Lesser Known Slaughters

Today I will be talking about two slaughters in particular, the dolphin slaughter in the Solomon Islands and Peru, and also the pilot whale slaughter in the Faeroe Islands. These have not been as publicised as the Taiji hunt, but are nevertheless just as barbaric and unnecessary.

    I shall first start with the Solomon Islands slaughter, which mainly occurs on the island of Malaita. Spanning over 450 years, dolphin hunting has long been tradition for the local peoples, using their catch to share out between the households, as well as use the teeth as local currency and jewellery, and even bridal dowries. However, due to the ever-flourishing demand for live dolphins to fill the more and more new parks being built, it has become a whole lot more lucrative. But not necessarily for the local population, as western dealers have begun to operate on the islands, buying and selling the live dolphins to the industry, for a huge profit. It is also unknown how many dolphins are actually killed each hunting season, which runs from December to April when the dolphins come closer to shore. They use traditional drive hunt methods, using sticks and stones on the water to drive the dolphins into the shallow waters, where the attractive ones are chosen and taken to a holding pen, and the others are left to be butchered. The dolphins that are hunted tend to be spotted and spinner dolphins, along with the (Indo- Pacific) bottlenose which is the ideal candidate for the dolphinarium industry.

    A bottlenose being caught in the Solomons. (Photo from Google images).

    In 2003, 200 bottlenose dolphins were captured and held in holding pens, and in July of that year 28 were shipped over to Cancun, Mexico, in order to fill up the Atlandida facility in Parque Nizuc. The facility offers swim with dolphin and 'how to be a trainer' programs. This shipment caused huge controversy as the Indo-Pacific bottlenose is listed as endangered in Appendix II of  the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and this urged the Solomon Islands to reconsider. What caused even more controversy is that within a month one dolphin had already died, and then over the next 5 years 11 more followed. Mexico then reacted by imposing a ban on all imports and exports of live cetaceans for the entertainment industry. The Chairman for the Committee of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries even released a statement urging other countries to avoid live imports from the Solomon Islands. The live export was then banned in the Solomons in 2005 in order to protect their multi-million dollar tuna industry, and in 2007 they became a member of CITES. However, despite this, they still sanctioned the live export of 100 dolphins a year, something that could only have been caused by the impending opening of the Atlantis resort in Dubai. This was of course to have a huge aquarium within it and also a dolphin complex, and needed filling with dolphins. The Solomons provided and shipped 28 bottlenose dolphins over in October of 2007, which cost over $100,000 US dollars in government tax. Ironically, the resort even has a 'dolphin education' centre, in order to educate the visitors who wish to swim with the dolphins. No surprise that the origins of the dolphins they are feeding and handling are left out of the educational talk.

   So, why this huge demand in the Solomon Islands? It does seem unlikely that a small and relatively un-westernised place can be so lucrative when it comes to the multi-billion dollar dolphin-trafficking racket. Well, that's because it is, it isn't run by the local population at all, and in fact they hardly see a penny from the sale of the dolphins they catch. This is because it is run and controlled by a middle-man, a ruthless and exploitative dolphin dealer. There are many who work in the Solomon Islands, paying off the local fisherman to catch them a nice-looking bottlenose, then selling for up to $165,000 each to any facility that is in need of fresh stock. A list of all the facilities which use Solomon Islands dolphins can be found here.One of the most infamous dolphin dealers is a man called Chris Porter, the man who once trained the just as infamous orca, Tilikum. For the last ten years he has been living over in the Solomon Islands, setting himself up as some sort of 'dolphin chief', living among the locals and doing deals with the fishermen in order to meet his quotas for live dolphins.He has in fact exported 83 dolphins throughout this time. He keeps the dolphins in small holding pens, often just old swimming pools, before they are bought and shipped over to any far-reaching countries in need of fresh dolphins. An interesting clip can be found here, showing him in his element with the locals, wearing dolphin teeth and showing Linc O'Barry what the dolphin trade is all about. The clip is from the series 'Blood Dolphins', in which Ric and Linc O'Barry set out to expose the live dolphin trade. It is in this series that Ric finally meets Chris for the first time and also manages to change his perspective on the dolphin trade. A moving clip of Chris breaking down whilst setting free some of his dolphins can be seen here. After this revelation, in which the death of Dawn Brancheau played an influential part, he has since pledged to free all his captured dolphins and even started a project, Free the Pod. This aims to release the remaining pod of 17 dolphins back into the wild, while also striving to develop a sustainable alternative for the local people of Gavutuhere.

