On Monday night a few of us here at the Sand Shack team went to see a special pre-screening of The Cove. Haven’t heard of it? Neither had we.
Please take a minute and watch the trailer here:
If a two-minute trailer can change your heart, imagine what a two-hour documentary can do. Not to sound cliché, not to sound like a critic, but to sound frank and truthful – the scariest part of this documentary is its honesty. Like many things, it all comes down to money. Japanese fisherman catch hundreds of thousands of dolphins so that dolphin trainers can hand select which ones they want to send to dolphinariums (places such as Sea World, aquariums, zoos, etc). Dolphins captured during a Taiji dolphin drive have been sold to dolphinariums for as much as $154,000 per dolphin. The dolphins not selected are then butchered for meat. A dolphin slaughtered for its meat will bring in about $700. The dolphin killers simply would not be able to prosper on the annual dolphin slaughter if members of the zoo and aquarium industry were not paying top dollar for live dolphins. And zoos and aquariums wouldn’t be paying top dollar if people like you and me didn’t pay to see events like dolphin shows and performances.
This documentary could have revealed infinite statistics. It could have exposed endless amount of facts. It could have even publicized the undocumented and illegal practices of the Japanese government. But all it takes is watching one dolphin being ruthlessly stabbed with a four-foot spick to know that what is happening in Taiji is wrong.
I didn’t write this blog so that you will visit one of the below websites and donate money. I didn’t write so that you will become an activist and fight for animal rights. I also didn’t write so that you will stop eating fish or change your diet in any way. I wrote it so that you can be educated. So that you can make educated decisions.
Here’s the thing about The Cove. You probably have no idea what it’s really about because mainstream media has done a phenomenal job keeping it out of the news. Sand Shack genuinely believes in helping our oceans and anything related to it – and everyone here urges you to watch this documentary. If anything, so that you can be educated on an issue that some people are spending millions to hide.
For more information:
UPDATE: Sand Shack just got access to free tickets to a pre-screening of The Cove. If you’re interested and in the Philadelphia area, leave a comment with your email address and I’ll make sure to get you tickets.
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This is so sad — thanks for educating me! While it’s becoming more known that the fishing industry can be cruel and that we shouldn’t EAT fish, I never thought about the effects of Sea World, etc. Keep up the good work, JTai.
Yea, I am ashamed to admit that I had no idea about the extent of this problem – And I personally love(d) going to aquariums and seeing dolphin shows…but this documentary showed that the dolphins in most of these shows are illegally captured in places like Taiji – and then the ones that arent chosen for sale to aquariums are killed for their meat.
Hey! If anyone is in the Philadelphia area and is interested in seeing a free screening of The Cove, Sand Shack has access to some pre-screening tickets. The screening will be at:
The Bryn Mawr Film Institute (about 20 minutes outside of the city)
Monday August 3rd
7:30pm
If interested, please leave a comment with your email address and I’ll make sure to get you tickets…KEEP IT BLUE-thanks!
JTai…look at you. Well-written piece. I love dolphins so I think dolphin-killers should die. But, I do eat fish. And I kind of love it. Sorry. Buuut, way to get the word out there and educate the masses. We should discuss this topic more (seriously). How about on Friday, August 14th. At 8pm. In NYC. 224 Thompson St.
The preview looks eye-opening. I’d love to take my two roommates to this screening if tickets are available.
I’m really interested to see more of this. For as long as I can remember I’ve loved aquatic life and always had a special spot for dolphins. If they are still available, I’d greatly appreciate tickets.