Update

Once again, I know that this blog has been basically barren for over a year. However, I would like to let anyone who reads this blog know that my precious dachshund, Frodo, passed away on May 13th of this year. I've been grieving the loss of my baby boy terribly and I miss him so so much. After it happened, a family member suggested to me that I start a blog about him to help me let out some thoughts and emotions. I think it's a great idea, so that's what I'm going to do. I plan to use the blog to focus on the positive aspects of Frodo's life and not dwell too much on his last moments. I'll be posting on it a lot more than this blog, so please go follow if you like: frodowaggins1010.blogspot.com

P.S. I haven't added any posts yet, I'm still in the process of personalizing the blog's appearance, but will start posting very soon. Stay tuned!

To anybody who regularly checks this blog, I'm very sorry for my lack of posts the last several months. Although I'm on summer vacation now, I was quite busy with school for a while and I didn't have much to say on this blog anyway. I still care very much for the wellness of animals in this world, and I still wish I could do more to help, but this blog has been pretty dead recently. Besides, I never really felt like it was getting attention. "Somebody will see this, and it will make a difference somewhere in the world," I would be told, but I never saw it that way. I started this blog nearly three and a half years ago (which I can't believe, by the way), and at very first I had this mentality that it would make a difference. Not long afterwards, I began to lose hope, despite the fact that I continued to post. People have always told me I'm too pessimistic and maybe I am, but I personally think I'm just a realist. Because honestly, who looks at this blog and actually learns something? Who actually sees one of my posts and is inspired to get out and do something?

So in all honesty, I guess you could say that I'm somewhat retiring from this blog. Or at least taking a break for a while until I have something important to say. I did take a trip to Alaska a few weeks ago and had the wonderful opportunity to see orcas, belugas, and humpback whales in the wild. I did watch the Blackfish documentary on Netflix a while back. But besides those two things, there's not much else to say.

This doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing all I can to help animals in general, I'm never going to stop doing that, it's simply part of who I am. Is that fortunate or unfortunate? I think both. It's fortunate for obvious reasons, but it's also unfortunate because I always find myself caring too much. Sitting and thinking about all the horrible things that go on in the world, knowing that there really isn't much I can do. It upsets me a lot, and I almost don't think I'll ever be completely happy and content with life due to these things. People call me strange for this, trying to convince me, "but there's beautiful things in the world too," and yeah, I totally get that. I've seen some very beautiful things in my life, but awful factors will always overshadow good factors to me, because that's how my mind works. However, I'm not going to sulk and feel sorry for myself, I am going to get out there and do something. And I know there has always been evil, and there always will be. I don't need to be preached to about that, because I completely understand.

I do apologize to anybody who is reading this lengthy post, it's a bit late at night where I live (or maybe I should say early in the morning...) and I tend to have deep thoughts this time of day. Anyway, this will be my last post for a while, but I promise I haven't disappeared.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/09/19/porpoise-iwate-japan-hunt-bigger-than-cove-taiji-japan

I was unaware of this until just about five minutes ago. Ugh, when will people stop??

New Documentary

I just now heard about a new cetacean documentary that came out in January, and I absolutely have to see it. It's called Blackfish, and is about Tilikum the captive orca and just captive dolphins and whales in general. I remember when I used to love SeaWorld, and a while ago, I made a pledge to never go back. I know that everybody says the animals are treated well, and I honestly am not 100% sure whether this is true or not, but I don't want to support any business that has captive cetaceans for the sheer joy of it (if they're rescued and being rehabilitated, that's different). I'm still proud of my decision to not participate in the dolphin interaction program in the Caribbean, and I will continue boycotting these kinds of situations.

Visit the IMDb page for Blackfish to watch the trailer and find more information about the documentary:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2545118/

These websites were shared by a dog rescue page on Facebook, and I'm starting to become more convinced by all the talk of dangerous commercial pet foods. It's just very difficult to find good quality pet food that isn't ridiculously expensive. I personally think that we shouldn't have to pay so much in order to keep our beloved pets healthy, it's a bit odd if you ask me.

http://www.holisticandorganixpetshoppe.com/top-7-worst-dog-food-brands.html

http://www.bestcatanddognutrition.com/?cat=47

Ol' Roy is the main food that my family has fed my dogs for years, but I do not trust them anymore.

Some important photos for Summer

Please help this dog if you can

http://blog.myletsadopt.com/2013/06/04/please-help-axel-the-dog-that-crawled-out-of-hell/

11 Household Items Dangerous to Dogs

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-health-11-common-household-hazards-dogs

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-hey-haters-heres-why-dogs-are-the-best-companions-20130517,0,7993085.story

Great story

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10609

Please read this article and sign the petition

http://www.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/3401-woman-hopes-for-miracle-to-save-her-innocent-dog-from-being-euthanized-based-on-his-appearance

Interesting article

http://timzimmermann.com/2013/05/31/the-story-of-moby-doll/

I know I've never talked about anything like this before, but I just found this picture and I feel like I should share. It's just so sad...

Sign these petitions!

I just found this and it is absolutely horrific, disgusting, shocking, and so many other words. The petition doesn't have nearly enough signatures, so please go and sign it. China really needs to start treating dogs like living creatures instead of apathetic objects.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/740/473/025/stop-the-slaughter-house-in-jin-lin-china-a-facility-for-production-of-dog-meats-instant-noodles/

This one is quite awful too, how somebody could want something like this to be legal!

http://www.causes.com/actions/1747889-demand-that-judge-sim-lake-rethinks-his-decision-on-animal-crush-videos?recruiter_id=145818331&token=qbgcxTIwcqiTdAd6mdbEJzpn&utm_campaign=activity_invitation_mailer%2Factivity_invitation&utm_medium=email&utm_source=causes

For Dog Owners - Warning: Prepare To Cry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7re7hLYOuY

Truth About Commercial Dog Food

When I first started watching this, I wasn't so sure about believing it. As the video progressed, I started to realize that this probably is actually real. So if you have a dog, please watch this. I'm definitely not going to ignore it.

http://www.healthy-k9.com/secure/vreport2.php?hop=eri777

stopcrush.org

I just discovered what animal crush is, and I am too disturbed for words. Every single person should know what this horror is. So please, visit stopcrush.org.

Sad Whale Story

The article is from several years ago, but I just found it and it is very sad yet interesting.

Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/science/21whal.html?_r=2& 

It's been a while!