   However, there is some bad news to equal it out, and this comes in the form of another dolphin dealer called Francis Chow. He has reportedly got 8 dolphins trapped in a tiny pen, near his seaside property, and is merely 'trying to make business'. So, despite the huge successes that have been experienced in the Solomon Islands lately, the business is still being kept afloat by the demand from parks for live dolphins. However according to Mr. Chow, the price of a dolphin is now just $50,000- so one can only hope that the business shall soon dry out altogether.

   So, onto the next subtopic, the slaughter in Peru, which if I am honest I have only come to know about very recently, as it has hardly any publicity at all. It was first introduced by Italian settlers in the 1960s, who begun to eat the dolphins who were accidentally caught up in fishing nets, it soon expanded and was at its worst during the 1980s and 1990s, in which about 20,000 dolphins were being killed annually for their meat. The most common to be targeted is the Dusky dolphin and bottlenose. However, it was prohibited by Supreme Decree in 1990, and completely outlawed in 1995, along with the eating and selling of any dolphin meat products. This prohibition didn't stem the hunting though, as even now up to 3,000 dolphins are slaughtered illegally along the Peruvian coast, then sold on the black market and at fish markets. There have been several sightings and reports from tourists and locals, who claim to have seen fishing boats surround a whole pod and then harpoon them, drag them aboard and club them to death. The NGO Mundo Azul (Blue World) runs education programs for local schools and businesses, and even training for the police force along the coast. they also operate under-cover operations in order to directly infiltrate dolphin hunters and dealers. Their very informative website can be found here.

     And here we are onto the last subtopic, that of the slaughter of pilot whales in the Faeroe Islands, also known as The Grind. Whaling in the Faeroe's has long been tradition, having being recorded and practised since about 1584. The method of the hunt has hardly changed, except for the use of motor boats and the use of gaffs (sharp hooks) being discouraged. The hunt has always been tradition in the 17 populated islands, and it is a community event where everyone can get involved, even children, though the killing is primarily left to the males of the household. The hunt mainly focuses on long and short finned pilot whales, although white-sided dolphins and bottlenose whales have also know to be caught. The Faeroese use the meat from the hunt, which is freshly butchered on the harbour side, and is then share it out about the community. However, the hunt has caused huge controversy in recent years, due to its cruelty and the fact it is deemed unnecessary. The hunt itself is just like any other drive hunt, where the whales are driven onto the shore using a wall of sound created by the boats and sticks and stones. Once on the shore, they are hooked in their blow holes using a gaff (or blunt gaff), and then dragged further inland to be killed. The method of killing may take up to 4 minutes, as it depends on the skill and strength of the hunter, who must slice into the blubber on top of the whale and cut the arteries and spinal cord. All this is going on with the whales family members at his side, looking on in terror. The water turns blood-red as the whales splash about in shear pain and panic. About 1000 are killed this way each year.

Above: a man using a gaff while the blood flows. Below: a typical cut, right through to the spinal cord.

(Photos from Google images)

  Despite the international pressure to stop the hunt, both from NGOs and governmental organisations such  as the EU. This is because the Faeroe Islands are still a Danish Protectorate, and Denmark is a member of the EU who has signed the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, which lists the pilot whale as 'strictly protected'. So basically, the Faeroese have refused to become a part of Denmark and the EU in order to protect their whaling industry. This can be read in full here. The hunt is considered so barbaric by organisations against whale hunting, even more so since the Sea Shepherd released their undercover photographs of the hunt, showing dead pilot whales with foetuses still attached to them, simply ripped from their womb. This type of savage murder has to be questioned, especially when considering the argument of 'tradition'.

A baby whale still attached to its dead mother by the umbilical cord. Truly tragic. (Photo Google images)

    Another cause for controversy is the question- do they actually eat all the meat? And more importantly, why? Well, to answer the first question, no they do not. A report has been done by the Sea Shepherd that shows a 'grave yard' of corpses, some still whole and untouched, just off one of the main hunting beaches. The report can be found here. So as for the meat debate, well it is now a well known fact that the mercury levels in the meat are far beyond dangerous, so much so that in 2008 even the Faeroese government and health ministry warned not to eat it, as it is no longer safe for human consumption. This supports the argument that it is not only dangerous, but also totally unnecessary in today's times. There are so many other food options available to the Faeroe Islands now, so surely it can't be worth the health risk?

