Protest against dolphin slaughter in Japan? Why?

by Ric O'Barry

Why Protest?

Several people have contacted us with this important question: Why not solve the drive fishery problem in a diplomatic way by having meetings at the Japanese embassies and consulate offices as opposed to protesting?

We have already done this several times in Paris, London, Brussels, Miami, Bern, Seattle, Vancouver, New York, Washington DC and just about every location where a Japanese embassy or consulate office exists.

Can anyone remember what the results of these well intended were? I can. It's those very memories that motivated the October 8th demo.

During these closed-door meetings, we were made to feel comfortable, even welcomed. We had tea and coffee and everyone was friendly and cordial. We even bowed to one another as a sign of mutual respect. We filed our usual complaint, the meeting was adjourned, we bowed once again, and the door closed behind us as we left the building. Nothing real happened after that. Nothing changed for the dolphins. In Taiji, the dolphin slaughter started on October 1st as usual. The killings continued through April, and 20,000 dolphins were killed with very little public outcry. The dolphin slaughter takes place so far away and is invisible to almost everyone who attended these diplomatic meetings.

What goes on in the killing cove in Taiji is a surreal scene straight out of the X-Files. The images will forever play in the minds of those who were there to witness them. The smell of death lingers on forever. And once you hear the dolphins'cries, you can be sure of one thing: The sound never goes away. Neither does the sound of the fishermen banging on their metal poles. These sounds and images will interrupt your sleep for the rest of your life.

We NGOs who tried our best to solve the problem by having diplomatic meetings behind closed doors -- and I was one of them -- failed miserably. We should have known all along that the only way to stop this madness is to expose it to the world.

After the meeting, we simply went back to our offices and contacted our members by magazine, e-mail and through our websites. We reported to them that their donation was well spent.. We reported that we had an important meeting with Japanese officials and informed them that we are gravely concerned about the situation. We did our job, or did we?

Did the Japanese officials report our formal complaints to Tokyo? Probably so, but so what, nothing changed. Does the rest of the world know that these crimes against nature are still taking place? Of course not. Our members know all about it.

We keep reminding them about the largest dolphin slaughter in the world before we ask them to hit the Donate Now button once again during the killing season.

Meanwhile the slaughter continues on as it has for the last 400 years. None of these government officials, none of the NGO's, or our members will have to hear the screams, smell the death and see the dolphins throats cut. When March rolls around and this killing season ends, this urgent issue will be put on the back burner for yet another year.

So what's the answer to the original question? Is it better to meet with the Japanese officials behind closed doors once again, or to show up to protest, 100,000 strong at their front door on October 8th?

The answer is: It's best to do both.

Source: Ric O'Barry - contact
Author: Ric O'Barry

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