10/06/03
Sea Shepherd Crew Arrested for Documenting Dolphin Slaughter in Japanhttp://www.seashepherd.org/media_info2.asp?id=61Three members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were arrested and being held by police in Taiji, Japan, for documenting a dolphin roundup in the area with video and still cameras. Taiji is located on the south part of mainland Japan, near Osaka.
Brooke MacDonald (Canadian), Morgan Whorwood (British), and Nicholas Hensey (American) recently traveled to Japan to document the dolphin round-up and slaughter by local fisherman near Taiji. Wild dolphin slaughter occurs in several areas of Japan - it’s estimated that 1-2 thousand dolphins are killed each year via round-ups, and additional thousands killed by other means.
A reason for the arrest is unclear. The three Sea Shepherd members reportedly called the local Japanese police themselves and were arrested for unknown cause. While it is not illegal to document a dolphin round-up, the video documentation of the slaughter is very graphic and is effective in raising awareness of the issue world-wide.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is very concerned about the well-being of the arrested individuals and is trying to reach them in Japan for updates.
Japanese fisherman, faced with depleted fisheries due to over-exploitation, often blame wild dolphins for low fish catches and herd them with prods and nets into shallow bays for painful and slow execution. The slaughters are also seen as a way to eliminate non-human competition for the plummeting fish stocks.
Similar slaughters are frequent and increasing in other coastal fishing villages such as Futo. Although dolphin meat is highly toxic with industrial pollution, it can be passed as prized whale meat and sold on the open market. Other products include pet food and fertilizer. The Japanese government promotes a whaling program that kills over 1000 Minke whales each year, despite the 1986 international moratorium on whaling.
Sea Shepherd was instrumental in stopping dolphin slaughter on Iki Island, Japan, in the early 1980’s when the local fishermen signed an agreement with Captain Paul Watson to permanently end the practice. Sea Shepherd is a non-profit, non governmental marine wildlife conservation organization which has protected the lives of hundreds of thousands marine animals around the world since founded in 1977 by Captain Paul Watson.
For more information, please contact Captain Paul Watson, founder and president of Sea Shepherd. Tel: USA 360-370-5650. Fax: USA 360-370-5651. Email: paul@seashepherd.org.
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Sea Shepherd Conservation Society welcomes your support. To learn how to support our conservation work, please visit: www.seashepherd.org/help.shtml.
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