Hello all, it's been forever since I've updated! I don't have much to say here, but I'm accepting any and all questions my followers may have. Or if you'd like to share any interesting stories about your experiences or just marine creatures in general, please do!

The Cove on Netflix

My family and I had Netflix on our Wii a while back but we cancelled it about seven months ago because we weren't really using it due to the dreadful quality. Although I never watched it, I remember browsing through documentaries and seeing The Cove (the first time I watched it was on Animal Planet). Since canceling it on the Wii, we have gotten an Xbox. The quality of Netflix videos is far superior on the Xbox, so we recently decided to sign up again. One of the first things I searched for was The Cove. It had been around two years since I'd seen it, so I really wanted to view it again. However, THEY NO LONGER HAVE IT!!!! I was so mad. I'm now just thinking about buying it sometime in the future. I own Sharkwater as well as a four-disk set of ocean facts and photography, so The Cove would be a nice edition to my documentary collection.

Why Must The World Be So Cruel?

About 1,000 dolphins are now dying annually in Taiji, Japan. That is still too many, but think about the millions of sharks that are still being killed each year. The death toll for them hasn't decreased at all, and it's because people don't care. Also, there are thousands of dogs each and every year being abused, killed, and spending their whole lives in shelters (I praise everyone who rescues dogs and doesn't buy!). The world is filled with too much cruelty, and I don't understand it. Why do some people have to be so inhumane, so heartless? Why can't everyone just leave the poor animals alone and let them live their lives? They have just as much of a right to live here as us humans do. To be honest, I think when it comes to most situations, the "humans" shouldn't even be classified as humans. But then again, I guess that's what makes us humans. The power and ability to rule everything, both bigger and smaller than us. If we can effortlessly slaughter the largest animal on the planet (the blue whale, of course) nearly to extinction, then we can do anything. But without weapons, we are nothing. If we weren't intelligent enough to create weapons as we do, we would have died off long ago. We're smart, but that's about our only advantage. We are tiny and insignificant without weapons. Sometimes, I feel ashamed to be human.

Dolphin Day 2012

The day is finally here. Yep, you know it. Dolphins are probably being killed as I'm typing this. I hope that 2012-2013 is the last hunting season for at least several years, but it probably won't be. We must all look at it optimistically though and realize that just a few years ago, 23,000 dolphins were being killed annually. Now, it's only about 1,000. 

September 1st is Getting Close

That gruesome time of year is coming up again soon. If you don't remember from last year's post or you just don't know, September 1st is the day that the annual Taiji dolphin slaughter starts. The hunt ended four weeks early last season, and Save Japan Dolphins reported that between 726 and 786 lost their lives. The death toll was about 1,500 in the 2008-2009 season, and decreased each season thereafter (2009-2010 was about 1,300 and 2010-2011 was almost 1,200). This is good, but it needs to decrease faster. Last year, I didn't remember dolphin day till a month after, and I was so upset with myself that I totally forgot about it. This year, I'm not going to forget. I will be doing another post on September 1st.

Ridiculous Website

Check out this ridiculous website I just found (click on "Anti-D Resources" on the left-hand side to see more ridiculous sites). Tell me what you think.

http://www.anti-dolphin.org

Viking Shores Review

I should have posted this long ago.  I'd like to give you a review of the Whale Wars spin-off, Viking Shores, that I told you about a while back (see http://theyneedavoice.blogspot.com/2012/04/whale-wars-spin-off.html for original post). I watched all five episodes with my Dad, and I believe that it started very good. The first couple episodes were exciting, but by the third it began to get boring. At the end of each episode, it would show a "Next time, on Viking Shores," and they would make you think there was going to be lots of action in the next episode. Then in the next episode, there wouldn't be any action and it would show the same "Next time," that the previous episode did. Starting in like the third one, it just kept showing and explaining the same stuff over and over again. My dad and I just wanted to see them to try stop a Grind like they kept showing on the "Next time," clip. We got to where in the last two episodes we just forwarded through most of it. Finally in the last episode, it showed a little bit of action with them trying to stop a Grind. It was nothing like we were expecting though. They did stop one Grind, but at the very end of the episode, it had a message on the screen saying that shortly after the sea shepherds left, there was a Grind where like 250 pilot whales were killed. Such a happy ending, isn't it? My dad and I were both disappointed with the show overall. We agreed that it was just way too stretched out and could have been better if it was shorter.

Summer Swimming Lessons

As you know, I really want to dive with sharks and dolphins someday. Unfortunately, I am not a very strong swimmer and I have to be in order to dive. The good news is that my family and I moved recently, and my parents are going to try to find a good place for my brother and I to take swimming lessons over the summer. I really want to take them. If I take swimming lessons, I'll be able to hopefully take snorkeling and diving lessons someday. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to become a good enough swimmer to take snorkeling/diving lessons, but hopefully not long. I will update my blogs once I start the lessons.

This post is also on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!

How I Think the World will Really End

Everybody has heard of the Mayan calender and the big deal about 12/21/12. I believe that all that is a bunch of BS. The Mayans lived in ancient times. It is impossible for them to have had any way of knowing how and when the world would end. Sure, their calender ends, but according to the NASA website, nothing bad is going to happen. I'm going to believe the modern technology of NASA over some five thousand-year-old calender. I know the world is going to end someday when my generation and many others are dead, and I have an idea about how it will end. I think we are going to destroy ourselves. How the world may end, however, could be related to the oceans and other ecosystems that we depend on for survival. As you know, humans are destroying the ocean and its inhabitants. Eventually, we will completely wipe out the important species of the world, including our ocean dwellers. Only invasive species will be left, destroying everything else. The plankton will be gone due to the overpopulation of fish, and we will slowly run out of oxygen and suffocate. Doesn't sound very pretty, does it? And that's if people don't start caring and striving to make a difference. I honestly don't want the world to end that way, but it is possible if we don't make some important changes. We need future generations to be aware of these problems. Most adults and seniors can't really do anything right now. We need children. More children like me to make sure that destruction of the oceans doesn't happen. Kids need to be educated. I need more people to join me in my fight. I really hope that future generations won't have to see the world end that way, but we can't just sit here and whine and feel sorry for ourselves. We must get up and do something to save the most beautiful, complex ecosystem on our majestic planet.

This post is also on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!

