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Home Page We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts. Animal Defenders of Westchester |
Articles Whales Alive! - Vol. XIII No. 4 - October 2004 Cetacean Society International News From New York By Taffy Lee Williams The New York Aquarium and an encouraging public took notice as 14
activists from the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League called for the
release of 3 beluga whales confined to small holding tanks inside the New
York Aquarium. The boisterous Labor Day protest drew tremendous support from
passers-by, even boardwalk security, as hundreds of pieces of anti-captivity
literature were distributed. "Stop The Torture! Stop The Pain! New York Aquarium Is To Blame!" The chants evoked the images of the New York Aquarium's blind beluga in
her chlorinated tank, the plexiglas wall that allows visitors to view her
small enclosure in which she circles monotonously, silently, in a
never-ending prison dance that can only be described as animal abuse. "It's
too painful to watch," many conscientious visitors say of the whales in
their unnatural housing. Many people stated that though they had not thought about the situation
before, after learning about the issue believed that keeping whales,
dolphins or sea lions in concrete tanks was simply wrong. "It's terrible!" a Brooklyn resident remarked, as she joined in the
strong, determined chants led by protestor Greg Novara. "One-Two-Three-Four! Open Up The Tank Doors! Five-Six-Seven-Eight! Educate and Liberate!" "One Struggle! One Fight! Human Freedom! Animal Rights!" These were the sounds of the protestors, heard from a distance on the
beach and up and down the boardwalk, as Labor Day vacationers stopped and
signed letters, read our signs, and joined in the singing. This was a day of
victory for the belugas inside, endlessly, aimlessly encircling their
chemical and chlorine-treated water-filled tanks. Some of the signs read: NY AQ: Belugas In Chlorinated Tanks = Blind Belugas Whales In Concrete Tanks: Uneducational, Unnatural, Costly And Inhumane! Not far from the chanting protestors, the three Arctic beluga whales are
continually forced into an unnatural dependence on humans while they endure
a chillingly disturbing confinement; their natural behavior drastically
altered. In the wild, belugas are known as the "canaries of the sea,"
because of their constant chatter, song and incredible vocal dexterity. The
beluga "canaries of the sea" in the New York Aquarium are silent. After one beluga whale died in April, two more whales were brought in,
originally on loan to the Mystic Aquarium. One of the whales is wild caught,
from one of the notoriously violent wild whale roundups, another's origin is
reported as "unknown" by NOAA/NMFS, which activists believe means it is
probably wild caught as well. The third beluga whale was captive born. These large, silent, often-blinded belugas are kept in concrete tanks at
an enormous expense to the City of New York. Last year, the city proposed a
50% cut in funding for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages and
operates the NY Aquarium. The cuts were expected to finally close the beluga
exhibit. An article about the protest was featured in the Brooklyn Bay News. "When Innocent Whales Are Under Attack, What Do We Do? Stand up! Fight Back!" The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, and the Environmental Club
of SUNY-WCC also organized the Wildlife and Environmental Action Day, which
brought local environmental and wildlife activists together to share their
stories, successes and hopes for the future. Over 30 people attended the event which was held on Sunday, September 26,
2004, from 4-8 pm. The first presenter was Taffy Williams, Director of the Whale and Dolphin
Action League, who discussed RMS (Revised Management Scheme) and the
imminent threat to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling. Powerful
military sonar and the coincidental mass beachings of whales, as well as the
connection with Japanese drive fisheries and the international aquarium,
swim-with-the-dolphin industry, was also discussed. Drive fisheries are
operated by Japanese fishing fleets, who "drive" hundreds of dolphins at a
time into shallow bays and up onto the beaches. While on the shores, eager
aquarium officials choose the young, unblemished, usually female specimens
for their facilities to replace their short-lived tank-dwelling dolphins, or
for the new dolphinariums springing up around the world. These aquarium
officials will pay typically 300,000 yen or more for each dolphin, more than
enough to compensate the fishing boat operators for their efforts. The
remaining wailing, screaming dolphins are then slaughtered in cold blood and
sold as whale meat for consumption in Japanese markets, despite often higher
than allowable levels of mercury and methyl mercury in their flesh. Also attending and speaking at the event was highly respected local
wildlife rehabilitator, Jill Doornick, director of the Rye, NY-based rescue
center, Animal Nation. Al Streit, of NYC's Pigeon People, and Joanna
Clearfield, Director of the Urban Wildlife Coalition discussed the often
dire situation for both NYC's wildlife and those who often work
"underground" to rescue or rehabilitate them. Anne Muller, leading the
important Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting (CASH), a project of Wildlife
Watch, discussed the DEC's dependence on hunting, and presented a short
film, "Blood Economy", which exposed the ethical and environmental cost of
sport hunting. Kiley Blackman, director of Animal Defenders of Westchester,
discussed ongoing heroic efforts to ban traveling animal acts from public
property in Westchester County, and the environmental benefits of a
non-animal-based diet. Certainly the star attractions of the evening were
the baby opossum, a baby squirrel and two baby pigeon chicks undergoing
rehabilitation by Animal Nation. Following a vegan buffet, the audience was treated to "The Pelican Man",
the Ocean Journal film about a Sarasota, Florida, rescue operation which
saves up to 7,000 birds and other wildlife every year. The event concluded
with a showing of the Tribe of Heart production, "The Peaceable Kingdom",
the highly acclaimed film about the often miraculous rescue of farm animals
and their days at Farm Sanctuary, located in Woodstock, NY. There were
plenty of petitions and letters to sign supporting the efforts of these
hard-working organizations, along with related literature. The Journal News covered parts of the event in an article, "Activists
Speak Up For Animals," which appeared in the following day's paper. Did you know that two dolphins are rented annually and sent to the Six
Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, NJ? Or that another pair is
rented and sent to a water park in Hershey Park, PA? In both of these cases,
and to other parks around the US, dolphins (and sea lions) are transported
over land in April to their spring/summer locations, and returned in October
in what must surely be high stress, mortality-invoking conditions. To learn
more about this disturbing situation, please call us at 914-793-9186. The NY Whale and Dolphin Action League is proud to be a project and part
of CSI. Please see our web site,
http://www.ny4whales.org/ , for information on
our other past and future activist events, efforts to help the marine
environment, our poster projects, our Community/Campus Clean-Up Days (SUNYWCC)
and Earth Day events. � Copyright 2004, Cetacean Society International, Inc. Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the
copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on
the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for
in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner. |
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