of these beautiful mammals.

It's a good feeling to know that so many people all over the globe banded together to stop this.

It's a great day!

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Victory for Whales, Not So Much for the Dolphins

"The Labor Party of Australia has won the election and they have won by a landslide and this could be wonderful news for the whales of Antarctica."

More to this on Sea Shepherd

Have you ever been to Sea World and seen the dolphins? I haven't and always refused to go when friends would ask. Why? Because I have a problem with dolphins being in captivity. This is a very controversial issue in the marine wildlife world.

People love dolphins, but they often suffer a failure of empathy and imagination. They do not make the connection that to bring a dolphin into these preposterously unnatural circumstances requires that dolphins be ripped from their natural environment, kidnapped from their families and pod mates, held in nets, carried in trucks, hoisted into planes and flown to distant locations. Many die in the process. Those that survive are condemned to a life in a cement tank, listening to the interminable hum of the filtration system and the screams of the audience.

If you'd like to see more on this issue, please check out Dolphins in Captivity - The Harsh Truth

In Osaka, Japan:

As you enter the circular confines of this grotesque arcade you see a circular tank 5-foot deep circling a kind of stage area. It's a bit like a race course only smaller. Closer still you find there are two dolphins in this hallucinatory situation. They press close to the glass, desperate for something - contact? food? entertainment? I stand eye-to-eye with one of them. I cannot penetrate its mind and perhaps that is a good thing. The situation is conducive to madness.

Where did these dolphins come from and what was left behind?

The two dolphins at World Ranch were taken from Taiji. Most of their pod mates were butchered and left to bleed to death on the beach. The rest were shipped to aquaria and swim-with programs around the world.

Also check out: Aquarium Industry Spurs Dolphin Slaughters

Following is the link on a video expose Blue Voice did in Japan on this matter. Please be aware that parts of it are very graphic, documenting the slaughters and how these dolphins are captured, tortured, and killed.

Link to Video Expose

It makes me literally ill to my stomach that these people lack such compassion and support these actions. Even if someone is against dolphin slaughters, how can they then support these aquariums, knowing full well how these dolphins got and what they are being deprived of now.

Greed is the motivating factor obviously.

How would these people feel if they were herded in this manner, randomly selected for torture and slaughter, or picked to live in a small holding pool and be expected to "perform" for an audience?

Seriously. Round up these fishermen, keep 'em flopping about in the water struggling to either breathe or to be free. Hang 'em up in the air with threats to gut 'em open like they do the dolphins. Throw a couple of 'em into a small pool and throw them a fish now and then to eat. Then expect them to leap in and out of the water for a paying audience.

(Note that I am not advocating violence against these fishermen. I'm merely making a point that perhaps they need to be given a slight taste of their own medicine.)

Just sayin',

Dolphin