A Newly Discovered Excuse

I have recently discovered a new excuse for dolphin and whale killing. It seems to some people (including some scientists and biologists) that if a species is not endangered, that murdering them is okay. I have read things on the Internet saying that slaughter is not a problem for certain species because their population isn't low. Whether a species is endangered or not, killing is killing; it is cruel no matter what. If you kill enough, they will eventually become endangered, just like others. Then the endangered species will become protected, and the killers will move on to another species with a steady population. Slaughters will go on and on until we eventually wipe out our oceans. Obviously, the dumb biologists who think it's okay to slaughter one species after another don't understand the eventual consequences and devastation. I am not going to be a biologist like that advocates killing.

Humans aren't endangered (actually, our population is probably too high), but they were once being massacred in huge numbers (most recently during the holocaust circa WWII). If humans were currently being slaughtered like ocean creatures, people would go crazy and everybody would want to stop it. If an animal has a high population, all people can think is, "well if just a couple hundred are killed every day it's okay," but that's not true. It's not okay. The world is messed up, and there will always be evil, but the amount of evil can decrease if we have enough people who care.

A Few Faroese Terms

Here are a few Faroese terms relating to the pilot whale slaughter. I've already explained a couple of them, but the others are new. Here they are!

Grindadrap: The killing of pilot whales

Grindaknivur: A whaling knife

Grindhval: A pilot whale

Grindamaour: Participant at the grindadrap

200 Petitions

I have been waiting a long time to add this post and now I've finally accomplished a goal. I have signed a total of 203 petitions on the Care2 petition site to help animals all around the world! My goal was 200, and I told myself that I would post it on my blogs once I reached that goal. I am very happy about this. Next goal, 300!

There are thousands of petitions available for you to sign at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/

This post is also on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!

The Excuse I'm Sick Of

I said I would now be putting posts about dogs, and this post is a dog post. At my school, there is this girl who hates dogs and of course loves cats. She laughs when there are stories of them dying or being abused (such as a story of a puppy that was tied to the back of a car and then the person drove off, dragging the puppy). She refers to them as 'ugly, drooling things that always want more food' and says that it's good when they die. I have told her that they aren't like that, but she still says they are. I told her that I hate cats and I actually called her a dog hater to her face. But then she says that she loves poodles but hates dogs. To me, people like her who laugh when an innocent creature gets tortured are people who turn into animal abusers. Today, I found out why she hates dogs. She says that when she was three years old, she was bitten on the leg by a chihuahua. I am so freaking tired of hearing that excuse. "Oh, I don't like dogs because when I was young I was attacked by a dog". People need to understand that most dogs aren't like that. Some people are bad, but that doesn't mean all people are bad. It's the same thing with dogs! I told her that today that not all dogs are that way and all she said was, "you can tell me that all you want and I will never love a dog again". It is ridiculous! I hate that excuse! I understand people may be scared of dogs for a short time after they are attacked, but they need to get over it and learn that most dogs are sweet, loving creatures. If I was attacked by a dog, it would not make me scared of them. And if somebody wants to be scared of dogs, that's different from somebody in her case who hates them and gets a kick out of them dying. She is just stupid.

New Topic

My blog has never really talked about anything other than dolphins/whales and sharks. It is indeed called They Need A Voice, and dolphins are certainly not the only animals that need a voice. Though I adore ocean life, I have loved and cared for dogs for as long as I could remember. Dogs face many issues in China and Korea, where they are eaten and even skinned alive. Eighty-five percent of fur in America comes from China, where live dogs and cats are skinned. That means that if you buy a jacket or sweater or something of that sort with real fur on it, you will most likely be wearing dog or cat. In both Korea and China, they're beaten to death to be eaten. Another big issue is animal testing. I have known of all these issues for a while, but I haven't really said anything. I can't hold in my feelings for these innocent dogs anymore. I had to say something. I will from now on be putting posts about dogs on this blog. I will explain the issues of slaughter, skinning, animal testing, and other things in more detail and depth in later posts. For now, I just wanted to let all of you know that I will now talk about these things. They need a voice too.

Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Month

April 4th was World Stray Animals Day, and April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. Many probably think of it as a month dedicated to pets such as dogs, cats, horses, etc but I see it as a month to ALL animals, including dolphins and sharks. These creatures face just as much cruelty as dogs, cats, and horses, maybe even more in some cases. So why should this month not be dedicated to them too? I think it should. Who agrees?

This post in also on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!

Whale Wars Spin-off

Most Whale Wars fans are probably excited about the five part spin-off, Whale Wars: Viking Shores, scheduled to premiere on April 27. Even though I support The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, I have never really been a fan of the Animal Planet series, Whale Wars. Although I've never been a fan, I am looking forward to this spin-off. If you visit my blog often, you have probably seen my post about the pilot whale slaughter in the Faroe Islands (see http://theyneedavoice.blogspot.com/2011/04/joyful-tradition-no-way.html for original post). Whale Wars: Viking Shores follows the Sea Shepherds in their efforts to stop the traditional Faroe Islands whaling. I am very happy about this, simply because the Faroe pilot whales were not really getting any attention, unlike the Taiji dolphins. They deserve attention just as much! I will probably watch the spin-off. Who else will be watching???

Good And Bad News

I have recently found out that the hunts in Taiji are done for the season. This is great news, but it's not as thrilling as it could be. The bad news is that the hunts start back in September. It is just so sick that those people are still doing this! I'm not racist by any means (I know that the majority of Asians are good people), but I really do hate those Japanese in Taiji. Their race has nothing to with it. If they were Americans like me or Germans like my ancestors, I'd still hate them.

New Petition (CLOSED)

I have started another petition for dolphins and whales. Here it is:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/83/stop-the-killing-of-all-cetaceans-whales-dolphins-porpoises-everywhere/

Baleen Whales

Although toothed whales are my main focus, baleen whales are very special too. As a request from one of my followers, I have decided to make a list of all baleen whales and their conservation status according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Rorquals:

Blue Whale: Endangered

Fin Whale: Endangered

Sei Whale: Endangered

Bryde's Whale: Data Deficient

Pygmy Bryde's Whale: Unknown (no picture found)


Common Minke Whale: Least Concern

Antarctic Minke Whale: Data Deficient

Omura's Whale: Data Deficient

Humpback Whale: Least Concern

Right Whales: 


Bowhead Whale: Least Concern

North Atlantic Right Whale: Endangered

North Pacific Right Whale: Endangered

Southern Right Whale: Least Concern

Gray Whale (placed in family of own):

Gray Whale: Least Concern

Pygmy Right Whale (placed in family of own):

Pygmy Right Whale: Data Deficient

Source: iucnredlist.org

Asia's Getting on my Nerves

Like the title says, Asia is beginning to get on my nerves. Japan kills the dolphins in Taiji and is a whaling country. China is the cause for all of the sharks and large rays that are killed each year. Lastly, Korea as well as China beats dogs to death (in public) to release blood into the meat in belief that if an animal suffers horrible pain before death that the meat will be tastier and of higher quality.