However, there has been much support from the Sea Shepherd on this issue, who have created the Grind Stop operation, uncovering truths and trying to prevent further slaughters. A video compilation of a typical Grind slaughter can be found here.

 So that ends today's topic, sorry if it has been a bit dry. I am tired and if I am honest am just really looking forward to getting onto the captivity issues, as it really is a minefield of contradiction, corruption and cruelty, and there is so much to write about! Till next time. :)

Plan for post topics, and Dolphin Captivity

I was having a think last night and have come up with a rough plan of the topics I will be covering, and in what order. I think this will be best:

1. Taiji

2. Dolphin captivity and implications

3. Lesser publicised slaughters

4. Dolphin and orca intelligence

5. Orca captures in the past

6. Orca breeding today

7. Orca captivity and implications

8. Mortality rates in captivity

9. Famous cetaceans

10. Navy use of dolphins and whales, and dolphin therapy.

11.Whaling and the IWC

12. Current campaigns

13. List of dead, killed and living captive cetaceans

14. Shark finning, and shark product industry

15. Galapagos Islands

16. Current shark campaigns

17. Key cetacean and shark breeds

  And before you say 'hey sharks are not cetaceans!'- yes I know, but I think that their welfare and the issues surrounding them at the moment are just as relevant to any cetaceans. And to be honest I just really like sharks too, so thought I would include them to help get the word out about shark finning.

 So onto the next topic, dolphins in captivity and its implications. This is such a huge topic and deserves a huge post, so here goes. At the moment there are thousands of dolphins in captivity, in all the far reaching corners of the world. There is such a demand for them nowadays, and people just cant get enough. There are swim with dolphin programs, therapy, shows, you name it. Its as if every little girl now wants to be a dolphin trainer, or an orca trainer, and it is so sad to know how little they really know. This craze seemed to have started when the Flipper show was being aired on TV way back in the 1960s. It portrayed dolphins as intelligent, happy creatures that craved human contact and would risk their lives to save them. Like a cetacean Lassie almost. The role of Flipper was shared between several dolphins, but the main dolphin used was a female called Cathy. She and all the other 'Flippers' were trained by Richard (Ric) O'Barry, who back then was an aspiring young trainer based in Miami Seaquarium. He soon became a very famous trainer and was at the top of his game, that was until the death of his beloved dolphin Cathy. It was after the last series had finished that Ric had begun to notice she was looking depressed. It was then that she committed suicide in his arms. As he explained to Oprah Winfrey: 'She was really depressed... You have to understand dolphins and whales are not [involuntary] air breathers like we are. Every breath they take is a conscious effort. They can end their life whenever. She swam into my arms and looked me right in the eye, took a breath and didn't take another one. I let her go and she sank straight down on her belly to the bottom of the tank.' A heart-felt interview with Ric about the incident and about his work on Flipper can be seen here. It was from this point that he became a dolphin and whale activist, releasing and helping to liberate countless other captive dolphins. The argument that dolphins can commit suicide may indeed seem a far-fetched one, but it is not unknown that their emotional and indeed intellectual capacities are not far off our own, so suicide may in fact be a viable explanation for several incidences involving dolphins, and other cetaceans. 

       Recently there has been the story of the false killer whale jumping out of its performance tank in Japan. It attempted the leap once and failed, and then succeeded on the second try while his pool companions watched on in horror. It is safe to point out that the false killer whale was obviously aware of the implications of his actions- he could plainly see there was no water on the other side of the glass. So why did he try and escape? Ric argues that it was a suicide attempt, and it is one opinion that I would agree with. You can see the video of the incident here. Another interesting article on the idea of dolphin suicide can be found here. Another important point to raise here would be the story of Hugo the captive orca. He was originally captured in 1968 and was taken to Miami Seaquarium. He was used to keep Lolita company (more about her in the Famous Cetaceans topic), yet began to behave aggressively in shows. He eventually went into a very traumatised and depressed state, continuously banging his head on the tank wall, resulting in several serious injuries. He eventually had a brain aneurysm that caused his death in 1980. More on Hugo here.

Hugo being lifted after his death. (Photo from Google images)

So, captivity- what exactly are its implications on the dolphins it holds onto? Well, lets start with the living conditions for these dolphins. According to US regulations, a dolphin tank needs to be at least 30ft by 30ft, and 6ft deep. So that means in order for a dolphin to swim the length it does in the wild everyday, up to 50 miles, it would have to swim around the tank about 1700 times. Also, when you think that two or more dolphins may be sharing the tank at any one time, it makes the guideline size look like a swimming pool. The chemicals used in the tanks are also incredibly harmful, as they are difficult to keep clean and sanitary. The mental implications these small, boring tanks have on captive dolphins are extremely detrimental, and will be discussed later in this post. 

       The other important thing to consider when discussing captivity is of course the mortality rate, which is beyond justification. Dolphins die at an unbelievable rate when in captivity, from disease, depression, the squalid conditions, performance accidents, the list goes on. They are merely expendable commodities, their deaths do not matter, just as their lives do not matter. They can be replaced in a number of days and they are completely expendable. Some examples of deaths and causes of death are collisions during performance, one of which resulted in the death of 30 year old Sharky at Discovery Cove in 2008. They were performing a trick in mid-air and collided, resulting in the death of Sharky. This is purely unacceptable, to die whilst performing a trick for the public? It is immoral and beggars belief as to why they continue these shows. Anyway, I shall try and keep my rant to a minimum and just deal with the facts. Another death that was insignificant to the dolphinarium industry, yet so important to those opposing it, was the death of Poncho the dolphin at Miami Seaquarium in 1982. They found an array of objects in his stomach and it is a wonder her survived as long as he did, as they had obviously been in there for some time. A picture of this can be found here. It is no wonder why they wanted to keep that one hidden. More recently however, has been the deaths of four dolphins in the dolphinarium called Sealanya in Turkey. They all died within a week of each other, the reason yet is still unknown I believe. Although it will be surprising if any reason comes out at all, as it is in the interests of the park that they stay quiet. A very good news report on the full story can be found here. It is important to point out that these dolphins, and the others still at the park (and indeed all throughout Turkey) are from the drive hunts in Taiji. As quoted in the news article, 'They died psychologically while heading for Turkey'. A more successful story is that of Misha and Tom, two bottlenose dolphins trapped in a tiny 11m by 22m swimming pool in the middle of the Turkish town of Hisaronu. The conditions were appalling and they had endured 5 years of being fed frozen fish and floating on stagnant water before being brought to the attention of the Born Free Foundation. They have now been rescued and are currently living in a sea-pen. It just goes to show what public pressure can achieve. It is also important to include the recent death of Kalina the orca too, which unsurprisingly has not had a full explanation yet. She died at Seaworld Orlando on the 4th of October.

 Dolphins quite literally jumping through hoops at Sealanya. (Photo from Google images).

      When considering captivity, it is often a common assumption that these dolphins and orcas live in lovely, clean, bright blue waters, with the best health care and experts on hand. This is not always the case, especially in countries with lesser implicated animal rights, such as Egypt, Dubai, Korea, and as discussed earlier, Turkey. One of the most infamous places at the moment is Egypt, where there has been the case of the Taiji Four. At the end of September, four dolphins had been transported to Hurghada in Egypt from Taiji. They are to be the main attraction at a new oceanarium being built there. Note: it is no where near completion. They were being held captive in someones back yard swimming pool, which was green with waste and must not have been any bigger than your average kids' swimming pool. The dolphins must be an a terrible condition, both mentally and physically, and it is a wonder how they expect them to survive long enough to be moved to the oceanarium, let alone be trained to perform there. Fortunately, Ric O'Barry and his son have been out there trying to free them, or at least get them moved to a proper enclosure. You can follow the updates by looking on the Save Japan Dolphins blog, or follow this link to the first part of the story.

