Looking back at our first trip to Japan VIDEO 3

We are down to the crunch now and we are really in need of donations for our trip to Japan.  Less than a month and we will be in Taiji documenting one of the most brutal violent marine mammal massacres on the planet.  If you feel like you would like to see the dolphin hunt stop, but you can't travel to Taiji yourself, then please help us get there.  When in Taiji we will spend every daylight hour watching the fishermen and filming their every move so the world can watch.  

Please click to donate, 

Thank you so much for your support, 

Marley and Carisa

Cetacean Defense League

Looking back at our first trip to Japan VIDEO 2

Thank you so much to Gordo at Armani's restaurant in Nanaimo BC for donating all the restaurant empties to us until we leave!  We appreciate it so much!  Gordo helped us out the last time we were fundraising by hosting an amazing dinner and silent auction 'An Evening for the Dolphins'.  Armani's is the best place in Nanaimo for vegan food, check them out on http://www.happycow.net/.  

Marley and Carisa

Cetacean Defense League

Cetacean Defense League in the news AGAIN!

COLUMN: How did you help the world today?

By Toby Gorman - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: August 20, 2011 10:00 AM

There are a lot of crazy things happening on our little blue planet these days.

Starvation in Africa, riots in London, flash mobs in the U.S., global economic uncertainty, and devastating natural disasters are among some world issues we hear about daily.

For some, it might feel like our world is falling apart at the seams.

Here in Canada, we’re fairly sheltered to what can be considered the real world. We doze through our daily schedules, oblivious of the monsters that lurk beyond our boundaries.

Quite a few people I’ve come across lately have expressed deep concern about the direction the human condition is taking, not to mention our natural environment.

The only thing that seems to be thriving is cynicism.

My response is usually: “What are you going to do about it?”

It’s a question that often draws a blank stare.

I know, one person can’t control starvation in Somalia. One person can’t fuel the stock markets. One person can’t stop the riots. True enough.

But one person can make a difference. I’m not really asking any person to solve a massive problem, I’m asking what have they done today to make the world we live in a better place.

In a lot of cases, the answer is nothing.

I understand not everybody is geared toward volunteering, or able to make a cash donation to a worthy cause. Everybody is busy just trying to stay afloat.

That’s why I marvel at the actions of Nanaimo’s Marley Daviduk and Carisa Webster. Determined to be a voice to help dolphins being slaughtered in Japan, Daviduk and Webster have put aside what many of us work for every day – car payments, mortgage – to follow their passion to protect these animals.

They recognize something that is wrong and they are trying to make it right. It’s what motivates them to get out of bed every day.

And because they choose not to look away, the world is a little better off.

Last March, Daviduk and Webster travelled to Japan with the intention of filming dolphins being slaughtered for meat in Taiji. When the killing season ended early, they travelled 1,000 kilometres up the coast to Otsuchi to document the slaughter of porpoises. While there, a massive earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami which wiped out the entire town and swept it and its residents out to sea right in front of Daviduk and Webster, who had sought refuge on a nearby hillside.

They watched the disaster unfold right before them (see photos at www.cetaceandefenseleague.

blogspot.com).

They were forced to come home early, but even that experience didn’t scare them off. The team is heading back to Taiji in September come hell or high water (donations will help immensely, check the above website) to continue their work and hold those responsible for the dolphin slaughter accountable.

Why? Because they understand it’s not only compassionate, it’s the right thing to do.

Daviduk and Webster are committed to following their chosen path to make the world a better place. It’s a dangerous and risky path.

You might be sitting on your comfortable couch right now reading this, possibly thinking that dolphins aren’t worth making such sacrifices over. That’s fair, saving dolphins isn’t everybody’s thing, but it’s theirs.

If dolphins were being slaughtered at Piper’s Lagoon Park, however, you may have a different opinion. Daviduk and Webster are just going the extra mile to fight for what they believe in.

This is a global village, after all, and it’s important to sometimes stop and ask yourself how you spent your time and money today to make the world a better place.

Thank you so much to Toby Gorman at the Nanaimo News Bulletin for his support and generosity!

Marley and Carisa

Cetacean Defense League

Looking back at our first trip to Japan VIDEO 1

There is now less than 2 weeks before the Taiji dolphin slaughter resumes.  Thousands of dolphins are killed in the infamous COVE every year starting September 1st.  Last season the annual catch was the lowest it has ever been in Taiji and we know it was because of the constant presence of activists who were documenting this hunt and asking people around the world to contact their Japanese embassy.  Carisa and I hope to continue this pressure by documenting the hunt for 3 weeks.  We are traveling to Taiji mid September but we need your help to stay there for the full three weeks.  Without your generous contributions we would not be able to travel there at all.  Every dollar donated to the campaign allows us to be in Japan and take action for the dolphins.  

Thank you so much to the individuals who have contributed so far!

