Sadly,
the only good thing to come out of the Vietnam War were the beautiful
folk songs it spawned: Michael Row Your Boat, Where Have All the Flowers Gone,
and Turn, Turn, Turn to mention just three of them. The last one I find very
profound because it reminds me that there is a season and a time for every purpose,
under heaven- though it saddens me as well. In my opinion, man's "purposes" are
often cruel.
Yes, there is a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to
reap, a time to kill, a time to heal, a time to laugh, a time to weep....... Sadly, I
find myself weeping more often then most people because I am very aware of our cruelty
and indifference to non-human animals.
Re weather seasons- some of us are lucky to enjoy all four of them
--winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each has something to commend It, and we often find
ourselves having a favorite. Is it the snowy months of winter, or the awakening of
life in Spring? Is it the hot summer months with its picnics and swimming or the golden
days of Fall-enjoying cooler weather and admiring the brightly colored falling
leaves?
I only wish that the animals could also be participants in enjoying our
changing seasons. Sadly, this is not so because of the CAFOs where they are forced
to live. Here there are only two seasons --the season of unending suffering in cages,
crates, or stifling factory barns with no sunshine or fresh air. And then there is
the final season of cruel slaughter.
We also have hunting seasons where animals are mercilessly killed for what
-- the joy of the sport? Some people want deer killed because they are eating
their flowers. Sadly, they forget that we stole their woods, and now they are forced to
forage in our backyards. Whose fault is that?
And every March- Canadians allow the season of killing baby seals for their
fur -leaving the floes covered in blood and heartsick mothers. When will this carnage
stop?
TAIJI DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER SEASON
This was the reason for my reminiscing about seasons in the first place.
David Kirby recently wrote on August 15th -- "The Dolphin-Killing Season Is About to
Begin in Japan. Here's What You can Do About It."
Background: Every year fishermen in Taiji, Japan herd hundreds of dolphins
into a cove. Most of them will be slaughtered and their
contaminated meat will
be sold to supermarkets and restaurants across Asia. A few young ones will be
"spared" and sold to aquariums at a handsome profit.
Ric O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer, brought attention to the Taiji
yearly slaughter in "The Cove," an Academy Award-winning documentary that has been seen by millions of people in more than 45 countries. However, O'Barry feels that
the need for the people of Japan to see his documentary is most vital. Perhaps he
feels only they can stop this carnage if they have the will to do so.
The carnage begins in September and lasts until the dolphin killing season
ends in March or April. O'Barry has witnessed this carnage for 12 consecutive
years in Taiji and said that he will continue to return until they stop or he drops.
Louie Psihoyos, director of The Cove, said that the film does have an
impact. He wrote: "Countries are now banning the import of wild dolphins for dolphin shows.
Vancouver has banned the aquarium's breeding program," .......... "The National
Aquarium in Baltimore is shutting down their displays. Southwest Airlines is
repainting their orca-painted planes after announcing their breakup with SeaWorld....and most
significantly,
Taiji is killing 60 per cent less dolphins."
He also noted that both "The Cove" and now "Blackfish" spawned a movement
that reverberates throughout the world today. The 2012 documentary Blackfish
about the treatment of captive orcas at Seaworld has probably led to a stock plunge
of 30 percent for SeaWorld.
Psihoyos - through his organization (Oceanic Preservation Society) mailed
copies of both documentaries to all the board members at the top ten investment firms
holding SeaWorld stock. As a result, SeaWorld recently announced that attendance at its
parks are down. Also contributing to this problem is the proposed legislation in California
to ban killer whale shows in that state.
Way to go California! And wholehearted thanks to people like Ric O'Barry
and film director Louie Psihoyos. We need more people like them. We need more states like
California.
And last but not least- a dynamic statement from Psihoyos: "And once you
see a film like "The Cove," it's impossible to hold stock in a company like SeaWorld
without feeling like a prostitute."
