On Friday May 22nd, we
watch The Cove, a documentary
directed by Louie Psihoyos, which stares a group of activists led by renowned
dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, who infiltrates a cove near Taiji, Japan to expose
both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health. Although
I had heard a little bit about the massive slaughter of dolphins in Japan, I
was never fully aware of the extent of the Japanese' actions.
Each year, thousands of dolphins are
captured and massacred between September and March in Taiji and the fishermen
responsible for the killing of the dolphins are extremely protective of the
cove. Trying to avoid being revealed to the world, the Japanese are really
secretive of their actions and do not let anyone armed with a camera or
recording device of any kind near their property. Throughout the movie, it was
shocking to see how many Japanese, from fishermen and members of the town to
police officers and the government, take part in protecting the slaughter occurring
in the cove in Taiji.
Throughout the documentary, we see Ric O'Barry, a dolphin activist, team up with other scientists and divers to go on a cover operation to disclose the actions of the Japanese and the activity occurring in the cove. After preparing for months, the crew, armed with multiple cameras, heat detectors, and sound detectors left their hotel rooms in the middle of the night to go accomplish their mission and uncover the truth about the cove. During their mission, they installed hidden cameras in rocks to blend in with the surroundings of the cove and set up audio recording devices in the water in order to hear the sound made by the dolphins during their capture. Towards the end of the documentary, we clearly see and hear what the scientists and divers were afraid of discovering when going on the cover mission in the cove area. With these frightful footages, the scientists are going around the world and using it in order to inform more people of the situation and bring an end to it.
Although the killing of the dolphins is already cruel enough, the issue does not stop there. The Japanese would use the dolphin meat as a food source to be sold in markets and grocery stores and were hoping to use it for school lunches. Many people that are not aware of the dolphin meat having a high concentration of mercury, would not think anything more than it is just another type of meat being used has a food source. But in fact, the high concentration of mercury in the dolphin meat can have severe negative health side effects on humans and should not be consumed. Throughout the documentary, we see the scientists wonder around grocery stores and pick out packages of whale meat, which they found out later, after analysis, was in fact dolphin meat. The meat of the dolphins killed in the cove was being mislabeled by the fishermen and sold in fish markets and grocery stores to innocent consumers.
The overall documentary was heartbreaking and difficult to watch. It was unbelievable to see how the dolphins and the whales were depicted positively in the town of Taiji and how the people of Japan were so blinded by the fishermen's cover up. In today's society, we simply need to stop closing our eyes on situations like these in order to create a change in the world.
If you wish to get involved and help solve this issue simply follow this link. Everyone can help put an end to this issue by getting involved.
Throughout the documentary, we see Ric O'Barry, a dolphin activist, team up with other scientists and divers to go on a cover operation to disclose the actions of the Japanese and the activity occurring in the cove. After preparing for months, the crew, armed with multiple cameras, heat detectors, and sound detectors left their hotel rooms in the middle of the night to go accomplish their mission and uncover the truth about the cove. During their mission, they installed hidden cameras in rocks to blend in with the surroundings of the cove and set up audio recording devices in the water in order to hear the sound made by the dolphins during their capture. Towards the end of the documentary, we clearly see and hear what the scientists and divers were afraid of discovering when going on the cover mission in the cove area. With these frightful footages, the scientists are going around the world and using it in order to inform more people of the situation and bring an end to it.
Although the killing of the dolphins is already cruel enough, the issue does not stop there. The Japanese would use the dolphin meat as a food source to be sold in markets and grocery stores and were hoping to use it for school lunches. Many people that are not aware of the dolphin meat having a high concentration of mercury, would not think anything more than it is just another type of meat being used has a food source. But in fact, the high concentration of mercury in the dolphin meat can have severe negative health side effects on humans and should not be consumed. Throughout the documentary, we see the scientists wonder around grocery stores and pick out packages of whale meat, which they found out later, after analysis, was in fact dolphin meat. The meat of the dolphins killed in the cove was being mislabeled by the fishermen and sold in fish markets and grocery stores to innocent consumers.
The overall documentary was heartbreaking and difficult to watch. It was unbelievable to see how the dolphins and the whales were depicted positively in the town of Taiji and how the people of Japan were so blinded by the fishermen's cover up. In today's society, we simply need to stop closing our eyes on situations like these in order to create a change in the world.
If you wish to get involved and help solve this issue simply follow this link. Everyone can help put an end to this issue by getting involved.