      So the question you may be thinking now is, why captivity? Why allow it? Well, apart from the immense profit for all those involved, from the hunters, breeders and trainers, all the way up to the owners of the oceanariums and dolphinariums, there is always the argument that it is for education and conservation, and when regarding dolphin therapy, therapy and rehabilitation. This of course is nonsense. All of it. And I am ashamed of those who believe that by paying for a ticket to a dolphin show they are getting some eductaion, that they are experiencing a real dolphin, and worst of all that they are helping to preserve them. The claims that the parks make about them providing an educational service to the public is absolute nonsense. They are in it for profit. They make millions upon millions of dollars a year profit and it is all because of the uneducated public buying a ticket thinking they will learn something from dolphins if they see a show. The behaviour shown by dolphins, and indeed orcas, in a show are a million miles away from their natural behaviours. How can they be expected to represent themselves and their species when confined in a space that is not even 1% of the size of their natural habitat? How can the paying public even think that by watching them perform tricks and sing and dance and jump through hoops, that they are watching a real dolphin? Or orca? All they are watching is a trained, submissive circus animal. They are trained not because they are happy to do the work, but because the trainers use negative reinforcement and food deprivation techniques to get the required results. These animals are just puppets that have been dominated and broken down, to the point where they have had to do drastic things in order to communicate their despair. Here I am obviously talking about Tilikum the orca at Seaworld Orlando, who in his captive life has demonstrated his unhappiness several times, leading to injury or death of the people involved. Yet still the show goes on, as the incidents were of course only described as 'horse play'. A good article on training dolphins can be found here, it has a good few insights from Ric, who trained at Miami Seaquarium. And of course, lets not forget Turkey here, as in the article I posted earlier it quotes: 'There are 11 dolphinariums in Turkey, but the number of dolphin experts is quite limited'. Thus proving that it really is all about profit. 

    The 'swim with dolphin' programs offered so widely are also just as bad, but not only for the dolphins. Studies have shown that being in the water with the dolphins puts people at risk from various bacteria and microorganisms. The full facts can be found here, as well as the full report on the hyperlink in blue. There have also been reports of dolphins trying to 'hump' people in the water, which may just seem like  innocent high jinks, but in fact may be very dangerous, especially if the person is a child or lesser-able bodied,  and the dolphin weighs up to 1200 lbs.  In fact, there is a video of such an incident on youtube. Note that it seems to be trained to perform such an action, as do the other dolphins in the other videos. Its appalling enough that any trainer would encourage that behaviour, let alone train it in the first place.The issue regarding 'dolphin therapy' is a complex one, and will be discussed in the later post- navy use of dolphins and whales, and dolphin therapy. So, back to the claims of education and conservation. Claims which are so ungenuine they are almost laughable. A few points to note here then, firstly the fact that the dolphins caught in Taiji who are sent to the Japanese oceanariums (in particular Taiji Whale Museum) to perform, are accompanied by their dead family members who are packaged in the restaurant for the paying visitors to eat during show intervals. Secondly, the Miami Seaquarium who claims to be educating the public about killer whales, and in fact has not got a clue. Their educational poster is totally incorrect, the 'false eye patch' does not exist.

Also, the other poster explaining 'natural' behaviour is laughable. The 'behaviour' seen in the show is trained and totally unnatural.

(Photos from Orca Network, Peter.P, 2007)

   I shall now briefly go on to explain some academic arguments against captivity, from the book The Animal Ethics Reader, 2nd edition, ed. Susan Armstrong and Richard Botzler. He argues against captivity for cetaceans, due to the mental and emotional consequences it has on them, and also the difficulty in keeping the facilities well managed. When talking about dolphins, he explains that 'for the most curious, exploratory, mobile, playful creature on the planet, an aquarium must be very boring indeed' (page 498). He also explains the morbidity of the life expectancy of captive dolphins and orcas, when compared to their natural life expectancy in the wild. He also stresses the need for social interaction for dolphins and whales in captivity. The human-dolphin relationship when under 'captive conditions' is so 'incredible' that is may prove how desperate the dolphins are to have a family-like bond and feel loved. It seems so meagre that they have to settle for the love and companionship of the paying customers and not their own kind.

  On that note, I end todays' topic, as I have so much to do and it is so late. I hope its been informative and I hope it wets your appetite for more. Believe me this is just the tip of the ice berg for captivity as a topic!! Good night. :)

Where to start? Taiji Dolphin Drive.

So I should be doing my uni reading right now, but as usual something is compelling me to learn and learn and learn. I have no one really to talk to about it yet, as I have missed all the Animal Rights society meetings so far, so I thought I will start a blog and see what happens. I just need to vent. And I need to help inform the people around me of whats going on out there, regarding cetaceans, and other marine life in general. I just want people to know. I believe that education is the key to change. I myself cant seem to stop looking at articles, websites, petitions, videos, films, books. It seems to have affected me in some way, and I just wish more and more people would realise the reality of whats happening around them.  And I dont even just mean this, I mean in everything. I am in a dilemma at the moment as to what career I want to go in when I graduate- the human rights side or the animal rights side. We shall just have to see how this blog ends up first I guess.

