Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Taiji is real!

Today I met Rosie and Thomas, 2 fellow humans that devoted themselves to bring an end to the Taiji slaughter. Next to the fact that we have a common goal here, I'm happy to feel the large passion flowing out of them!
 (looking in a Japanese local magazine that has an a picture of Rosie + an article about her in it)

I arrived just after midday and didn't hesitate to fire them a bunch of questions (sorry, the enthusiasm). I got to know that about 7 Risso's dolphins got killed today... that everything is pretty well covered with tarps and fences to keep whatever is happening behind it away from the world's eyes... that security is on a really high level with 3 different police forces and that the guardians are being watched like criminals on the loose.

I've got introduced to Taiji, I saw the cove being deceptively  peaceful and quite. The town itself is full with dolphin/whale statues and images. It's like you're entering the "we love whales-village"... the coves, the whale museum, the dolphin resort, the butcher house, the view from the hill, the police and 1 nasty dolphin killer driving by with his middle finger up in the air....very mature mate...

We drove up the mountain pass to get a full view on Taiji harbour and the entrance of the cove. I noticed13 pens floating. We watched a couple divers that had placed a large tarp inside one pen so 4 false killer whales were forced to stay on the surface. This apparently makes it easier for them to take pictures, check them, weigh them... just gather some data for future sales agreements.
Rosie told me they've been there for a couple of weeks already, after being chased inside the cove, watched there family got murdered. And now they will be forced to paddle in an aquarium for the rest of there lives, entertaining people that believe the animal is happy with it.
What if we put 2 men in a toilet for a couple of years? Having to do tricks to get food..."Here you go buddy, jump from the lid, yes, yeeeezzzz, you're a good boy, here, have a banana"

We were up there for maybe 10 minutes when a police car pulled over, red lights flashing. 5 police officers walked up to us and got a warm greeting from Rosie, seems along the way there was a nice understanding build up. As they were informed that there would be a new activist arriving they came to check me out. They asked for my passport and made me fill in a list with some questions. We had a pretty nice chat with the lads, I promised my cooperation the next couple of weeks and that was that.

On the ride back, Rosie kept telling me things that pushed reality a little deeper in my face. Like the part of a Japanese TV show where a dolphin killer is telling that the heart is the best part. "You should cut it in small blocks and eat it while it's still warm..."

Tomorrow morning we're going back.

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