Sea Shepherd Crewmembers Risk Their Lives for Taiji Dolphins On October 6, 2003, after hiding out for several weeks in the cliffs overlooking the bay, crewmembers of Sea Shepherd's Taiji Dolphin Campaign filmed and photographed fishermen slaughtering dolphins in Taiji Harbor.

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The crew were attacked, intimidated and their lives threatened by local community members for daring to expose this previously unheard of atrocity. Some of the photographs they took are on these pages. You can see that the blood of the dolphins turned the sea red. Upon the release of the photos, AP Photo Japan gave testimony that the photos had not been revised in any manner.

The Sea Shepherd crew remained strong in Taiji for a month and a half in spite of growing hostilities directed at them by local fishermen. The crew filmed and photographed at every opportunity, and continued their watch over the harbor. VIEW VIDEO

On November 18, 2003, two crewmembers, Allison Lance Watson and Alex Cornelissen, dove into the bay and swam out to free 15 dolphins penned in to be slaughtered the next morning. VIEW VIDEO

They swam for over an hour untying and bringing down sections of the net creating escape routes for the dolphins. A passerby on shore called the Taiji police who contacted several fishing boats out in the harbor. After a valiant struggle in the water, they swam to shore and were immediately arrested. They were held in separate jails for 23 days without bail or communication with the outside world. With the help of other groups, protests were organized by Sea Shepherd supporters in 28 cities last year.

The world, including many Japanese citizens, saw for the first time, the horrendous brutality of this slaughter of beautiful creatures. That imagery made international front page news and stunned the world. Dolphin lovers worldwide were outraged and condemned the Japanese government for condoning this ritual of death.

The Japanese authorities' reaction to this was to post signs in the village and along the cliffs making it illegal to film or photograph the dolphin slaughter. This year they have stretched large tarpaulins above the bay to hide what they are doing, and guards are stationed to keep potential dolphin protectors from approaching or photographing what is happening to the animals.

Despite the thousands of letters, emails and protests sent last year, the Japanese government permits the hunt to go on, allowing over 23,000 dolphins to be killed. Our response must be to increase the publicity and the pressure we put on the Japanese government to halt this annual slaughter.

 

Species At Risk The Japanese fishermen are indiscriminate. They kill any species that approaches the coast. Sea Shepherd crew have witnessed the killing of: Striped dolphins Bottlenose dolphins Pilot whales* False killer whales Melon-headed whales This is not a complete list. They kill any species that approaches the coast including those listed above and Risso dolphins. *Killing pilot whales violates Japan's treaty obligations to the International Whaling Commission.