Taiji, Japan – In Defense of Animals denounces the cruel dolphin hunting and killing season that officially opened on September 1 in Taiji, Japan. The hunting season, which goes until March each year, sees the brutal slaughter of hundreds of dolphins.
“The primary motivation for the hunting and killing of dolphins is the captivity industry, where live, trained dolphins fetch a much higher price than dead ones,” says Dr. Toni Frohoff, In Defense of Animals’ Cetacean Scientist. “We call on the captivity industry in the United States to stop contributing to the demand that fuels these cruel hunts.”
Photo- Liz Carter.
During the hunts, wild dolphins are driven into a cove along the coast of Taiji and held, sometimes for days, while “show-quality” individuals are selected and torn away permanently from their families. These individuals are then trained and sold to aquariums in Japan and around the world. Often, some or all of the remaining dolphins are killed and butchered for their flesh, or turned loose into the ocean where they suffer from the significant trauma of severed familial ties or in some cases witnessing the deaths of their podmates.
While demand for captive dolphin entertainment may be declining in certain places within the United States, in others the industry is attempting to gain foothold. The Mississippi Aquarium, slated for downtown Gulfport, plans on including a new dolphin aquarium.
“Promoting captive dolphin entertainment is tantamount to promoting the brutal killing of dolphins that happens each year in Taiji,” continued Dr. Frohoff. “The only way to stop these slaughters is to stop promoting captivity, which in itself causes enormous stress, suffering and premature death for dolphins.”
The quotas for this year’s dolphin hunting season in Taiji, set by Japan’s Fisheries Agency, total 1,940 individuals, including 414 bottlenose dolphins, 450 striped dolphins and 400 pantropical spotted dolphins, according to Cetabase.
In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi. For the Silo, Dr. Toni Frohoff.
All photos- Liz Carter.
IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048
This article contains graphic images. Cascilla, Miss. – Two Mississippi animal protection organizations have joined forces to rescue four neglected horses in Cascilla, Tallahatchie County. In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign and Jackson-based Mississippi Horses seized the starving and wounded animals from a property on Smith Road.
Concerned people who passed the property contacted the Justice for Animals campaign after witnessing the horses in a state of neglect.
Justice for Animals Director Doll Stanley and Tallahatchie County Deputy Albert Griffin met with the property owner to examine the conditions of the neglected horses. Two stallions, one mare, and her colt were confined to an area with no grass or other food to support the horses and no drinking water. One of the horses had a severe, untreated wound on his face.
A fifth horse was present on the property who seemed well-cared for. The badly-injured stallion had apparently stuck his head through an opening in the stall of the well-cared-for horse in an attempt to reach food, and had been severely bitten. One side of his head and his neck were scraped in the struggle to free himself when the other horse attacked him, leaving a ghastly bite wound that left an exposed section of bone on his face. The horse had not received medical attention.
An order was granted to the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Department for the seizure of the four horses on July 14 and was enforced that afternoon. Mississippi Horses immediately transported the injured horse to Mississippi State University Veterinary School for emergency treatment. The three other horses have been taken into the organization’s care for rehabilitation.
“In many cases of unintentional neglect, often in ignorance, we give guidance to animal guardians and monitor the recovery or check on the animals’ improved environment,” said Justice for Animals Director, Doll Stanley. “In this case, friendly guidance was not an option. Failure to provide the basic sustenance for horses and direly needed medical care, and failing to even reach out for help, has caused inexcusable suffering to these poor horses.”
In Defense of Animals has served in Mississippi for 24 years, aiding victims and law enforcement with hundreds of cruelty cases. In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign works with law enforcement to provide guidance on animal cruelty laws, advocate for stronger humane ordinances and statutes, and coordinate aid to rescue neglected and intentionally harmed animals.
Eleven miles south of Grenada, Mississippi, In Defense of Animals operates Hope Animal Sanctuary which rescues and cares for hundreds of animals including many victims of cruelty cases. Hope Animal Sanctuary is currently full and mid-way through a renovation project to replace its 20-year-old facilities with buildings, fencing, and modern amenities so that it may continue to provide hope for Mississippi’s cast-off, neglected, and unwanted animals for many years to come. Please support your local sanctuary www.idausa.org/HASrebuild2
In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign is working tirelessly to advance the cause for justice and show state legislators that the people of Mississippi are united against senseless and horrific animal abuse. Campaign members are aligning with Mississippi judges, prosecuting attorneys, law enforcement officials, legislators, animal advocates and concerned citizens to pass tougher state statutes and meaningful regional ordinances that will protect animals when state statutes fail. For the Silo, Doll Stanley IDA.
In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi.
All images- Fleur Dawes (In Defense of Animals)
IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048
International animal protection organization, In Defense of Animals, today released its list of the Ten Worst Tanks for Dolphins and Whales in North America, with Ontario’s Marineland shamed as the worst aquarium in Canada, and second overall.
