Operation Infinite Patience: February 15, 2012

The Keystone Cops (Wakayama Prefecture Police) never cease to amaze me.  This is the second year we have been using our walkie-talkies in Taiji.  Same radio this year as last.  In addition, Erwin had one when the Wakayama Prefecture Police arrested him on December 16, 2011.  They had the radio in their possession for several weeks and it was even presented in criminal court.  No one seemed to think anything about it.

Then, on February 8, the Keystone Cops reacted!  We knew something was up for their finest investigators were hiding in the shrubbery that morning and filmed us through parted leaves.  Very clever they were for they caught us red-handed using the walkie-talkies.  Who would have guessed that on February 8 we would be using radios that we have used here every day?

Operation Infinite Patience: February 3, 2012

Left to Right: Jon, Troy, Janice, Emile, Melissa, Guilherme, Scott, KyleThe criminal case against Dutch citizen Erwin Vermeulen is a farce.  The allegations against Erwin are false.  It is very rare in Japan for such a minimal infraction to be charged, much less tried.  Erwin is not the one on trial here however.  Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is on trial.  The Netherlands is on trial.

Most of the Dutch government and most Dutch citizens support Sea Shepherd in its efforts to stop the illegal activities of the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean.  Two of our ships proudly fly the Dutch flag.  The Japanese government is the criminal there, but the government of Japan cannot face that reality and therefore push their shame and responsibility onto Erwin.   Erwin is a Dutch citizen standing for the dolphins with Sea Shepherd.

Operation Infinite Patience: January 19, 2012

The second Monday of January is a holiday in Japan.  It is a time when the young men and women of the town who have “come of age” that year are acknowledged as adults.  It is generally a cheerful time, full of pageantry.  The dolphin killers of Taiji failed to recognize the holiday and instead went about harassing a pod of Risso’s dolphins.  Two of these dolphins were sent off to imprisonment and the remaining seven were cut up and eaten.  It seems that the Risso, along with Pilot Whale, is very popular among the dolphin eaters here.

The bloodshed did not end there.  On the tenth of January, the next day, the killers struck again.  This time they claimed the lives of 43-47 Striped dolphins.  We have been told that Striped dolphin meat is “lower” grade and much of it rots on the store shelves.

Operation Infinite Patience: January 9, 2012

It has been a bloody time in Taiji these past few weeks.  Before the killers took their holiday break, dolphins were dying almost every day.  The killers returned to “work” after their break with a vengeance.  The very first day, January 5, found them harassing a pod of over 200 Striped dolphins.  At first, some of the hunting boats were messing with a small pod, but when they learned from their buddies that a much larger one was over the horizon, they left the small pod alone.  When the large pod had been driven close enough to shore for us to see them, they were stretched out over a mile.  Fortunately, it was just too much for the hunters to handle and most of the members of this pod escaped.  Eventually 41 to 45 of them were killed.

Operation Infinite Patience: December 31, 2011

What Do Cove Guardians Do?

Cove Guardians Scott West, Luca Frattini, and
Ethan Wolf.I sometimes hear criticism along the lines of, “I do not want to be a Cove Guardian, standing around and taking pictures of dead and dying dolphins.”  Believe me, I do not want to do that either, but unfortunately it is part of the mission.  If we were not here to document and report the atrocities, they would still occur.  They would occur in secret and these dolphins would die alone and forgotten.  By being here, we are able to demonstrate the lengths to which the murderers go to hide their deeds.  The shame these men must feel is quite evident.  The shame they bring to their country is monumental.  Without our being here to document their behavior, their shame would be a secret.

Cove Guardians do more than just photograph and document.  We are at the dock each morning when the killers make their plans for the day.  There is no time when they are free of us, or free of looking over their shoulders to see if we are watching.  We appear when and where they expect us and when and where they do not.   We are there to celebrate when they return empty handed from a hunt and we are there when they are torturing the unfortunate dolphins they do find.  We track the men and women who buy the bodies of the slain and we document the processing of the meat.  We are working on determining where that meat goes and who consumes it.  There is no aspect of the hunt, slaughter, or distribution that is free of our presence.

Operation Infinite Patience: December 25, 2011

Christmas in Taiji

Shingu city police station and
detention center.For the free-swimming dolphins of the Japanese Pacific coast, this Christmas day is one free of murder and mayhem.  However, there are many dolphins in Taiji who have recently been forced from the open ocean.  They had to endure being ripped from their families and then listening to those family members being killed.  Now they are incarcerated in small enclosures and are completely dependent upon marine mammal trainers for their sustenance.  If they do not perform the required tricks, they do not eat.

These dolphins have no idea why this happened to them.  They did nothing wrong (except choosing to live close to Japan).  They have no idea how long they must live this way.  If they knew it were a life sentence, how many would choose to die instead?  They are there because of human greed and arrogance.  We do not usually think of these aspects of humanity at Christmas.  It is easier to pretend that there is goodness in humanity.  Should you or your family visit a captive dolphin park this holiday season or during this coming year, think of these things.  Ask yourself how you are supporting greed and arrogance.

Operation Infinite Patience: December 14, 2011

The bloodshed continues here in Taiji, as today marked the third day out of four where the dolphin hunters located and slaughtered a pod. Two days ago, a family of 13 Risso's dolphins were sentenced to their deaths, with one being taken to a life in captivity- a death sentence in itself. The previous day, three Risso's dolphins were taken for captivity, however four transportation slings were taken into the killing cove. This could only mean that the people in charge of selecting the 'suitable' show dolphins were impressed with three on the first day. They knew there would be another chance to make their fourth selection, and were given this opportunity the following day.

Today, the dolphin killers drove and slaughtered a family of 14 Striped dolphins. This amazing species often leaves many people in awe of their beauty and grace, yet for a dolphin hunter, the ‘another day, another dollar, (another dolphin)’ mentality comes into play.