These things make me very mad and sad, but I know that not all people in these countries are like that and most are good people. But the ones who do do these things are bad people, although they may not know it.

This post can also be seen on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!

My Petitions (CLOSED)

I have started two petitions. Here are the addresses for them if you would like to sign them:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-faroe-islands-pilot-whale-massacre/

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/eat-eggdrops-not-shark-fins/

Haley's Voice

Haley's voice for marine mammals is really getting loud. I'm very proud of young people who are passionate about preserving the precious ecosystems in our world. The delicate balance of our oceanic ecosystem is in obvious jeopardy. I encourage Haley and blog fans to read and learn about other seemingly less significant organisms (less than cetaceans and sharks) whose preservation is critical to maintaining the balances necessary for the long term survival of the sea as we know it.

That being said, we must all remember that nature is cruel and the only thing inevitable in evolutionary processes is change! Most things will change no matter what we do; nonetheless, we must do what we can to curb self-destructive human behaviors!

Let 2012 Be The Victorious Year

2012 is here now, the year that I and many others have been waiting for. The Taiji slaughter has decreased from 23,000 a year to 850 having been killed between 2010-2011 due to public pressure on Japan. That is a huge acheivment for activists, and makes me very happy. 2012 is said to be the year that this brutal slaughter ends for good and dolphins can swim freely. The killing cove is actully quite pleasent looking when it isn't blood stained, and let's all hope that it stays that way!

"The Cove" app for Apple products

On Monday, out of curiosity I searched The Cove in the app store on my IPod touch. I was very surprised to see a five star, FREE app for the movie. I downloaded it immediately without hesitation. I didn't have it for five minutes and I fell in love with it. It features addresses to places in Japan where you can send letters to persuade the country to stop the slaughter, a fifteen minute version of the movie, a mercury calculator, and much more! If you have an IPhone, IPod touch, or IPad, you should download it. It won't be hard to find because it's the only app with the name! If you love dolphins and hate the slaughter, you will not be disappointed with the app. I know I wasn't.

Cultures

I have noticed that on both of my animal cruelty awareness blogs I have had some page views from from citizens in Europe, and on They Need A Voice I have even had a page view from somebody in China. MESSAGE TO EUROPEANS: I would very much like it if you could post a comment explaining what role dolphins and sharks play in your culture. I would love to learn from Europeans themselves (not from internet research) how these creatures are viewed in their country and their country's culture.

This post can also be seen on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!!  

Video Post for both of my Animal Cruelety Awareness Blogs

I know that I give links to videos both my blogs, 'They Need A Voice' and 'Sharks Need Help!!!'. I understand that some people would prefer to avoid them, but it is hard to make a difference when you don't know what's happening. Videos make me terribly sad, but the footage from The Cove was the first thing that I'd ever seen relating to my blogs, and it changed my life. Now, I'm an activist for my ocean friends that I've always loved. If you don't want to watch a video that I post a link to, please really try to gain the courage to do so. I didn't want to watch The Cove because I was worried about it depressing me, but my parents thought is would be inspirational for me. I never thought that it would change me, but it truly did. It made me cry, but sadness it sometimes what it takes to inspire people. I can still not stand to watch those Humane Society and ASPCA commercials, but those animals are getting tons and tons of help.

If you do choose to watch my video links, they will make definitely make you sad if you have a heart unlike all those scums that murder animals. And if they bother you a lot, don't just try to pretend that it's fake (something that I do sometimes) because sadly it is all too real.

This post is also visible on my blog, Sharks Need Help!!! (sharkskatesrays.blogspot.com)

'Dolphin Tale'

Yesterday morning, I went to the movie theaters with my mom and my best friend to see the movie Dolphin Tale. I have to say it was a touching, amazing movie. I'm not just saying that because I love dolphins, but it really was wonderful. My mom actually cried tears of happiness in the end when it showed real footage, and my friend and I both almost did. It is a movie that I am going to have to buy on DVD. I give it five out of five stars, or ten out of ten. In other words, it deserves as high as it can get. I know that my blog is all about not having dolphins in captivity, but in a case like Winter's, it'd be cruel to throw her in the ocean. In the movie, all three of the dolphins in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium are ones that were rescued. One of them is deaf, so she can't find her food. It'd be cruel to throw her in the ocean too. If a dolphin is permanently disabled where it can't survive in the wild, it needs to be in an aquarium or other marine park. If I'm ever close to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida, I'd love to see Winter there.

Dolphin Day 2011

I've got horrible news. Dolphin day was September 1st. I know it's almost October and a bit late to be posting this, but I've been busy with my other blog lately. Dolphin day might sound like a good day, but it's not. It's the day that the dolphin hunting season in Taiji starts. I can not believe that I forgot about it! My ocean friends are being killed and they weren't in my thoughts! Lots of people all around the world went out on the streets with signs defending dolphins on Dolphin day. I wish an event could have been planned in my area, but maybe next year I can do something to show my care. Now, I just can't stop thinking about my ocean friends that I forgot about.

Go to this address to see photos of dolphin day:

http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/09/02/dolphin-lovers-unite-on-dolphin-day-photos/50439/

Sonars: The cause of strandings?

As you probably know, navy ships use sonars to find submarines from foreign countries to make sure that they aren't planning an attack on U.S cities. But did you know that these sonars can damage the brains of cetaceans? It can. It can harm their brain, and their sense of direction goes out of whack. This can cause them to swim too close toward the shore and strand themselves. Stranding, also known as beaching, is very dangerous for cetaceans. When mass strandings happen, this is usually the result of sonars. If it is a single whale, it is usually because of illness or injury. When they found out that they were harming whales and dolphins, navy ships began to try to use lower sonars, but there was a problem. Foreign nations began making submarines that could only be detected by powerful sonars. This would hurt the whales even more. Many species that live in pods strand in large numbers, including pilot and beaked whales. A solution must be found, because sonars are hurting whales very much.

