Have You Seen "The Cove" Yet?

I would have missed the movie "The Cove" if I hadn't seen a blurb about it in one of the magazines I get from a charity I support that addresses environmental issues.  The film is a documentary about the capture and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.  Some dolphins are captured from the wild and sold for up to $150,000 each, and go to places like Seaworld and places where you can "swim with the dolphins" for a fee.  The dolphins which are not sold into captivity are slaughtered and the dolphin meat, which is high in mercury, makes its way into the human food chain.

The dolphin trainer from the "Flipper" series realized, after working with dolphins in captivity, that they were very intelligent and began a crusade to set them free whenever possible.  When he learned of the annual slaughter in Taiji he began to work to stop the killing, and to document it was happening.  The lengths he and his team went to to get the footage of the slaughter are incredible, and there is no denying the result is a very hard to watch film that shows what really happens, vs. the claims of "instantaneous death."  The film also does a good job of showing how Japan has campaigned to keep the killing of dolphins legal and to legalize whaling again, by buying off small nations which have a vote in the International Whaling Commission. 

Certainly, I recommend the film, available from Netflix and otherwise.  This is the official website for the movie.  Also, here is a website related to taking action to stop the killing.  I will not visit Japan while the killing continues, or support Japan by buying their products. 

While the slaughter of all animals is disturbing, it is particularly so when man slaughters intelligent, self-aware animals in the wild, and in inhumane ways.  I can't imagine anyone watching the footage of the slaughter in Taiji not being horrified.