Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Looking back at our first trip to Japan VIDEO 4
After last years Cove Guardian campaign, Sea Shepherd estimates that the amount of dolphins killed in the Cove was cut in half and we hope that this year our presence in Taiji will do the same. This year is going to be a lot tougher to get any possible vantage points on the hunt because of steps taken by the Japanese government to prevent the public from seeing anything. I can't even imagine how much money the Japanese government is putting into security at the Cove right now. We have seen the new 'task force' being trained in Taiji, and we have seen the new security fences. Why are they putting so much effort into protecting this awful hunt? We also know that there is a really good chance our blog is being monitored so I have a few questions for the Japanese government....
Why is it that the Japanese government continues to allow POISON dolphin meat to be sold legally in Japan when they know the mercury levels are well above the limit?
Why is it that the Japanese government continues to allow dolphins and porpoises to be dismembered while fully conscious in a National Park?
And why is it that the Japanese government continues to disregard International laws protecting cetaceans?
This next video I am sharing was taken by myself in Otsuchi, Japan this March. To be honest, I think it's incredibly shameful that the government of Japan would be spending so much money on ridiculous security in Taiji when many of the cities in North East Japan remain in ruins and many citizens are still without a place to live. Wouldn't it be more compassionate to direct those funds elsewhere?
Marley Daviduk
Cetacean Defense League
Monday, August 22, 2011
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
Saturday, August 20, 2011
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?
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
Friday, August 19, 2011
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
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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
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