Heartlessness

The whole act of murdering innocent creatures is heartless. There are some very heartless acts in the Taiji slaughter. Trainers can do some of the cruel things. Here are some incidents:


Trainers have been seen participating in the brutality.

Once, there was a pilot whale calf that swam over two low placed nets. The pilot whale's mother immediately joined the calf. The two could have easily fled, but stayed close to the their still trapped pod members. A trainer had noticed that they had escaped and alerted the fishermen. Aided by the trainer, the fishermen brought out their boats and chased the pilot whales back into the net. The entire pod was killed and butchered the next morning.

When all of the dolphins are caught, trainers come to the scene to inspect them and help the slaughterers drag them to shore. They only take the ones that are not too old, too young, the wrong sex, or have too many blemishes. The ones who do have flaws are not worth saving to them, even pregnant females, so they let the fishermen kill them. They don't bother to inspect the very young calves either, for they are too young to be put into shows. Using ropes and physical force, the trainers separate the mothers from their babies. They haul the mothers to the rocky beach to inspect and measure them. The calves cry for their mothers, but they are doomed. They will not be spared but killed just as viciously as all of the others, no matter what age. The dolphin trainers don't care about them. But if a mother doesn't meet the expectations, she will die with her calf. If a dolphin breaks or dislocates a pectoral fin, they are worth nothing to dolphinariums. Thus, only the 'perfect' dolphins are worthy of being in shows. A dolphin can't help it if it's in it's senior years, just a baby, or if it has scars on it's body. They don't deserve to be killed because they have 'flaws'. I also feel bad for all of the ones who are taken to dolphinariums. They are taken away from their family and are smart enough to wonder what's happening to them. I'm sure that mothers are worried sick if they're taken from their babies.


Now, I have decided something. Dolphin trainers in Taiji are not trainers because they love dolphins. They are trainers because they love money. If a dolphin makes them money, they like it. But if there's one that isn't worth anything,  they could care less about it.

Hunted or Not?

Here is the conservation status of the six porpoise species:

Harbor Porpoise: Until the end of the 19th century, these porpoises were hunted in Denmark for meat and blubber. In prehistoric times, it was hunted in Sweden. Today, it is hunted for food and Greenland. Fishing nets, overfishing, and pollution are the biggest threat to this species. Fortunately, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUNC Red List.

Harbor Porpoise

Dall's Porpoise: Many of these species are killed as bycatches in fishing nets. They are harpooned each year by Japanese whalers. The number of species killed in 1988 was 40,000. Today, 16,000 are still killed in Japan in hand harpoon hunts, but it is listed as Least Concern on IUNC Red List.

Dall's Porpoise

 Spectacled Porpoise: This species lives in the waters of Antarctica and is not known to be hunted. The total population is not known, and it is listed as Data Deficient on the IUNC Red List.

Spectacled Porpoise

Finless Porpoise: Like other porpoise species, many of this species are killed in fishing nets. They were hunted briefly after World War ll, but have never been widely hunted in Japan. Due to ships in the lakes they live in in China, they sometimes have difficulty finding their food. The IUNC Red List has the species listed as Vulnerable.

Finless Porpoises

 

Vaquita: This species has never been hunted directly. Many are killed in fishing nets each year though. They are said to be the most endangered marine mammal, and is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUNC Red List.

Vanquita

Burmeister's Porpoise: Like all porpoise species, this species is vulnerable to be entangled in fishing nets. This is common in Peru, Chile, and Uraguay. The annual estimated catch of these porpoises is largest in Peru, being 2,000. They are also harpooned deliberately for food and to be used as bait to catch sharks. The number of the animal's population is unknown, and is listed as Date Deficient on the IUNC Red List.

Burmeister's Porpoise

Fishing Nets: Another Threat by man

Slaughter isn't the only threat that we pose towards cetaceans. Fishing nets are very dangerous to dolphins and porpoises. Very often, dolphin or porpoise pods will be chasing a school of fish that fishermen in boats with nets are trying to catch. When the net is drawn up, the dolphins or porpoises will get tangled in the net and drown because they are unable to swim to the surface to breathe. We can not forget that they are mammals and need to breath air!

Fishing nets kill hundreds of dolphins and porpoises every day, and can be just as dangerous to species' populations as slaughter. Sometimes, divers will get in the water and help the pods out before the net is drawn up, but sometimes they won't either. Many other creatures become tangled in these fishing nets, such as seals, sealions, sharks and small whales.

Why no Baleen Whales?

You might be asking why I don't talk about baleen whales on my blog. Well, let me tell you why. Whaling is probably going to be coming to an end soon (according to Whale Wars on Animal Planet). The Taiji slaughters are also probably going to be ending soon, but there are many other slaughters of toothed whales around the world that will probably go on for many more years. Also, many people are aware of whaling. Not very many are aware of narwhal killings, pilot whale massacres, and other killings. I only talk about toothed whales because it as not as well known.

The Importance of sharks

        You may think of sharks as monsters. The majority of people think so. Like them or not, they are very important to the ocean. The ocean has a balance, and if one species is taken out, it will put the balance out of whack. Sharks are the “sea vultures”, getting rid of the sick, dead, weak, and dying. They are only second to Orcas as apex predators (followed by dolphins), and are extremely important. If they didn’t exist, fish would eat everything, causing them to go hungry and die. This would affect humans, cetaceans, and all other marine creatures.

        People don’t understand that you are more likely to be killed by a dog, horse, deer, or rabid raccoon or squirrel. We call lion “king of beasts” thinking that they are magnificent. They are no less dangerous than sharks.

       The filter feeding sharks such as Whale sharks, Basking sharks, and Megamouth sharks keep the plankton population balanced. The predatory sharks such as Great White sharks, Shortfin and Longfin Makos, Bull sharks, Tiger sharks, Porbeagles, Salmon sharks, Lemon sharks, Hammerhead sharks, Greenland sharks, Sixgill sharks, Goblin sharks, Blue sharks, Thresher sharks, and Sandtiger sharks keep the fish populations balanced.