 So anyway, research. What have I learned today? I have learnt about the slaughter of dolphins the world over. So I guess I will start with the country that has had the most hype lately- Japan, and in particular a little fishing town called Taiji,Wakayama Prefecture.

     Every year, from September to March, the fishermen of Taiji go out on small boats to hunt for dolphins (mainly Bottlenose, Striped, Risso's and Pilot Whales), and drive them into a cove to be sold into the dolphinarium industry or slaughtered. It is called a drive hunt and claims up to 1800 lives a year. The hunt is (apparently) mainly for the dolphin meat, but according to the film 'The Cove' (2009) the majority of Japanese do not eat dolphin meat anymore, so much so that it was even being served up at local schools in order to get rid of the surplus. The amount of mercury in the meat is also at a very dangerous level, and is in fact slowly poisoning the local community and the population who eat it. Have a look at this, from 'The Cove'. So, why do they hunt if there is so little profit to be had in the meat trade? Is it tradition? Well yes in a way, as the Japanese have always been huge contributors to the whale and dolphin hunting industry, even from as early as the 17th C in Taiji. It could also be argued that it is due to over-fishing in the area- they are simply trying to take out the competition. However, the drive has recently been revived and expanded due to the ever-growing dolphinarium industry, and its huge demand for live dolphins.

    This is where the money comes from, this is where the supply and demand comes from, and this is why the drive hunt is now such a profitable operation for the people of Taiji and indeed Japan. A live, healthy and relatively attractive dolphin captured in Taiji can reach up to around $300 000 each. That means that even if they only sold two or three live dolphins out of a catch of about thirty or so, they would still make a huge profit. Buyers sent from dolphinariums, sea parks and aquariums from around the world line up on the shore to examine and bid for the best dolphins, while the rest of them are left in the cove overnight, separated from their babies and families, waiting for their fate to come the next morning. The main buyers nowadays are Turkey, Egypt, Dubai, China and even Japan itself. Apparently the US does not buy from Taiji anymore, but Captain Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd, believes differently. Check this out.

   Those 'lucky' enough to be bought will end up in some swimming pool- sized tank, or as I will discuss tomorrow, an actual swimming pool. The others are murdered using spears and knives, which are meant to be driven into the dolphins' neck, and kill them instantly. However, this is obviously very difficult to implement and supervise, considering it is done by a fisherman surrounded by water holding onto a terrified dolphin thrashing around. In the film 'The Cove', there is clear evidence that this 'humane method' is not the case at all, as dolphins are seen swimming around half-dead and the fishermen look as though they are just stabbing at the water aimlessly and mindlessly. It seems like carnage, and there is no way that the dolphins killed could have been killed humanely or indeed quickly. The footage of the dolphin who escapes and swims towards shore confirms this, as he is cut up and bleeding and eventually drowns, after at least a minute or so. The dolphins are then taken to the processing plant where they are butchered and packaged to be sold as meat. A good video to watch is the undercover footage of the slaughterhouse, by Save Japan Dolphins volunteer Leilani Munter. Some infamous pictures of the drive are shown below.

 Photos of a drive boat, the end result, and a dolphin head, from the Taiji drive hunt. (Photos from Goole images).

 So, to end this first post, some facts and figures about the Taiji drive hunt:

1. According to Wikipedia, as unpredictable as it may be, the drive of 2007 ended in the killing of 384 Striped Dolphins, 300 Bottlenose Dolphins, 312 Risso's Dolphins and 243 Pilot whales, which is a total of  1,239 cetaceans.

2. The fishermen have a permit from the Japan Gov. and refer to the drive as 'pest control'. This is seems quite dubious and it is as if the Gov. is only backing it due to the huge amount of money it brings into the country, and Taiji, each year.

3. 'The World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the world's largest network of zoos and aquariums around the world. Dolphinariums that have conducted business with the dolphin killers of Japan have been welcomed into WAZA's network, although the trade in these dolphins clearly violates WAZA's Code of Ethics.' From savejapandolphins.org. Also, see here about this issue. It seems almost corrupt.

Anyway, after that I really must do some reading for my lecture tomorrow. But I thought that would be a good starting point as it seems to be one of the greater known issues of cetaceans at the moment. Any comments, thoughts or whatever please say. Thank you :)

Oh and I will be talking about the lives (and deaths) of dolphins in captivity next time.