Hayden Panettiere a.k.a. "Claire" from one of our favorite TV series Heroes, was on Ellen this past week.   She talked about her recent trip to Taiji Japan to help stop the largest & cruelest slaughter of dolphins in the world.

According to the Save the Whales Again website — an initiative led by Pierce Brosnan and his wife, Keely Shaye Smith — Japanese fishermen will slaughter more than 25,000 dolphins & porpoises from October to April, as part of their annual hunt.   Hayden & other celebrities paddled out on surfboards to the Taiji dolphin-killing cove to try to form a memorial circle around the dolphins trapped in the nets.   Unfortunately, the celebrities were forced away by angry fisherman jabbing at them with hooks — and the dolphin killing continued.

Dolphins & whales targeted in this annual hunt include bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales & striped dolphins.   Several of the species are considered to be threatened with extinction.   Although some of the dolphins are simply captured for sale to marine swim parks, the majority of the dolphins & whales are killed for their meat.   Some of the dolphin meat has in Japan markets has been found to contain high levels of mercury & toxic pollutants.

But there’s still a little glimmer of hope...   International outrage over the hunt is beginning to intensify pressure to cease this brutal massacre.   You can help to encourage the Japanese government to put a stop to the senseless slaughter and ban the sell of dolphin meat by submitting a letter to their emabassy via the Oceana Action Center.   Or you can make an online contribution to the environmental activist organizations listed at the Save Taiji Dolphins Campaign site.   Your support will help keep conservationists in place in Taiji to monitor, witness, investigate, educate, & continue to push for the dolphin slaughter to end.
 

Labels: dolphins