Ric O'Barry's
Dolphin Project
August 2017
'As long as Taiji has dolphines, they will have Dolphin Project,' says Rick O'Barry
Find ways to participate: September 1 - Japan Dolphins Day
Struggling dolphins are brutalized into submission, Taiji, Japan.
When Dolphin Project Founder/Director Ric O’Barry first witnessed the
dolphin drive hunts in the tiny fishing town of Taiji, Japan, he committed
to exposing the cruelty inflicted upon dolphins – a cruelty he could only
describe as “breathtaking”. Sights and sounds that no human, nor dolphin,
should be subjected to assaulted his senses, and, fifteen years later, still
continue to do so.
"As long as Taiji has dolphins, they will have Dolphin Project.“ ~ Ric
O’Barry
Between the months of September and March, an “official” 1940 dolphins of
various species including bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso's
dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, pilot whales, false killer whales,
pantropical spotted dolphins and new to this season, rough-toothed dolphins
and melon-headed whales will be subject to harassment, injury, capture and
slaughter — all in the name of greed. Many more dolphins will be killed in
the process of the hunts, their numbers never recorded.
Trainers, working alongside hunters, will select untold numbers for
captivity, “presold” to marine parks in Japan and overseas – a violent
process where dolphins will fight for their lives against the deafening and
disorienting roar of boat engines, nets and extreme manhandling. Once
captured, they will undergo a strict training regimen to prepare them for
shipment to marine parks and aquariums for “life” in captivity.
Much progress has been made since 'The Cove' won an Oscar for Best
Documentary (2010). More and more Japanese people have become aware of the
gruesome killings taking place in Taiji, with local activists participating
in Japan Dolphins Day and other peaceful demonstrations. Despite the
government’s denial, dolphin meat has been proven, in repeated testing, to
be poisoned by mercury and other heavy metals, making it unfit for human and
animal consumption. Captive facilities are becoming more unpopular in United
States and other parts of the world, and in some cases, the breeding of
captive dolphins has been prohibited.
Although a 19-day incarceration in January 2016, resulting in Ric's
deportation from Japan will prevent him from going to Taiji, our team of
Dolphin Project Cove Monitors will be present for the entire six months of
the annual dolphin hunting season. Dolphin Project's legal team is actively
working to overturn the deportation order.
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