       Sharks have been around for 450 million years. Some of the first being the Megaladon, Helicoprion, Orthacanthus, Paleocarcharias, Symmorium, Echinochimaera, Belantsea, Scapanorhynchus (a resembling relative of the goblin shark), Hybodus shark, Stethacanthus, Falcatus, Acrodus, Erquitaia, Cretoxyrhina, Squalicorax, Physogaleus, Otodus, Tristchius, Cobelodus, Anomotodon, Cladoselache, Glikmanius, Akmonistion, Cardabiodon, Wodnika, Triodus, and Dunkleosteus. But since the 1970s, 95% of the ocean’s oldest predators’ populations have decimated.

      In the shark/human relationship, we think that sharks are monsters. In fact, we’re the monsters. We think that killing them for meat and fins is a delicious, tasty decision. Actually, it’s not. Only 8-10 people are attacked and 3-5 killed by sharks each year. We kill 100 million of them a year. As we kill them, we are slowly messing up our world. We need to start thinking before we slaughter them.

       When caught, their dorsal  pectoral, and even caudal fins are sliced off and the mutilated animal is thrown back in the water alive and either drowns, is eaten by another shark, bleeds to death, or starves to death. Shark Fin soup is a delicacy in China, and as the Chinese population grows, the demand for the soup also grows.

       Here’s a fact, shark fins are just cartilage. The soup is about the most tasteless, non-nutritional thing to eat. There is absolutely no use for it. But still, the fins alone as well as canned soup are sold in Asian markets, today. Chinese restaurants all over the world (including the USA) sell the soup, averaging $25.00 a bowl. One pound of sharks fins is worth $200 U.S and whale shark caudal fin can go for as much as $10,000 in China. Scientists estimate that sharks may be all gone in 10-20 years, if we don’t act fast. We need sharks. Sharks need us.

WARNING: THERE IS BLOOD

I have seen pictures with LOTS more fins laying out

Copy pasted from my science project

Another way to make money

As you know, most cetacean killings are because of pure greed. And of course, the killings of narwhals is another way to make money, for many men who kill them are poor. Narwhals are most known for the left incisor that grows out into a 10 ft long ivory tusk in males, which is responsible for unicorn legends. Males may seldom produce a second tusk, where the right incisor grows out. Females have a shorter, straighter tusk. Narwhals are hunted for these tusks(and skin and meat sometimes) in summer in Canada and Greenland. They are known as Tuugaaliks in Canada. When a pod comes near the ice, the news is spread throughout the town. The town has been waiting all winter for this moment. Hunters arrive in snowmobiles with high-powered rifles. They take positions along the ice and wait for the whales to surface near the ice. When they surface close enough, they are shot with the rifles. They then retrieve the narwhal with a grappling hook that is thrown by hand. Each man hopes to land a narwhal with a tusk that can sell for more than a thousand dollars. They also look forward to fresh muktuk, the top layer of blubber and skin, which is a delicacy. Even though many shots are fired over many hours, usually only a few are caught. But to kill the whale, they must be shot in the spine or brain the instant it's filling it's lungs. If it's shot at the wrong moment, it's body will sink. If it's wounded, it will swim away and most likely die later. Many of the whales receive multiple shot wound before they actually die. Even whales that are shot just right usually float beyond reach to be hooked and sink. So many that are killed die for no reason.

Along the west coast of Greenland, narwhal's numbers went from 10,500 in 1986 to 1,500 in 2002. Catch rates in Greenland in the 1990's averaged 750 narwhals a year, many others being killed but not hooked and pulled to shore. In Canada, numbers went from 15,000 in 1984 to 5,000 in 2003. Today in Canada, the number killed each year is around 500, many more going unreported. Killing a narwhal is a badge of honer for a young hunter. Once, there was a 13-year old boy who shot narwhals all day with a rifle, wounding many but landing none.      

A nice male tusk can be can be worth over $9,000, and $25,000 for a skull containing dual tusks. I think that if the narwhal had died naturally, a tusk would be pretty neat to have. If it was killed just for that, I wouldn't want one.

Go to this address for more information:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/08/hunting-narwhals/hunting-narwhals-text

The head of a dead whale on the ice

Pulling a whale up onto the ice

Another topic

I know that my blog mainly focuses on dolphins, but today, I'm going to talk about sharks. Sharks, the thought of the creatures may send shivers down your spine. Most people think of sharks as gruesome, relentless killers. On several nature television shows, i've seen people swimming beside great whites. Sharks are thought to be very dangerous to people, but you are more likely to be struck by lightning than be attacked by a shark. In reality, sharks kill on average 3-5 people a year. Also, sharks usually take one bite and swim off because it doesn't the way that they expected. The deaths are mainly caused by blood-loss. We kill 100 million sharks a year just for their fins. We kill many more just for meat. The number is shocking the first time you hear it, and I still can hardly believe it after knowing it for a long time. Many species are killed, including Blues, Hammerheads, and Porbeagles. But any animal will be taken, no matter the size, age, or species. They are killed for their dorsal, pectoral, and even caudal fins, which are used in a soup which is a delicacy in China (the soup is about the most tasteless, non-nutritious thing to eat). They are also eaten in other places such as Japan and Australia. The fins are sliced off while the shark is still alive and the mutilated animal is then thrown back in the water, slowly and painfully bleeding to death and drowning (they need to constantly move to keep water running through their gills to breathe). While one animal is killed for fins, another is killed for meat and other uses. Thus, two animals are killed when just one could be killed for both things. May not seem like much, but it adds up. If you hate sharks, think about the small number of people that they kill versus how many of them that we take.  I know that sharks aren't people and people are more important, but millions against less than a dozen is a humongous difference. But whether you like them or not, we need sharks. We need the oceans to survive. The oceans need sharks, whales, and dolphins, and the three creatures need each other. Humans need to start thinking before they kill thousands upon millions of the creatures that we need to survive. In order to save ourselves, we must save the animals that we are slaughtering at rapid, alarming rates. More sharks are killed than dolphins, and probably need help faster.

Hate sharks if you like, but just face the fact that you need them. I completely understand if you dislike them because you or a family member's been attacked, because I probably would too. For a long time, I got nervous in murky waters. Now, It doesn't worry me. I know that they kill very few people, and that they are actually afraid of us.I used to not like sharks until I learned more about them. Now, I love them. Ones think that if an animal causes the deaths of a few people means that they should all be wiped out. I do not believe that because an animal is considered dangerous means that we should kill them. The world has dangerous animals, but humans are the most dangerous creature on the planet. Think different if you want, but understand the point I'm trying to make.

