Last night I watched a really disturbing documentary
called ‘The Cove’ which has motivated
me to write this blog as I feel the subject needs more publicity. I felt so ashamed and disgraced to watch the
footage recorded in the documentary and find it hard to believe that another human being is
capable of being this un-caring and inhumane towards another living creature. This
documentary sickened me to my stomach and destroyed my dream of swimming with
dolphins which I am so glad about. These animals shouldn't be in little pools, they should be free out in the sea with
their families where they belong.
For those who haven’t seen ‘The Cove’, it is a documentary
created in 2009 which follows activist Ric O’Barry and a team who help expose
and try to stop the secret slaughter of dolphins, porpoise and whales in the inhumane town of Taiji in Japan. The
documentary highlights the brutality which takes place with the ongoing murder
of innocent dolphins; all for the sake of selling them on to trainers all over
the world so that we may take pleasure from swimming along-side the dolphins
and being amused by watching them perform in shows. The documentary discovers that around 23,000
dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year by Japan’s whaling
industry. Those unlucky migrating dolphins which are not picked, instead of
being set free, are herded into a cove where they are netted and murdered with spears
and knives. These dolphins are then
hacked up and shockingly sold as meat to the Japanese public, under different
names, in shops and markets. Dolphin meat is extremely un-healthy as it contains
high levels of Mercury; this means that the Japanese are literally poisoning
their own people. How smart.
Another documentary I have recently watched is ‘Blackfish’
which was released in 2013, (this had me crying my eyes out from start to
finish.) The documentary focuses on the orcas (killer whales) which are in
captivity at Sea World, mainly one, Tilikum; the largest male orca in captivity
in the world, who also happens to have killed 3 people. Don't judge, after watching the documentary it is not surprising that these deaths happened and the whale should definitely not be to blame. I was honestly horrified by what was shown on film and it just
goes to show that these beautiful creatures should not be locked away in their glass prisons. 'Blackfish' helps show how much grief and the trauma the whales go through with being separated from their families and forced to live in captivity. Tilikum was stolen from his family in the wild at the age of 2 and has been transferred through different parks his entire life making him perform, then he was harassed and beaten by other whales in the shared tank, no wonder he snapped and became aggressive.
It disturbs me how Sea World covered up the deaths and blamed the deceased when they couldn't defend themselves. In my opinion, Sea World are the real murderers for keeping the deaths hidden and allowing fellow employees to swim with Tilikum after knowing what he is capable of. Instead of now letting Tilikum live a life in a sea pen where he cant harm anyone else and can live in peace, he is locked up in a small tank in the back of the park where he remains by himself every day. That is no life for such a beautiful animal to live.
For those who want to watch these documentaries, and I so
wish you would it will change your views, the links are below:
Here are petitions to help stop these tragedies happening in
Taiji and to free Tilikum so he can live the rest of his life peacefully in a
sea pen:
