April 9th, 2009 – San Francisco, CA – Last night, the Bently Reserve offered an exclusive screening of the movie The Cove in its Apollo room. Guests had an opportunity to meet the filmmakers and see the documentary before its release this summer.
Billed as “An intelligent action/adventure/Ocean’s-Eleven-like horror film wrapped around a tale of redemption and ultimate revenge,” The Cove is a documentary that follows an elite reconnaissance team to the fishing village of Taiji, Japan. This remote and picturesque village is home to the world’s largest annual dolphin kill: in a bay patrolled by armed guards and obscured beneath blue tarpaulins, the heartbreaking slaughter of some 2,500 dolphins takes place. Killing these dolphin pods has a significant impact on the ocean’s ecology: by reducing human-animal competition for a natural resource, these fishermen are upsetting the delicate balance of our planet’s largest ecosystem.
The goal of The Cove is to put an end to this barbaric culling by exposing it to the world. The filmmakers have risked their lives to capture this footage, and the Bently Reserve applauds their dedication to the well-being of our planet. We hope that this powerful film can help put an end to the dolphin drive fisheries.
The Bently Reserve urges you to take action
1) Write letters to the Japanese Embassy, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the White House.
2) Spread the word about the senseless dolphin slaughter via Facebook, blogs, word of mouth, and more.
3) Tell your friends to watch The Cove this summer to help the film have a huge opening weekend
4) Make a financial contribution to the Oceanic Preservation Society’s fund for the crucial Japanese version of The Cove.
5) Boycott venues that hold dolphins in captivity for entertainment, especially dolphins sourced from one of the three slaughter sites in Japan. Let them know why you are choosing to go elsewhere. Download a dolphin campaigner’s toolkit at the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
6) Make sure the tuna you eat is troll or pole caught, and is dolphin-safe. Request dolphin-safe tuna from the restaurants you visit. Monitor your own personal exposure to tuna to avoid mercury poisoning. Support the transition from coal plants to clean and renewable energy to reduce the amount of mercury pollution in the ecosystem. Learn more about sustainable seafood at the Seafood Watch Program, or download their regional seafood pocket guide.
7) Help the Oceanic Preservation Society set up an online petition where people can support the end of the dolphin slaughter in Japan and put pressure on the Japanese government to do so. There will be strength in numbers.
LETTERS
*Japanese Embassy: Ask them to stop the dolphin drive hunt and prohibit the sale of mercury-contaminated dolphin meat.
Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki 2520 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington D.C. 20008-2869 Fax: 202-328-2187. Email him.
*World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA): urge them to enforce their “Code of Ethics” by expelling the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) from their organization, and also expelling all other facilities that have purchased dolphins from the dolphin drive hunts.
WAZA Executive Director, Gerald Dick.
*White House: urge President Obama to reform the US Delegation to the International Whale Commission, stop the negotiations for a whaling deal with Japan, adhere to US policy of maintaining the commercial whaling moratorium, and commit to using the political, economic and diplomatic resources of the US to end the killing of whales and dolphins for commercial purposes now.
President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500 White House public comment line: 202-456-1111