The facility is listed as having the ‘starkest contrast’ between a ‘solitary orca and beluga whale hoarding’ while Canada’s Vancouver Aquarium appears in ninth place. The Ten Worst Tanks list exposes and represents the misery and suffering of the oceans’ most intelligent and complex mammals in captivity. Whales and dolphins are subject to astonishing rates of premature death, captivity-related injuries, forced removal of babies from mothers, and solitary isolation. Many are confined to swimming endless circles in cramped tanks, deprived of healthy social groups, and forced to endure invasive reproduction techniques, polluted water, dangerous transport, and brutal exploitation of their sociable natures through “swim” and “petting” programs.
The list was selected from over 60 facilities from southern Canada to Mexico where almost 1,000 whales and dolphins are held captive for public display. “Forcing an orca to live in solitary confinement while hoarding so many beluga whales is Marineland’s tragic dichotomy, and a horrific example of cetacean captivity. It plumbs the depths in its exploitation of intelligent and sensitive animals,” said In Defense of Animals President, Dr. Marilyn Kroplick. “Even with the most modern technology, veterinary care, and infrastructure, cetaceans still suffer intensely in captivity and exhibit surprisingly high mortality rates.Please help protect dolphins and whales in the wild where they belong, by pledging to never visit facilities that imprison them.”
40+ yr old Orca “Kiska” has been in solitary confinement since 2011. photo: Natalie Lucier
Marineland’s Shame: Marineland holds Canada’s last captive orca, 40 or so year-old Kiska, who was ripped away from her family and native Icelandic waters when she was a baby. Kiska has outlived at least seventeen other orcas with whom she has shared the tank over the years. She has also been used to breed for new exhibits, enduring the death of every last one of her five children at Marineland, none of whom lived longer than six years. One of them, Kanuck, was apparently separated from her prematurely and “stored” in a warehouse, where he died at age four. Since 2011, Kiska has been kept in solitary confinement, which has no doubt caused great suffering for this highly social and intelligent cetacean. The last orca Kiska knew was a male named Ikaika, who was “loaned” to Marineland by SeaWorld for breeding in 2006.
SeaWorld became “concerned about Ikaika’s physical and psychological health” and stated that Marineland was “not meeting its obligations in veterinary care, husbandry, or training.” Citing these concerns, SeaWorld successfully sued Marineland in 2011 for Ikaika’s return, leaving Kiska alone once more. Kiska’s physical and psychological condition appears to be poor. Observers point to her severely worn down teeth from self-injurious and compulsive gnawing, dorsal fin deterioration, signs of being underweight, and intermittent bleeding from her tail as indicators of greatly compromised health. Behaviorally, Kiska exhibits lethargy, self-isolation in a tiny medical pool adjacent to the main pool, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors; strong indications of severe psychological distress, depression, and despondency. Kiska is not the only animal suffering at Marineland.
CEO John Holer has also amassed approximately 46 beluga whales, five bottlenose dolphins, 28 black bears and approximately 500 fallow deer. An undercover investigation by Last Chance for Animals in 2015 reportedly exposed belugas suffering from a litany of physical ailments, including eye abnormalities, hypersalivation, regurgitation, and a condition in some of the females causing them to rub chronically against the tank until blood was visible in the water. Lacerations and deep teeth-rake marks indicating inescapable stress-related aggression from other belugas were also noted on many of the belugas. We are also concerned about signs of severe eye irritation perhaps caused by chemically-treated water.
Later in 2015, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) made a non-public finding that questioned some of Last Chance for Animals’ claims of abuses at Marineland. But Julie Woodyer of Zoocheck has filed a new complaint with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals documenting continued violations of the Captive Animal Care Standards at Marineland.
In Defense of Animals President, Dr. Marilyn Kroplick.
We urge the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to act urgently to enforce minimum standards at Marineland. Belugas have certainly not evolved for millions of years to be packed into a tank – and orcas are among the most social and family-oriented species on the planet.
10 WORST TANKS: 1. SeaWorld, San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Orlando, Florida 2. Marineland, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada 3. Puerto Aventuras Dolphin Discovery, Mayan Riviera, Quinta Roo, Mexico 4. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia 5. Miami Seaquarium, Miami, Florida 6. Six Flags Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico 7. Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi and Unnamed new facility planned by same owner also in Gulfport, Mississippi 8. Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada 9. Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 10. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois
Honorable Mention: National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland
The Ten Worst Tanks list was produced over the past year by multiple cetacean experts and scientists to represent the myriad horrors faced by cetaceans in captivity. Facilities were examined and investigated in-person; through review of government records, veterinary records, and death reports; and via image and data documentation. For more information please visit: www.idausa.org/10WorstTanks
In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization located in San Rafael, Calif. dedicated to protecting animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats through education, outreach, and our hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi. For the Silo, Toni Frohoff, Ph.D.
The list was selected from over 60 facilities from southern Canada to Mexico where almost 1,000 whales and dolphins are held captive for public display. “Forcing an orca to live in solitary confinement while hoarding so many beluga whales is Marineland’s tragic dichotomy, and a horrific example of cetacean captivity. It plumbs the depths in its exploitation of intelligent and sensitive animals,” said In Defense of Animals President, Dr. Marilyn Kroplick. “Even with the most modern technology, veterinary care, and infrastructure, cetaceans still suffer intensely in captivity and exhibit surprisingly high mortality rates.Please help protect dolphins and whales in the wild where they belong, by pledging to never visit facilities that imprison them.”
