September 1 Marks Beginning of Six-Month Slaughter During Which 23,000 Dolphins and Whales Are Knifed and Speared
For Immediate Release:
August 31, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Washington D.C. -- Holding signs that read, "Let Dolphins Live Free" and "Japan: Stop the Dolphin Massacre," throngs of protesters representing PETA, Earth Island Institute, and Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project (named for the trainer of the dolphin used in the '60s TV show Flipper) will mark Dolphin Day by protesting Japan's annual dolphin slaughter outside the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. on Thursday. Protesters will also share graphic video footage from the award-winning documentary The Cove to passersby. The annual six-month massacre begins on September 1 and claims the lives of approximately 23,000 dolphins and small whales in Japan every year. Similar protests will be held in more than 37 cities worldwide.
When: Thursday, September 1, 12 noon
Where: Outside the Embassy of Japan, 2520 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, D.C.
"Herding and stabbing to death dolphins—highly intelligent animals who have been documented saving humans' lives—has no place in the 21st century," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Commercial fishing is at the root of the massacre, but the cruel captive-dolphin industry must share the blame."
In the fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into a hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishers kill the dolphins by cutting their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with the dolphins' blood as the dolphins scream and struggle to escape. Although some assume that the dolphins are killed to supply a small minority of Japanese people with dolphin meat, the animals are actually killed as "pests" because they compete with commercial fishing. If you don't want to support the slaughter of dolphins, don't visit any dolphinarium abroad, and please don't support a lifetime of suffering for animals in captivity by going to Sea World or any dolphinarium.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
