Part 1 of 2

Friday was a day of international action urging the International Olympic Committee to refuse Japan the 2020 Olympics and raise awareness about the ongoing dolphin slaughter. (The dolphin drives in Taiji, Japan, which serve both the marine park and meat industries, are described at http://www.thecovemovie.com/.) Demonstrations occurred in 46 cities around the world. In Los Angeles, a protest and awareness-building campaign was held outside the Japanese Consulate at 350 South Grand Avenue. About 30 people participated--in the middle of a weekday--during the hour that this author was there (the event lasted three hours). Fancy flyers were distributed, petitions circulated (four pages of them got signed), and there was plenty of chanting.

Organizers underscored that this is not a campaign against the Japanese people or a call to boycott them. In fact, Japanese citizens are starting to protest the slaughter, too. (The Oscar-winning documentary The Cove explains that this issue was kept secret even from the Japanese people for a long time. The Cove was barely seen in that country.) Rather, it is those in powerful positions that are being targeted.

However, participants were encouraged to promote boycotting Sea World, and some did. “Taiji is Ground Zero for supplying dolphins to marine parks worldwide,” one of the organizers said. (Incidentally, this documentary details aquatic parks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggEfjj609M&list=FL1sHLxlEicoSBykSPDrsjbg&index=12, though, the focus is “Lolita” a killer whale at Miami Seaquarium and a campaign to free her*.

Documentation of these protests and the petitions will be given to the International Olympic Committee.



-----

*Even though she's been at Seaquarium for 40+ years, if she was returned to her pod, she'd be welcomed as a family member and would be equipped to survive.

error

error

error

error

error

error

error

Is this blood from the child labor or the dolphin? (Both?)

error

error

error

error

error

This median could get pretty crowded, and lots of people took flyers.

error

error

error

error

error

Is eating a dead pig the same thing as whaling or eating dolphin?

What about eating a dead cow?

I think it's similar. More similar than different.

Just something to consider.

In all the cases you give (e.g., meat from cows, pigs, or dolphins) the animals are usually treated with extreme cruelty, although dolphins are probably more in danger of extinction than those other species.

The Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove describes how they're captured and killed. The trailer is on their website. However, in many cases, the consumers don't know they're eating dolphin anyway.

This event was about more than butchery of dolphins. It was also protesting their incarceration in aquatic theme parks.

They do as they please, I only collect the eggs. They are extremely tame, follow us around, eat out of our hands.

You can pick them up, they're not afraid of people at all. They sleep right here in the room 6 feet away from me.

They play outside when its warm out, I keep a close eye on them checking on them several times a day. They spend most of their time dust bathing and so on right outside my window.

We rescued a chicken from a situation where they are slaughtered at will, the chicken was extremely frightened when we first adopted her, she would panic and run away if you got anywhere near her, now a year later she's as tame as the ones I hand-raised.

The person we bought her from claimed his chickens weren't the same as ours (that they could never be tame)

Within a few months I was showing her to him perched on my hand. He asked how I did it.

I said you just have to be very kind and gentle to them - doesn't matter what type of chicken it is, what matters is how you treat them.

They lay very large healthy eggs too. The eggs at the grocery store are terrible compared to these.

Our neighbors have some chickens too (which they got after seeing ours) but they keep them outside and have a very unhealthy looking rooster.

Chickens are very intelligent and each one has their own personality, they remember stuff too. Like where the jar of peanuts is on the table, etc.

We also have pet blue jays we rescued as chicks that fell out of nests, hand fed. Extremely tame as well - perch on your finger. They're even smarter than the chickens are. They turn on the light switch in the morning and turn it off at dusk, for example. (they taught eachother to do it, they also know which switch to flip)

I tried to add this to the wikipedia but the people in charge erased it after a few hours. So I created an account and wrote to the person who erased it and kindly asked him to reconsider adding it back, going into even more examples of their intelligence. He then erased my request without ever answering me.



I also have a bunch of pigeons. They're in a room with an cat proof opening to the outside. I change their water and feed them everyday. I also provide heat for them when its cold out, by opening the door to the inside house at night.
The pigeons are free to come and go as they please, but they like it here.

Sometimes new pigeons fly in, different colors from the usual grey ones.

Some of the pigeons are more than 15 years old. 2 of the blue jays are too.



They keep having babies and it's getting crowded, so we're building a bigger outdoor extension of the bird room for them.

Birdseed has become quite expensive, has doubled in price over the past few years, so we've had to switch to scratch.

But I give them bread every sunday as a treat, sometimes cook rice for them too, mix a little sunflower oil and a squirt of bird vitamins in it. (plain rice isn't very nutritious)


This is the way all animals should be treated.

We do these things because we decided to take concrete steps to address animal cruelity and provide positive examples to the local community. It's one thing to tell others what to do, but to show by example in your own life everyday, while sometimes inconvenient and somewhat expensive, shows you're willing to walk the walk not just talk the talk.

I'm not really opposed to the protest, but always like to remind people to look at their own behavior.

I'm not a full vegetarian, but I make an often half-assed try, and I agree with many of the premises, that most animals we eat are pretty sentient, have feelings, and are our peers. Every animal killed for food comes at the cost of pain to the animal, and some psychological pain to somebody, but usually not the person eating the food.

The deaths of thousands, perhaps millions of animals have helped my ancestors make a living. They cooked, harvested or processed fish, shrimp, eggs, and other meat. I'm not here to condemn this past, but to raise ideas for a better future.

I just think there's always an enthusiasm to criticize the "other", usually an Asian country or an indigenous culture, about some meat eating or hunting habit, without also including the fact that the American diet is so meat-heavy that the domestic production or harvesting of wild animals is insufficient to satisfy the demand.

That's a really inspiring story.

Birds are a lot smarter than I imagined. We have these phrases like "bird brain" that make them out to be stupid, but they have their own understanding of reality that we couldn't even imagine.

They also get depressed and distraught when their peers die. I learned this only recently.

We ran out of scratch so I made the birds noodles and biscuits today. We'll buy more scratch in a day or two.

I give the eggs to the neighbors next to us (the ones who have their own chickens are 2 doors down)

Our neighbors are vietnamese, and speak very little english, but I try to set a good example of the 'gift economy' with them. Like many people they've fallen on hard times, layed off, getting unemployment, but its about exhausted. I studied vietnamese culture and customs a bit to try to be more appropriate when interacting with them. They actually feel bad when you give them stuff and don't have anything to give in return, but thats not what my version of the gift economy is. Its more along the lines of do what needs doing based on what you're best at without expecting any particular favour in return. So for example I do electrical repairs for them as needed, since thats one of my areas of expertise. But then I've always done that through the years. A typical situation in years past would be wire up everyone for TV, camera feeds, movies playing and so on - whatever was available.

We've been here 7 years and I've never asked them for anything, but sometimes they give us plates of food, cookies and so on, and occasionally some money.

It doesn't matter to me - I would do things for them regardless of whether they do or not - always have.

When you're smart people need you. I doesn't do any good to be if you attach conditions and expectations to helping others. It's not about what people do for you - it's about what you can do for others. The spirit of the gift economy transcends individual abilities. Up until a few years ago I didn't even know thats what it's called - I've just always been that way naturally. Some of the radio shows I aired explained thats what it is, so now it has a name.

Truly Orwellian.