Here are some more facts. Three sharks are killed every second and 10,000 are killed every hour. More sharks are killed in three hours than dolphins in a whole year in Taiji. Sure enough, everybody wants to save the dolphins and cares nothing about the sharks. The dolphins have lots of people helping them, the sharks don't. Animals that need the most help are the ones that are getting the least help. WE NEED PEOPLE WHO CARE!!!

Shame

I have been doing lots of research on Japanese and Denmark dolphin hunts, and I am really starting to hate Taiji and the Faroe Islands. I have images of the slaughters stuck in my head as I try to fall asleep at night, I can't stop thinking about them during the day, and I really don't even like the color red anymore. The words 'Taiji' and 'Faroe' just make me sick. Those two small places have the largest and most gruesome killings of dolphins in the world. Taiji shocks me because most of Japan didn't know about the slaughter until recently, and the Faroese shock me because they are poisoning the minds of children by drilling the killings into their heads. Horrible events take place in both countries, and it is very wrong. Number one, there's so much mercury in the meat. Number two, we need the oceans to survive. Number three, it's just downright cruel. I would very much like to go to these countries right before a hunt starts. I would free all of the dolphins and then give the killers a piece of my mind. I would show them a diagram of the human brain next to a dolphin's brain, to show them how much larger the dolphin's is than the human's. They need education on how dangerous it is to eat them, how intelligent their helpless victims actually are, and the meaning of humanity. I know that the Taiji hunt is slowly but surely coming to a stop, thanks to The Cove, but I am beginning to think that the Grindadrap (the Faroe Pilot whale massacre) will not end anytime soon because less people are aware of it.

This photo was found on walrettung.org. They have full credit for the picture. Me giving you the site address is no different than showing this picture. Besides, the WDG (Whale Defenders of Germany) probably want more people to know about their site. WARNING: CONTAINS BLOOD

If you live in Japan, don't feel offended by this. This is only Taiji! I am not against Tokyo and all of the other Japanese who think that this horrible. The same goes for Denmark. This is only the Faroe Islands (that I know of anyway)!

Trainers having a part in the slaughter

In Taiji, dolphin trainers have been seen assisting in the dolphin killings. They have been seen joking and laughing about it after a large number has been killed. Members of the zoo industry and international aquarium get in the water with the slaughters and tie ropes around the dolphins' tail flukes so that the fishermen could tie the them to their boats. The dolphins are so exhausted at this point, they can't even stay afloat. Many of the them have blood coming from their blowholes. The trainers don't seem to have pity for the dolphins. The fishermen then take the dolphins to the killing cove, with the dolphins' blowholes underwater. The dolphin trainers have tormented the dolphins for hours. Some are in shock, others are seriously injured, and they can't breathe. Now, the dolphins are going to be killed. Even pregnant females and young calves won't be spared. The dolphin trainers, who are supposed to "love" dolphins, don't even make an effort to save any of them.

Laws don't always stop people

It is forbidden under the Peruvian law to kill and eat cetaceans, but a large number of dolphins are illegally killed by fishermen each year. The exact number isn't known, but the organization, Mundo Azul (meaning blue world), states that it is at least a thousand, maybe being as much as 3,000. To do the bloody task, fishermen drive the dolphins together and encircle them in nets. They then harpoon them, drag them into boats, and club to death the ones that are still alive. Many species are killed, including dusky and bottlenose dolphins. Just because a law is made, doesn't mean that everybody will follow it. Especially when it comes to murder, of people and animals.

Go to this address for more information:

http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/whales-and-dolphins/stop-dolphin-slaughter-in-peru/dolphin-killing-in-peru/

Don't do a swim unless you know

As you've learned in my other posts, dolphins are slaughtered just to get a few into captivity. The few dolphins whose lives are spared are sold to dolphin interaction programs everywhere, including the Caribbean. Thus, when you swim with dolphins, you never know if they came from Japan. If you do a swim with dolphins from Japan, you might encourage the killers to continue the brutality. It might sound confusing how that doing a swim encourages them, but take a minute to think about it. For every dolphin sold at an outlandish price (150 thousand dollars) to captivity programs, dozens are killed for meat. Now, I'm not trying to make anybody feel bad  for swimming with dolphins because most people don't know anything about Japan's slaughter. However, if you do know, think about the dolphins before you do a swim. It was hard for me to give up my decision to swim with dolphins on a Mexican Cruise. I really wanted to be able to interact with my favorite marine creature, but I decided that the dolphins were more important than my enjoyment. I didn't know how they acquired their dolphins, but I didn't want to risk it. I personally wouldn't do a swim unless the dolphins were rescued, but that's just my opinion. I'm not trying to make you not do something you've dreamed about. I just want people to think about the innocent dolphins that are murdered as a result of capturing a few "lucky" ones for captivity programs.

My decision to not give my money to a captivity program will NOT make a difference. But, if many of us decide not to give our money to captivity programs, we can stop the money machine that drives the killings.

Strange when you think about it

When you think about it, the way that they handle their dolphins in Japan is strange. Even at it's small size, dolphin hunting is most popular in Japan, huge numbers being killed in Taiji every year (although several Pilot whales, Dall's Porpoises, and False Killer whales are caught too). Again at it's small size, Japan has more dolphinariums than anywhere else in the world (the United States has almost as many, but it is much, much larger). Most of these dolphins in these dolphinariums throughout Japan probably come from Taiji. In Taiji, they have a Whale Museum and cute little dolphin statues everywhere, but don't be fooled. Also in Taiji, the town sells whale and dolphin meat under the name of different fish species. Also, many vending machines have what they call 'fish' in them. The team from the The Cove bought some of it and tested (not taste test) it. It wasn't fish at all, but dolphin. All of it. Also, you can find frozen whale bacon in almost every shop. When Tokyo residents first heard about Taiji's secret, they didn't like it. Unfortunately, most of Japan has never heard about this slaughter, and are not anything like the Taiji fishermen. They enjoy to watch dolphins, and do not believe in killing them. But in Taiji, you can eat a dolphin while you watch a dolphin show. If they love dolphins enough to build several dolphinariums around the country and make them home to so many dolphins, then why slaughter them? Why not release the ones that are not chosen for captivity? The meat is extremely harmful to humans, and can even cause children to be born with birth defects and brain problems (due to the mercury).When you swim with dolphins, do you know where they came from? No, you don't. Since 1993, no U.S Marine park has been allowed to import marine mammals from drive fisheries, but I have heard from many sources that they do. I'm not for sure if they own dolphins from Taiji or if they support the trade industry. Many sources are very sure that they do and others are very sure that they don't. Some sources say that even SeaWorld and Discovery Cove get some of their dolphins from Taiji. SeaWorld has breeding programs, but some say that they also have dolphins from Taiji. Dolphin Interaction Programs all over the Caribbean get their dolphins from Taiji. Thus, if you swim with them on a vacation in the Caribbean, you never know if you're playing with a dolphin captured in a Taiji hunt. On a cruise once, two of my friends were doing a dolphin swim in Tortola. I wanted to do it to, but my parents wouldn't let me. I was extremely upset, but that day was still a blast doing what we did. A few months ago, I went on a Mexican cruise and I was going to book a dolphin swim on one of the port stops, Puerto Vallarta. After watching The Cove, my decision changed. How did I know that the dolphins weren't from a Taiji hunt? Just to be safe, I didn't to the interaction. As much I wanted to be able to interact with dolphins, the more people that do those swims, the more it encourages Taiji to kill more and more. Think about it. The whole reason of the killings is to get dolphins in captivity. I did swim with Sealions in Vallarta instead, but they don't slaughter those to get just a few in captivity. I am glad my parents didn't let me do the swim in Tortola, because I didn't know the truth then.

