Crimson Tears at “The Cove”: A Taiji Dolphin Hunting Story

I have never heard of a horror movie featuring dolphins, that is, until “The Cove” came. I was watching the 82^nd Academy Awards at home and I remember taking note of the movies that were nominated and awarded. I sat there excited as this year’s supposed “best” for the Academy were given honor. Each award caught my attention and for some reason, I was quite engaged with the show. Maybe that proved to be a good thing because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been aware that the residents of Taiji, Japan have dolphin meat on their menus.

This year’s Oscar award for Best Documentary Film was awarded to The Cove directed by veteran photographer Louie Psihoyos. Two reasons why this documentary is extraordinary: one, it is a film about dolphins being “legally” slaughtered at a National Park in Japan and two, this was covertly filmed with a team risking deportation, police harassment, suits (including trespassing and conspiracy charges) or worse.

What Happens in Taiji…doesn’t always stay in Taiji.

Produced by Fisher Stevens and Paula DuPre Pesmen, the movie follows former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry on a mission to end the dolphin killings in the small town of Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. Here in this small town of seemingly dolphin-friendly citizens, there lies a hidden slaughterhouse in the form of a secluded cove where dolphins are hunted and gathered annually by the local fishermen to be either sold in aquariums or marketed as whale meat for the people’s consumption. From a Japanese perspective, dolphin meat and Easterners is to cow meat and Westerners.

The hunting season begins September 1 every year. The dolphins are lured via noisy boats or by banging metal poles to disrupt their highly sensitive sonar. Once exhausted, the animals are then netted where they will be stabbed by spears or knives, loaded on boats and then delivered to warehouses the morning after.

From a Japan Times article, the town mayor of Taiji and the head of the fishery union claim that the hunting is authorized by the local government. The Japanese who were able to see the film responded with outrage.

Production

The documentary took three years and cost $2.5 million to make. The team included Louie Psihoyos (former photographer for National Geographic and other publications), Netscape founder Jim Clark, dolphin welfare activist Ric O’Barry, marine biologist Scott Baker, Heroes star and also an activist for dolphins Hayden Panettiere and ten others filmed the exceptional documentary on the mass butchery happening in the bay area of Taiji. With the aid of George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Co. cameras cleverly hidden as rocks, military infrared camera, remote helicopters, a blimp and a whole lot of guts, Psihoyos and his crew were able to get enough graphic footage of the exceedingly intelligent and gentle sea creatures being slaughtered. Even from the trailer, it’s like you can smell the stench from the once-pristine waters that turned red with the blood of freshly pierced dolphin.

East Meets West: Mercury in Meat and Legal Issues

As always, there are two sides to the story. From an NPR interview, the documentary team initially wanted to make the film legally. They wanted to focus on the cultural aspect, mainly the differences on how “various populations consider the dolphin.” However, the Japanese government denied them access to the site which made the intent of the filmmakers to expose what’s happening stronger, and the story, even bigger.

Dolphin meat has been regularly sold in Japanese markets. Unknowingly, there IS a real danger to consuming the meat, not only on the part of the dolphins being killed but also the hazards it poses to human health. Being at the top of the aquatic food chain, dolphins are more exposed to toxic material. A recent international study found dolphin meat to contain more than 5 (to 5,000) times the amount of mercury than permitted by Japan’s laws. One of the scientists who appeared on the documentary even tagged the creatures as “swimming toxic waste dumps.”

Despite all of these, the Eastern sphere maintains that the producers did not say the truth about what’s going to come out of the film and they also hold on to the government permit to operate this multi-billion dollar dolphin industry. Unfortunately for dolphins, they are not covered by the international ban on commercial whaling.

What happens now?

It is likely that the dolphin hunting will continue and it will most definitely happen this year.

You may be asking yourself, “Why?! What did these gentle creatures do to deserve this?” Maybe you’ve consumed dolphin meat from Japan (better get yourself checked for mercury) or maybe you don’t see anything wrong with the killings; I don’t know. But think about this, all actions have equal and opposite reactions. The Cove is perhaps the beginning of a campaign to put an end to the carnage going on in Taiji and probably in other parts of the world (such as Denmark and many others) where dolphins are seen as regular fish for food and even for entertainment. It is just horrifying to see creatures that have more neurons than an average human, who are hypersensitive and gentle either being kept in captivity for amusement or helplessly killed to be served in a dish. You cannot put a price to such precious creatures.

We were created higher than the animals not so we can just slaughter them for our consumption or entertainment; part of our job is also to be stewards, taking care of these animals. Maybe, just maybe, we Filipinos will act differently and not give our animals hell. I sure hope this is not just wishful thinking; The Cove shows that anything is possible with a little courage.

Works Cited

Abramowitz, Rachel. Los Angeles Times. 9 August 2009. 15 March 2010 .

The Cove (film). 2009. 15 March 2010 .

Photo of dolphin menu: http://examiner.com

Photo of 2008-2009 comparison: http://www.ecorazzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/thecove1.jpg

Photo of fishermen capturing and killing dolphins: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/14/dolphin-slaughter-hunting-japan-taiji