Hans Peter Roth and Kyoko Tanaka, dedicated members of our Save Japan Dolphins Team from, respectively, Switzerland and Japan, are in Taiji checking the activity in the infamous Cove. Hans Peter reports:

“I returned alone to the cove about 2 pm. Things had completely quieted down. The nationalists had gone. But still five police cars were parked there. I had come not a moment too soon. Fishermen were just about to open the last, outermost net that had sealed off the Cove, as I unpacked the camera. Six hunting boats took position outside the cove. At first the bottlenose dolphins did not realize that they were free. Then they did and started taking off slowly, then ever faster. The hunting boats started driving them out to sea in a sort of reverse drive hunt, but not as violently as they had driven them in the day before. In the end the dolphins were just literally flying towards the open ocean, thrashing up a lot of white water. This could be seen for miles before they disappeared towards the horizon.“

The “no-kill” policy continues to be in effect in Taiji. Several dolphins, unfortunately, have been collected to be sold to zoos and aquariums around the world. That’s a tragedy in itself. The rest are being released.

Our recent trip — worldwide press attention,– and continued presence in Taiji are intensifying pressure on Japanese government to stop the dolphin slaughter. The worldwide dolphin captivity industry is also coming under withering attack for their continuing role in the Taiji tragedy.
We must keep up the pressure.
Check the full blog for further details…
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/blog.html

Meanwhile, Dr. Lori Marino has a great interview against the captivity of dolphins posted on the Animal Planet website at:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/blood-dolphins/dolphins/opposition-dolphins-captivity.html Don’t miss it!

And finally, the concluding episode of Animal Planet’s “Blood Dolphin$” features Ric, Lincoln and the EII team achieving a breakthrough for dolphins in the Solomon Islands. Episode info at: http://www.earthisland.org/blooddolphins