Marley and Carisa

Cetacean Defense League

Looking back at our first trip to Japan PART 6

This is the last set of pictures I took in Otsuchi.  I don't think any of our cameras could really capture the situation we were faced with.  The smells, sounds and the sheer size of the disaster was something we had difficulty absorbing, it was overwhelming to say the least.  Once we made it out of Otsuchi we had to walk for another hour or so to get through a tunnel to the town of Kamaichi which was also destroyed.  At that point there were vehicles making their way in moving supplies and the deceased, there were camps being set up for people who lost there homes and medical care for any who were injured.  We knew we couldn't become a burden to these people and our hotel was a 45 minute drive from there so we made the decision to try and get a ride.  After asking around we met a kind man who motioned for us to follow him and after about a half hour he had organized a ride for us back to Tono. One of the women who drove us in her van told us she had lost her business in the tsunami and we offered her money for the ride but she refused it.  I will never forget the kindness and generosity of the locals we met after the tsunami hit Otsuchi.  I am dreading the horror that awaits me in The Cove this fall, but I also look forward to experiencing more of the Japanese culture and meeting more kind Japanese citizens who will hopefully help me speak out against these crimes.  

Marley Daviduk

Cetacean Defense League

Cetacean Defense League in the news!

Nanaimo activists plan return trip to Japan

By Toby Gorman - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: August 14, 2011 5:00 PM

The last time Marley Daviduk and Carisa Webster travelled to Japan to document the slaughter of dolphins, they barely escaped with their own lives after a massive earthquake and resulting tsunami destroyed much of the coastline along northern Japan.

The team sought refuge on a hill and watched as the sea flooded in, tearing apart the town of Otsuchi. What wasn't destroyed by water was on fire, and the pair watched as human bodies swirled in the devastation.

Forced to abandon their mission last March, Daviduk and Webster are returning to Japan in September, this time to Taiji, their original destination, to document and observe dolphins being butchered for meat. Those that aren't slaughtered are abused into submission and sold in the live dolphin trade.

"Taiji, made famous through the movie The Cove, ended the slaughter a month early last season so we changed our plans and went 1,000 kilometres up the coast to Otsuchi," said Daviduk. "We're going back to do what we had intended to do in the first place and that is expose the slaughter."

With a country on edge as a result of the earthquake damage and nuclear radiation concerns, Daviduk and Webster are prepared for a much different Japan.

But the country's challenges doesn't give it licence to continue butchering dolphins, said Webster.

"We don't intend to cause too much trouble, we just want people to be aware of the dolphin slaughter," she said. "We're very considerate of the problems that they've had in the last while."

According to friends who have been at the site Daviduk and Webster plan to document from, Japanese police are ramping up drills to deal with activists who disturb the fishermen.

"All we're planning on doing is filming and asking questions," said Daviduk. "We saw they were preparing to deal with activists who jump on the nets and cut them, but we're not planing anything like that."

Webster said she believes the police are there practising as much for activists' safety as for the fishermen.

They plan to stay in Taiji filming for three weeks.

In March, Daviduk and Webster were working with activist group Sea Shepherd. With that organization unable to provide members to film this fall, Webster said it's as important as ever to have "compassionate eyes" documenting the slaughter and sending the story out to the world.

The pair established their own blog (at www.cetaceandefenseleague.blogspot.com) to share their stories and experiences, including photos of the devastation from their first trip. They both took on multiple jobs to help pay for their travel and accommodations, but have established donation options on the blog site to provide them with financial assistance.

Webster said despite the risks, their efforts are worth it.

"We're very determined and compassionate people, so I think we'll get done what we need to get done," said Webster. "We feel we need to go to Japan in particular because our oceans are in dire condition and nobody is really talking about that. Large animals like dolphins are an important part of our ecosystem which we all depend on. We're devastating the dolphin population and it needs to be known."

Looking back at our first trip to Japan PART 5

This next set of photos I took the morning after the earthquake and tsunami.  We had to spend the night in our rental cars on the hill because there was no way we were going to get out of there in the dark.  There was one other Japanese woman with us and we shared our food, water, toilet paper, and blankets with her, and ran the heat all night in our two Prius rental cars to keep warm.  That night it snowed and the temperature dropped, I can't imagine how cold people were who survived the water in the city, spending the night exposed to the elements.  We woke up at first light and evaluated our situation.  It was at that point that we started seeing people who had not survived, something I had never witnessed before, and I hope to never witness it again.  The water was still surging in and out 10-15 feet making it dangerous to walk anywhere near the shore.  The roads on both sides of us had been washed out and we made the decision to hike out through the mountains with the help of a firefighter who had returned to show us the way out.  The following pictures show the route we had to take on foot to get out of the city.  At times we were knee deep in sludge and water, there were no paths to follow, bridges had been washed out and we literally had to climb over the remains of a city.  There were constant aftershocks, and much of what we walked on had burned the night before leaving the ground smoldering hot and melting our shoes and boots.  We had to walk fast, and we saw very few survivors.  

I have one more set of pictures to post in the next day or so so please check back for updates.

Thank you so much to those who have made personal contributions to our campaign, we are so grateful for your generosity.  For those of you who wish you could go in person but are choosing to contribute to our campaign instead we pledge to work tirelessly when we are there, doing everything we can to expose this slaughter.  

Please remember to continue calling the Japanese embassy in your country, there is no limit to the amount of calls you can make.  

Marley and Carisa

Cetacean Defense League