Learn More

Do you like my blog and want to learn more about dolphins and their worst enemy? Then here are a few things that can help you learn more:


You can purchase The Cove at animalplanetstore.com and on amazon.com. The Cove is also available on Netflix.

Another great site to visit is savejapandolphins.org where you can donate and receive gifts for your donation (including a DVD of The Cove), sign petitions, link to the facebook page and much more  

Whale Defenders of Germany (http://www.walrettung.org/html/about_us.html) talks all about the Taiji dolphin hunt and the Faroe Island pilot whale hunt. You don't have to live in Germany to get education from it. It's just located in Germany. It also has a video of the Pilot Whale slaughter.

Go to http://www.thecovemovie.com for information about the film

Go to http://www.takepart.com/cove for lots of interesting information including the movie trailer (the video on the opening page) and blog

Another great website is seashepherd.org

Go to http://www.takepart.com/cove/dolphin-hunting for an introduction and very interesting interactive world map (click on 'hunting hotspots') that shows where all cetacean hunting takes place. Click on 'sign the petition' down towards the bottom for a link to the care2.org petition.

Care2.org and change.org have a lot of great petitions on every topic

Wikipedia has a whole page on dolphin drive hunting around the world, as well as a whole page on Japanese whaling and another page on Faroe Island whaling.

Denmark's Bloodbath

This is how I like to see them. Credit goes to Oceana

    Known as the Grindadrap in the Faroe Islands, annual massacres of long an short-finned pilot whales have been a joyful tradition since as early as 1586. Each year these extremely social, intelligent and sensitive animals are slaughtered extremely brutally by heartless people who believe to prove themselves as "men" by participating in this slaughter. Anywhere from 1,000-3,000 pilot whales alone are killed each year. Occasionally, Northern bottlenose whales, Atlantic white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises, and Atlantic white-sided dolphins are caught too, but it is mainly pilot whales. But any species will be taken.

  When a pod is spotted, it is driven into small bay or fjord. They used to be stabbed to death in the blubber with gaff hooks. Now, blunt gaffs are beaten into the blowhole to drag the 20-foot long whale into shallow water as they fight and try to escape. They say that the blunt gaff is more humane than the ordinary gaff, which is now only used to pull dead whales ashore. But the blocking of the airway panics and causes extreme pain to the animal. It would be the same if you shoved a hook down somebody's throat or up their nasal cavity and then dragged them around. Killing evolves clubbing, stabbing, thrashing, and screaming. They slash the arteries and veins that supply blood to the head or cut the spinal cord, all with a large whaling knife called a grindaknivur. As the whales' screams and cries fill the air, the men laugh and curse. The whales are claimed by the Faroese to die within seconds, tops being two minutes (as stated in the Faroese book, Two Minutes). The Sea Shepherd crew have observed the slaughter and say that the whales don't die in two minutes, they die in about ten.

  After they are dead, cranes are used to pull whales out of the water and tractors are used to transport them to the dock. Once on the dock, they cut open all the whales. Sometimes, a fetus will be pulled out of a female. Not caring that they have just killed a pregnant female, the slaughters will cut umbilical cord and the calf will be set beside its mother for show.

  Men teach their sons how to slaughter whales, and most of the slaughterers are young men and teenage boys. In a video, there was a little boy standing by a dead whale with a butter knife in his hands. A woman was holding his hand and teaching him how and where to cut the whale. Later in the video, the same little boy was watching men butcher the whales, and he then turned towards the camera and smiled. Then, it showed three little toddlers sitting around a dead whale, and one was sitting on it's tail. It also showed a picture of a smiling boy sitting by a dead whale with a knife to it's neck. Another picture revealed children standing in the bloody water. All children get a day off school to view the slaughter, and the rest of the town comes to see as well. They just stand there, watching without pity or emotion. I can't even watch dolphin killings on film without getting sick to my stomach, I don't know how anyone can watch in real life and just sit there unemotionally, especially little kids. Any human who does this sort of thing to any animal or any person, is hardly human at all. Even the ones who don't participate and just watch are not normal if they show no emotion. My father once told me that it is normal to get upset when you see cruelty, it is abnormal if you enjoy the site of cruelty.

  If you have the stomach to watch the video I described above, please take a few minutes to watch it, to see for yourself what is actually done to these animals. If what I described of the video bothered you, definitely don't watch it. Even if you think you can watch it, please be warned. I have a pretty strong stomach and I cried watching it. The footage contains a slide show of pictures and actual video. Here's the address:

http://www.walrettung.org/html/walrettung.html  

WARNING: Here are some photos of the slaughter. I suggest that sensitive people should not scroll down any further.

Children happily walk down the aisles of dead whales

The whole down has gathered around the cove to witness the tradition

Notice how people just stare down into the water

Most of the slaughterers are young men

A typical meal of pilot whale meat, blubber, dried fish, and potatoes

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Northern Bottlenose whales

The blood filled bay

A hook jammed in the blowhole. They call that humane???

An aerial view of a town after a slaughter has just taken place