This past Friday, I watched Louie Psihoyos's film, "The Cove," documenting the brutal slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. My generation watched 'Free Willy' when it came out in 1993 and were strong supporters of the Save the Whale movement. An earlier generation was touched by the famous 1964 tv-series Flipper. While Americans were intrigued by the affability and intelligence of dolphins, ironically, on the opposite side of the world, in Japan, my parents grew up eating whale meat, which was served often as part of mandatory, free elementary school lunches.
Richard O'Barry, who once trained the dolphins on Flipper, leads the mission to discover the mystery of what exactly happens in the cove in Taiji. What we discover, the abuse and the slaughter of over 2,000 dolphins inside this cove each year is haunting and leaves a lasting memory that activists hope will lead viewers to take action. In addition to reporting the slaughter, the film documents the Japanese government's (both at the national and the local in Taiji) to stop the fishing of whales and dolphins. Despite being a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan continues to defy the moratorium and provides aid to developing countries such as Laos and Guinea-Bissau in return for their votes. Without a doubt, while many whales and dolphins are threatened with extinction, Japan continues to show defiance.
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