Where Have all the Dolphins Gone?

As an animal activist and vegan, these moments can be tricky. When our group decided to go ‘swimming with the dolphins,’ I was cautiously excited. Cautious because of the potentially ethical sticking points involved in animal/eco-tourism, and using animals for human entertainment.

Astrisk – Please note that vegans and animal rights activists run along a spectrum, and not every vegan/animal rights person agrees on the right/wrong in every case. There are many schools of thought, and ultimately every situation requires us to make the best possible choice at the time.

It turns out the excursion company we chose was a highly responsible outfit. We were educated beforehand on dolphins, told not to touch the dolphins, and our guide explained that the most important thing was keeping the dolphins’ wildness. “Out there, the dolphins are in charge,” said our marine biologist guide. He obviously cared deeply for these beautiful animals. First and foremost, they were interested in tracking groups of dolphins and tracking human/environmental impact on the animals.

I can hardly describe the experience. After trying several times, I think I’ll stop. You can ask me about it in person. Suffice to say, I was moved.

Upon returning from our retreat, I was having a much needed Twitter-a-thon, and started seeing reports on Sea Shepherd‘s feed about the dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan. Pods of wild striped dolphins are rounded up and brutally slaughtered for meat. Its heartbreaking to imagine our beautiful and beloved friends being needlessly killed!

If you haven’t seen the Oscar winner documentary “The Cove” yet, do. Its hard, but important to get educated and get motivated!
http://www.thecovemovie.com/
Its currently streaming on Netflix

REMEMBER: “action is the antedote to despair”
So, once you watch the movie…. get involved!!

Four EASY things you can do to help dolphins.

1. SIGN A PETITION:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/end-dolphin-slaughter-in-japan/

2. WRITE A LETTER: this website has a template letter and the contact information for the japanese authorities and corporations.
http://opsociety.org/what-you-can-do/after-seeing-the-cove

3. SUPPORT: great organizations such as sea shepherd, who does effective direct actions that stop whaling, dolphining, and shark finning….. their website has lots of great info… you can donate, volunteer, watch youtube clips, and get lots of info
http://www.seashepherd.org/

4. TELL EVERYONE: your passion is contagious. because you’ve been personally touched, others will care about this BECAUSE you do. tweet, share, talk, etc. spread the love!!