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August 21, 2014

There is a Season......

By Suzana Megles

I am grateful to people like Ric O'Barry, who with Director Louie Psihoyos produced the documentary "The Cove." Despite being shown in 45 countries, the cruel dolphin slaughter continues in Taiji, Japan each year in September.

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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."



Authors Bio:
I have been concerned about animal suffering ever since

I received my first puppy Peaches in 1975. She made me take a good look at the animal kingdom and I was shocked to see how badly we treat so many animals. At 77, I've been a vegan for the past 30 years and I thank God every day that I am. I am most disturbed at how little the Catholic Church and Christian churches generally give to concern re animal suffering in their ministry. I wrote to 350 bishops in 2001 and only 10-13 responded. I feel that the very least they can do is to instruct that the priests give one sermon a year on compassion to animals. I am still waiting for that sermon. I also belong to Catholic Concern for Animals - founded in England in 1929. (They are on the internet) I recently sent a sample copy of their bi-monthly publication called the ARK to the 8 Catholic bishops of Ohio. Only ONE kindly responded. Somehow we have to reach the Christian teaching magisterium. There is next to nothing re animal concerns and compassion for them. They basically believe that animals are the lesser of God's creation and that gives us the right to do anything we want to them. Way wrong. We need to change their mindsets. The animals are God's first and He expects us to treat them compassionately.

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