A friend of ours whose group is known as Enviromending Ofit, called and reported the following
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Thanks to Enviromending for leting us share this with you all
Rgds
Mark Bamberry
co-founder TDAG
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by Enviromending Ofit on Saturday, 16 October 2010 at 03:10
It would seem that I initially called, just as Scott had tossed his phone to Elora, as he was being taken away by the police in Taiji, Japan today.
Elora was amazingly strong and said "My dad is being taken away, can I call you back?" (very cool under pressure :-)
I called back a little later, and coincidentally, it was JUST as Scott was walking through the door of the hotel room. The sound of jubilation filled Elora's voice, as she also had her mum, Suzanne, on a Skype call. The relief and joy was evident, as was the laughter that I heard over the phone. The room was busy, with about 7 or more people milling around in excitement (Elora tried counting as we spoke :).
After a few minutes Elora put me onto her dad, Scott, who told me the following:
He has NEVER seen dolphins fight as hard as they did today, but sadly the fishermen won the day by slaughtering 8-10 Risso Dolphins, behind closed doors, hiding their acts.
As it became obvious that something different was happening, Scott had walked beyond the blocked areas to film what was happening, and for this the police took him into custody. He was put into the back of a police vehicle and taken to an interrogation room at the Taiji police station. In his wisdom, Scott refused to answer any questions, but instead insisted that the US embassy be called, and he was asked several times to talk.
It became apparent, from what his interpreter was telling him, that he was actually NOT under arrest, so he tried to leave, but was asked to remain. This information was repeated and confirmed by the interpreter the second time and Scott (having the law enforcement experience that he does) realised that they were not able to make him stay unless he was formally charged.
He got up and walked out!
When he asked about his daughter Elora, it would seem that the local police realised his concern, and in fact drove him back to the cove. Everyone had left to get back to the hotel, (to report) but a couple of the team from 'Save Japan Dolphins' were driving by, so gave him a ride.
That is where our conversation started.
****
In my view, it would seem apparent that the fishermen chose to kill these dolphins today for a couple of reasons, primarily because if they left it until tomorrow, it was very likely that Scott, Elora, Lailani and others on the ground may have succeeded in capturing it all on film, and secondly because there have been thousands of people calling over the last 10 hrs or so, asking them NOT to kill the dolphins. Scott agrees.
In many ways I feel that this small group of fishermen chose to defy all protests, because they could.
It defies logic, it defies humanity, it is a blight on the Japanese government that they continue to allow this in this 21st century, BUT we must also remember that 'hating' the people is not the solution.
'Hating' the crime, yes!! But honestly, I know how much energy it takes to 'hate' and words are very, very powerful, so I would ask you all to try not to let this feeling in, but instead focus on the many things that we CAN do as a collective voice.
There is action happening in this crazy social networking world of ours, and a huge movement is taking place. IF we all choose to work TOGETHER as individuals and organisations, I honestly believe that stopping these heinous acts from continuing IS possible.
I send a HUGE virtual hug to Scott and Elora in Taiji with much love and thanks for their on-going efforts (as supported by SSCS) and a massive thanks from all of us at ARC - Animal Rescue & Conservation to you all, for your on-going support, encouragement, time and efforts in helping.
This is a wonderful 'team' that we are creating. Let's keep the momentum up.
ALL embassies and many other details can be found in the discussion and 'notes' areas of these pages. Please be sure to cut and paste the sample letters (if you need to), the many email addresses and send to those listed. If you print it out (sorry trees) and mail a copy to the Prime Minister of Japan, I suspect it will also help. Details are also there.
*Keep copies of what you send (sadly we may need them again).
http://www.facebook.com/pages/STOP-killing-Whales-Dolphins/161639667187358
http://www.facebook.com/pages/WE-will-NOT-support-Whales-and-Dolphins-in-Captivity/151890801502673?ref=ts
Sincerely, Enviromending :-)
Elora was amazingly strong and said "My dad is being taken away, can I call you back?" (very cool under pressure :-)
I called back a little later, and coincidentally, it was JUST as Scott was walking through the door of the hotel room. The sound of jubilation filled Elora's voice, as she also had her mum, Suzanne, on a Skype call. The relief and joy was evident, as was the laughter that I heard over the phone. The room was busy, with about 7 or more people milling around in excitement (Elora tried counting as we spoke :).
After a few minutes Elora put me onto her dad, Scott, who told me the following:
He has NEVER seen dolphins fight as hard as they did today, but sadly the fishermen won the day by slaughtering 8-10 Risso Dolphins, behind closed doors, hiding their acts.
As it became obvious that something different was happening, Scott had walked beyond the blocked areas to film what was happening, and for this the police took him into custody. He was put into the back of a police vehicle and taken to an interrogation room at the Taiji police station. In his wisdom, Scott refused to answer any questions, but instead insisted that the US embassy be called, and he was asked several times to talk.
It became apparent, from what his interpreter was telling him, that he was actually NOT under arrest, so he tried to leave, but was asked to remain. This information was repeated and confirmed by the interpreter the second time and Scott (having the law enforcement experience that he does) realised that they were not able to make him stay unless he was formally charged.
He got up and walked out!
When he asked about his daughter Elora, it would seem that the local police realised his concern, and in fact drove him back to the cove. Everyone had left to get back to the hotel, (to report) but a couple of the team from 'Save Japan Dolphins' were driving by, so gave him a ride.
That is where our conversation started.
****
In my view, it would seem apparent that the fishermen chose to kill these dolphins today for a couple of reasons, primarily because if they left it until tomorrow, it was very likely that Scott, Elora, Lailani and others on the ground may have succeeded in capturing it all on film, and secondly because there have been thousands of people calling over the last 10 hrs or so, asking them NOT to kill the dolphins. Scott agrees.
In many ways I feel that this small group of fishermen chose to defy all protests, because they could.
It defies logic, it defies humanity, it is a blight on the Japanese government that they continue to allow this in this 21st century, BUT we must also remember that 'hating' the people is not the solution.
'Hating' the crime, yes!! But honestly, I know how much energy it takes to 'hate' and words are very, very powerful, so I would ask you all to try not to let this feeling in, but instead focus on the many things that we CAN do as a collective voice.
There is action happening in this crazy social networking world of ours, and a huge movement is taking place. IF we all choose to work TOGETHER as individuals and organisations, I honestly believe that stopping these heinous acts from continuing IS possible.
I send a HUGE virtual hug to Scott and Elora in Taiji with much love and thanks for their on-going efforts (as supported by SSCS) and a massive thanks from all of us at ARC - Animal Rescue & Conservation to you all, for your on-going support, encouragement, time and efforts in helping.
This is a wonderful 'team' that we are creating. Let's keep the momentum up.
ALL embassies and many other details can be found in the discussion and 'notes' areas of these pages. Please be sure to cut and paste the sample letters (if you need to), the many email addresses and send to those listed. If you print it out (sorry trees) and mail a copy to the Prime Minister of Japan, I suspect it will also help. Details are also there.
*Keep copies of what you send (sadly we may need them again).
http://www.facebook.com/pages/STOP-killing-Whales-Dolphins/161639667187358
http://www.facebook.com/pages/WE-will-NOT-support-Whales-and-Dolphins-in-Captivity/151890801502673?ref=ts
Sincerely, Enviromending :-)
Thanks to Enviromending for leting us share this with you all
Rgds
Mark Bamberry
co-founder TDAG
thanks for your insights and all the info you've compiled.
ReplyDeleteI have come to know that killing dolphin is really common now and in Japan, it was done by some fisherman. Japanese people find it very common and killed to increase consumption.
ReplyDelete