In den naechsten Tagen werde ich noch ein Festival Bericht ueber das Ruhrpott Rodeo hochladen. Dort war ich ja dieses Wochenende und ich denke mal, dass es einen kleinen Bericht wert ist.
Heute habe ich das leider noch nicht geschafft, da ich schon den ganzen Tag an meinen Informatik Hausaufgaben sitze x_x
Ansonsten gibt es nicht viel neues zu erzaehlen.
Mit freundlichen Grueßen,
Tati

In naechster Zeit werde ich mich vorraussichtlich oefter melden, ich hatte nur in letzter Zeit wenig Freiraum, um mich zu melden. Das liegt daran, dass ich jetzt noch in den Spanisch Grundkurs hineingekommen bin und nun ein 3/4 jahr Spanisch nachholen darf. Aber momentan laeuft’s ganz gut (:
Bald ist ja auch wieder Pfingsten und es gibt einige freie Feiertage.
Ich wuensche Euch also noch ein wunderschoenes Wochenende.

Title: The Cove (Die Bucht)
Genre: Documentary (environment, ocean)
Released: July 31st 2009 USA, October 22nd 2009 Germany
Topic: The slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan
Rating: / 5

The Cove is definitely one of the most powerful and touching documentaries , you have ever seen. It reveals information and pictures about an issue that was not meant to ever become public and that a whole state tried to conceal from anyone who is not in this business. And indeed, they managed to keep it a secret for a long time.
This documentary is the first film that introduces the world to a mass slaughter that has been a dark secret up to then. It shows how masses of dolphins are caught, sold, slaughtered and exploited every year.
The movie came into German cinemas in October 2009 and is directed by Louie Psihoyos. It is a nature documentary that is mainly lead by Richard O’Barry who was the trainer of the most popular dolphin in the world, Flipper. During his times training dolphins he learned to respect these incredibly intelligent and sensitive animals. Now, that he more or less introduced a new industry that focuses on making dolphins a tourist attraction and thus gaining a lot of profit, he started realizing what he has done. He himself says that if one experienced how passionately and freely dolphins behave in the wild, one also knows that it is a shame to corral these creatures. Meanwhile he is an animal rights activist since 35 years, desperately trying to make amends for what created.

The meaningful cove, the place where the annual slaughter is preceded, lies in Taiji which is at the east coast of Japan. In order to get as much support for the anti-dolphin hunting campaign as possible, O’Barrey started informing friends about the issue. In the end he got a crew that consisted of several specialists, such as two professional divers, people who know how to use camera techniques and audio systems etc.

Fishermen driving dolphins into the cove
Source: thecovemovie.com

The “hunters” that are involved in this brutal business start driving the dolphins into the cove in September and end the season in March. The way the fishermen battue the dolphins is simple, but horrifying for the animals. Dolphins have a very distinctive sense of hearing with which they are able to communicate over far distances. By hammering on metal poles that are partly under water they irritate the dolphins in the way that they desperately want to get as far away from this terrible noise as possible. However, the fishermen surround the animals with this sound so that they only have one way to escape: directly into the trap.
There, the fishermen either sell dolphins to marine parks or dolphin programs. Taiji is the largest supplier of dolphins for worldwide marine parks such as Seaworld or programs that offer the possibility to swim with these sensitive creatures. The profit, which is 150.000$ for each living dolphin, is finally divided between the fishermen and the city.
Though, this disposal does not save the dolphins from a terrible life. They will have to live in small pans that prevent them from swimming and moving as much as they would do in the wild. Also they are not able to have contact to other dolphins and thus are not able to form stable social groups like in the open ocean.

But how do the dishermen use the rest of the dolphins? Right, they are slaughtered brutally and initially die after several minutes in which they frantically try to catch another breath at the surface of the water. Though, one might ask who actually eats dolphin meat. A survey in Taiji showed that hardly anyone does. So, how come, that the demand of this sort of meat is high enough to keep this industry stable?

Bloody Water, Source: meeresakrobaten.de

Dolphin meat is often used in products where it usually might not be presumed. Most times it is mixed up with whale meat and then sold in the frozen-food department of each supermarket. Even dolphin attractions in Japan offer the possibility to taste the flesh of the animals that the audience just saw in the show. Also tuna contains bits of dolphin meat.
Nevertheless, the meat of these intelligent animals is poisonous as well. It contains a profound amount of mercury, an amount that lies far above the permitted quantity that is set by the health ministry. The dolphin ingest the mercury, because the molecules got into the food chain years ago and since dolphins are highly ranking within the marine food web, the amount they contain can have serious effects on humans. The effects that this chemical element has on our body are devastating. It leads to a remission of nerves and synapses within the brain, hence visual faculty, mobility and other basic abilities are affected.

The most intriguer and corrupt aspect about the whole issue of Taiji’s whale industry is that the politicians tried to convey the truth from the public. They lied to their citizens and desperately tried to keep any information about the procedure in the cove from the public’s attention.
This aspect can be seen within the movie in an excellent way. The whole anti-dolphin hunting campaign has to be built up like a secret mission with night actions and the threat of being imprisoned at any time. The whole system of Taiji is supporting this industry although it, firstly, threatens its own citizens, secondly, lies to them and thirdly misuses their trust in order to keep the profit as high as possible. This is also the main reason why almost nobody in Taiji knows about the brutal side of the industry that their hometown is based on and that is financed with their taxes.

Finally I can say, that The Cove is a documentary that might change something. Please, don’t turn away from what is happening and face it. It is a highly recommendable film with an important message.

How can You help preventing this terrible slaughter?
First of all, it is important to spread the information. Although The Cove is a movie that came into cinemas in 2009, a lot of people still don’t want to see and hear the truth.
Secondly, you can stop buying whale meat or other products that contain dolphin meat. I think, that this might not be too difficult. Though, you should go an important step further: Do not support any marine parks or other attractions that keep dolphins for your entertainment. They might be cuddly and wonderful to watch, but the circumstances they have to endure in order to satisfy your need, are not worth it. Dolphins are highly intelligent and sensitive creatures that do not deserve to be captured.