This just freaked me out. “The Cove” is the multi-award winning documentary film about the shocking dolphin and whale captivity industry in Taiji, Japan that tells the story of the dolphin slaughter, captivity and consumption and the dark side of dolphin shows in marine parks.

Some information I got from the film:

• International Whaling Commission had banned the capture of whales or cetaceans since 1986.
• Dolphins are cetaceans. Dolphins are air-breathing mammals, just like humans.
• 23,000 dolphins gets killed every year.
• Dolphins are acoustic animals, they are very sensitive to sound. It’s their primary sense.
• Captured dolphins, trained to do shows in amusement parks are actually very, very stressed and are given antacids because they suffer from ulcers.
• Dolphins are creatures with self-awareness, just like people. When they see their baby dolphins being captured, they are aware what will happen.
• Some stressed out dolphins commit suicide just by not breathing at will. Kathy, one of five dolphins playing Flipper in the original TV show commited this form of suicide.
• Minamata disease is caused by high-level of mercury poisoning. Taiji dolphins are known to be contaminated with high level of mercury because of the current state of the environment.
• Dolphin meat does not have a high value. Some supposed expensive, high-end whale meat sold are actually dolphin meat.
• A 2006 report in the journal Science predicts a total collapse of the world’s fishing stocks within 40 years at the current rare of fishing.
• The Taiji [Japan] dolphin slaughter is scheduled to resume every September, unless stopped.

“I spent ten years building that industry up, and I’ve spent the last 35 years trying to tear it down.” – Ric O’ Barry, trainer of dolphins from the original Flipper show on the dolphin entertainment industry. O’Barry became the most famous dolphin trainer in the 1960′s because of Flipper and now a top activist against dolphin slaughter since the death of Kathy.

I’m never watching dolphin shows. I’m glad I wasn’t able to watch the dolphin show in Ocean Park, Hongkong and I’m glad I don’t eat sushi, I mean are you sure you weren’t eating whales? @_@ Some would ask what’s the difference from eating dolphins from eating fish, cows or chickens. Well, think of this way, it’s like eating your dog or your cat or your pet parrot.