Ric O'Barry, 'Cove' Star, Urges Dolphin-Watching, Not Killing

TOKYO (AP) -- The star of the Oscar-winning movie about dolphin-killing in Japan had only praise for a small island off the eastern coast that thrives on snorkeling with dolphins, and he urged the rest of the country to follow that example.

Ric O'Barry was heading to Taiji, the southwestern town made notorious in the documentary "The Cove," where the annual dolphin hunt is set to start Sept. 1. But he stopped along the way at the island of Miyakejima for a look at how dolphins can be spared and used for tourism.

"It's very encouraging to see people celebrating dolphins, respecting dolphins, and I'm all for that," O'Barry said Friday. "We support them all the way."

Chikara Atsuta, an official with the tourism agency at Miyakejima, said he welcomed O'Barry's praise, and expressed hopes more people from abroad would visit the island of 2,700 people, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tokyo.

"I feel so grateful," he said. "We do not hunt dolphins."

Miyakejima's dolphins live in the area so residents have even given them names. In contrast, dolphins are migratory in Taiji and so the same kind of dolphin-watching would be difficult to duplicate.

But O'Barry urged Taiji to turn to whale-watching and other forms of tourism that are kinder to animal life.

O'Barry said he will lead a prayer ceremony in Taiji for people who have died in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster and for the dolphins about to die in the hunt. He is traveling by bus with two dozen people who are all dolphin-lovers, he said.

Wakayama Prefectural police have said some 100 riot police are carrying out drills to prepare for possible confrontation with activists as the annual dolphin hunts begins, including chasing boats and making arrests.

Members of conservationist group Sea Shepherd have carried out protests and tried to set captured dolphins free. But O'Barry and his team, who visit Taiji regularly, have not engaged in violent behavior.

O'Barry was an expert at training dolphins, such as the ones for the 1960s "Flipper" TV series, until he had a change of heart and instead devoted his life to saving dolphins.

Japan, which defends its dolphin hunt as part of culinary culture, allows about 20,000 dolphins to be caught each year, but very few Japanese have ever eaten dolphin.

Only about 2,000 dolphins are caught in Taiji every year. But the slaughter, as captured in "The Cove," directed by Louie Psihoyos, is so striking that the town has become synonymous with the practice.

In that film, fishermen on boats scare dolphins into a small cove and bayonet them. The dolphins writhe in pain and turn the waters red with blood.

"We come in peace," O'Barry told The Associated Press. "We come here to support the economy. We are spending our money."

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Comments

[ModerateCentrist]

01:34 PM on 08/29/2011

for me, "The Cove" was one of the most horrifying things i've ever watched.
in fact, i could not watch the whole thing. it's hard for me to believe that humans can be that barbaric.

[Toddynho]

10:46 AM on 08/28/2011

I read Rick's "Behind the Dolphin's Smile" in a single night when I was 22 or 23 (yeah, a generation ago), it was an inspiring book. I admire people like Rick, people who unknowingly profited and grew famous at the expense of others, has an epiphany, then spends the rest of his life atoning tirelessly for the cruel mistakes he made.

Do you think the CEOs of oil companies, or tobacco companies would do the same?

[Txexpat]

08:21 PM on 08/28/2011

Did you know that Mr. O'Barry was found guilty of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act and fined?

"Former "Flipper" dolphin trainer Richard O'Barry, and his associate Lloyd A. Good III, have been found guilty of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act for releasing two captive dolphins off the Florida coast in May that were not prepared to survive in the wild and sustained life-threatening injuries. O'Barry, Good, and their respective corporate entities were ordered to pay civil penalties totaling $59,500, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today."

"Releasing captive dolphins to the wild has been romanticized in recent years, and has been promoted as a noble pursuit. However, the injuries these dolphins suffered and their obvious dependence on humans highlights the need for any release project to be conducted responsibly and scientifically," said NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources Director Hilda Diaz-Soltero"This decision sends a strong message that the abuse and abandonment of dolphins will not be tolerated."


http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/news/news_061099.htm

[john649]

01:32 PM on 08/29/2011

well then , its good that he is making atonement for this 100 times over by saving dolphins from ever becoming prisoners in the first place.
This is what humans do when they realize their dark side, help make others see the light.

[Txexpat]

06:27 PM on 08/27/2011

However, while Mr. O'Barry is busy attempting to force his self-righteous views on the people of Taiji, the Vaquita dolphin in Mexico is heading for extinction.

The IWC scientific committee reported that, "vaquitas will continue to decline towards extinction­" and that "current conservati­on actions have only a 0.08 probabilit­y of success."

http://iwc­office.org­/_document­s/sci_com/­SCRepFiles­2011/Annex%20L%20-%2­0SM.pdf”

[thereisonlyoneparty]

09:38 AM on 08/28/2011

It's a porpoise.

[Txexpat]

07:33 PM on 08/28/2011

You are quite correct. Thank you.
So, the Vaquita porpoise is quietly heading for extinction while Mr. O'Barry is grabbing the media spotlight in Japan.

[Toddynho]

10:40 AM on 08/28/2011

Self righteous? I think you need to brush up on your definitions there, he's merely pointing out a barbaric practice.

[Txexpat]

08:00 PM on 08/28/2011

"I think you need to brush up on your definition­s there"

Thanks for the suggestion. I did some checking and the term "self-righteous" describes Mr. O'Barry quite accurately.

[OkieMon]

04:56 PM on 08/27/2011

fossil fuel fas*cism and the corporations and their lobbyists who promote this evil rule our lives....if is not enough that they promote their own toxic products but they always block alternative energies at every turn....

"competition is a sin"......john d rockefeller.....former king of the drill baby drillers.....

[TAIsabel]

03:03 PM on 08/27/2011

I have been accompanied by these marvelous animals during my sails and I have watched them as they feed in the bay in front of my home in the Caribbean. They are truly magical.

It is inconceivable to me that he Japanese public is mot aware of this massacre. Even the most remote of places have access to communication, intenet, movies an media. I don't buy this story that the Japanese are not aware of this.

[Wake Up Humans]

11:59 AM on 08/27/2011

I applaud humans for bringing light to ignorant acts. I only wish their time, money, and energy was directed toward humans as well

[Toddynho]

10:41 AM on 08/28/2011

Who says it's not? Why do you people think folks don't have more than one concern? I wish more people would use the brains they have, I don't care if they don't save anything, I just wish they wouldn't litter the world with their own stupidity.

[stphncrmr]

03:26 AM on 08/27/2011

What can we do to help?

[Protocolor]

12:01 PM on 08/27/2011

First, don't demonize the Japanese people for what is happening in Taiji. Most Japanese are not at all aware of the slaughter as there is an almost complete news blackout on the subject in Japan.

Second, when you vacation, spend money at small local businesses like eco-tour, whale watch, and dive operators. Help these small businesses be more profitable and rewarding than their less environmentally friendly alternatives. You don't have to go to Japan on your vacation to have a positive impact this way since examples of successful low impact or environmentally friendly business practices can be used as models of positive change regardless of where they are located.

Third, do not go to dolphin shows at aquariums.

[Toddynho]

10:42 AM on 08/28/2011

Great points.

[Laura Comstock]

01:32 AM on 08/30/2011

And the Japanese are doing so much to stop it themselves!! right!

[sam ella]

02:08 AM on 08/27/2011

good message.