“Whale Bus” to Expose Cruel Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan
Activists Worldwide Gather at Japanese Consulates Demanding End to Annual Bloodbath

Joined by America’s Whale Alliance’s huge 35-foot “Whale Bus,” members of In Defense of Animals (IDA), the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute and One Voice - France will hold a protest as part of a day of international protest against Japan’s slaughter of over 23,000 dolphins and small whales each year. Activists will demand a permanent end to the drive fisheries and the preservation of dolphins and whales as natural treasures:


When: Saturday, October 8, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.
Where: Japanese Consulate, 50 Fremont St., San Francisco, CA
Contacts: 
Earth Island Institute: Mark Palmer (415) 788-3666, ext. 139
In Defense of Animals: Karen Steele (415) 388-9641, ext. 217
America’s Whale Alliance: Tamara Drake (541) 552-0502

When:Saturday, October 8, 11:30 a.m.–1:30p.m.
Where:Pioneer Courthouse Square, at the corner ofSW 10th and Yamhill, Portland,OR
Contact: Matt Rossell (503) 249-9996 or (503)890-5151

Every year from September through April, fishermen in Japan hunt and kill dolphins—including mothers with newborn calves who call out in distress as they are separated—in the most brutal ways imaginable, resulting in largest massacre of dolphins anywhere in the world.

They are driven onto Japanese beaches and bays, stabbed with spears and knives, then left to slowly bleed to death literally turning the sea red while others drown entangled in nets. Some of the dolphins are taken alive, pulled out of the water by ropes tied around their tails to be sold to marine parks. 

Video footage, taken by One Voice – France, documents dying dolphins struggling in a blood-stained bay. Photo and video evidence of the slaughter caused so much embarrassment to the Japanese Government that it now prohibits photos or video being taken of the killings. 

“Japan’s annual slaughter of dolphins is cruel and barbaric,” says Mark Palmer, Associate Director of the Marine Mammal Project of the Earth Island Institute. “We will continue to expose the senseless killings until Japan puts an end to this bloodbath.”

For more information or to view photos and video of the slaughter, please visit Earth Island Institute’s Web site at www.savetaijidolphins.org and IDA’s Web site at www.idausa.org/campaigns/marine/japan_dolphin_day.html. 

Forty-four demonstrations will be held at Japanese embassies and consulates around the world in twenty-six countries. For a list, visit: http://www.earthisland.org/saveTaijiDolphins/japanDolphinDay.html.