Posts tagged “cove guardians”
Sea Shepherd activist and Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen, who was arrested for allegedly pushing a Japanese fisherman in Taiji, has been afforded a release order by a Japanese judge. This is great news for Sea Shepherd but primarily awesome for Erwin and his family. Congratulations, Erwin!
Captain Paul Watson shares some information about the dolphin massacres in Taiji and becoming a Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian. The production is a mite strange switching from dark music to happy music then back to the dark music again, but it’s an excellent introduction to those interested in becoming Cove Guardians.
Through no fault of their own—and certainly for no lack of effort—it appears that Sea Shepherd is unable to successfully protect dolphins in Taiji. Cove Guardian leader Rosie Kunneke reports:
This week was a brutal, cruel, and saddening week in the horrible little town of Taiji. Three pods, approximately 28-31 dolphins in total, of beautiful Risso’s dolphins were senselessly murdered in the Cove. Two of the pods had babies and juveniles amongst them. After killing the pod members, the dolphin killers took the babies way out to sea likely wanting us to believe that they were releasing them while they were probably murdering them out of sight. Either way, the babies will die without their mothers and pod members because they will succumb to a slow death by starvation or fall victim to predators.
In Antarctic waters Sea Shepherd has some authority to disrupt the murderous plans of Japanese whalers. However, in Taiji they have no jurisdiction to act aggressively.
Their presence there is a thorn in the side of those in the dolphin-captivity industry and their reports back to the world are invaluable. Moreover, while present there is pressure on the Japanese government while the world watches over their shoulder as they hideously slaughter pod after pod of cetaceans.
But in the end this is the extent of what Sea Shepherd can do without significant repercussions to those watching over the cove. It must be devastatingly heartbreaking for the Cove Guardians. They are forced to fight through what they’re seeing every day.
Be brave, Cove Guardians. We’re behind you.
#taiji #cove guardians #rosie kunneke #japan #dolphins #cetaceans #the cove
A report by Cove Guardians leader Rosie Kunneke after their first week in Taiji for Operation Infinite begins “if only all weeks were this good.” She sums up the week quite nicely:
The killers stayed in the harbor on four out of seven days due to bad weather and sea conditions. They went out searching for dolphins to hunt on two days only to come back emptyhanded on both occasions, and on Sunday, they all left the harbor but turned around about a kilometer out and came back in.
Now that is a good week. I just hope the bad weather doesn’t spell more catastrophical disasters for the people of Japan. Just enough bad weather to keep the Taiji hunters at bay will suffice, thank you very much.
#taiji #japan #operation infinite #cove guardians #rosie kunneke
Man, it just never fucking ends. Report after report about cetaceans being frightened into the cove before being brutally slaughtered by cowardly men. In today’s report from the Cove Guardians:
The pilot whales in the Cove did not quietly go to their deaths. They fought as best they could, churning up the water and dashing on the rocks. Ultimately though, 22 to 25 of them were pushed into the killing Cove…Those pilot whales not killed today had to swim in the blood of their family members and listen to their death cries. They will die in the early light tomorrow.
There’s the unfathomable events of World War II in which millions of Jews were being herded into makeshift prisons, watching and listening to their friends and family members being slaughtered without any means to escape or defend themselves. There’s the horrific enormity of bodies stacking up at rivers’ ends in Rwanda during the massacre of 800,000 people from Hutu/Tutsi tribes in 1994.
People rise up and protest these macabre occurrences; at a minimum they lament them, even from afar. But when the same thing happens to dolphins—debatably the second-smartest animals on earth—few people seem to give a shit. Well there are masses of people who care, but either not enough or not the right people to make a difference.
It must be exhausting for Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians to witness this genocide day after day. They are living at the forefront of a disassembly line. And while they’re making a difference and putting the murderers in the spotlight, the butchery continues. Even amid the aftermath of Japan’s recent natural disasters:
We have been asked why we are making noise about whales and dolphins when there is so much human misery in Japan at the moment. The better question to ask is why the Japanese government is allowing this slaughter to happen. Why is the government allowing these two dozen individuals in Taiji to bring shame and dishonor to the entire nation when there is so much misery here already?
Fuck, Taiji—enough already. It’s not worth the money you’re making. Face your conscience and move on to something productive. Something beautiful. Anything.
#taiji #dolphins #cetaceans #pilot whales #murder #genocide #slaughter #the cove #cove guardians #tsunami #earthquake
The folks at Sea Shepherd port around the globe with opportunities to meet them and even tour their vessels. However, stops in the United States are highly infrequent.
In less than three weeks, though, the Cove Guardians crew will be visiting Seattle, WA to help bring attention to the new Seattle chapter of Sea Shepherd. If you’re in the Seattle area or want to travel there, you can get tickets online for the April 30th event.
The six missing cove guardians have reported back to loved ones that they are alive and well. Hallelujah!
Apparently they spent the night on a hill, high above the devastated town of Otsuchi. Coming down off the hill they experienced a scene of great enormity. Sea Shepherd reported about the words of the cove guardians leader Scott West:
They walked out over scattered debris, roads that were completely wiped out, and walked past numerous dead bodies amidst piles of rubble. At one point yesterday they saw and heard a woman in the water screaming for help, but she was washed out to sea before they could do anything to rescue her.
Wow.
Japan is experiencing great devastation right now and Sea Shepherd volunteers are right in the middle of it. I would bet in the coming days we’ll learn about how those shepherds of dolphins will have become shepherds of victims of Japan’s natural disaster. After all, they obviously have the heart for it.
#japan #tsunami #earthquake #cove guardians #scott west #rescue
The entire Sea Shepherd crew working to save dolphins in Taiji is missing. Sea Shepherd has repeatedly attempted to make contact but have not yet heard from any of them. They reported having seen the water recede so they were definitely in the area when the tsunami hit.
The missing cove guardians are Scott West, Mike Vos, Tarah Millen, Carisa Webster, Marley Daviduk, and Brian Barnes. With 1,000+ dead in the wake of today’s tsunami, I hope they were among those who escaped unscathed.
#taiji #japan #tsunami #earthquake #cove guardians #dolphins #cetaceans #scott west #mike vos #tarah millen #carisa webster #marley daviduk #brian barnes
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