Update September 11, 2009 Brought to you by Oceanic Preservation Society
Important Taiji Update
You may have been following what's been going on in Taiji.
Ric O'Barry was there last week, and the fishermen didn't start the dolphin drives. Then Ric O'Barry left on Wednesday, and they started rounding up dolphins and pilot whales.
We're very pleased to say that for this week, the dolphin slaughter has been suspended. Fishermen in Taiji will be selling the dolphins captured in this week's round up to aquariums and releasing the rest. However, pilot whales that were also captured will be killed for their meat. You can read the full press release here, and Ric O' Barry's update here. Photograph copyright by Mark J. Palmer
It's a mixed success, but the important thing is that the outcry following The Cove (i.e. your support) is having a real impact in Taiji. So let's keep the pressure on them!
Keep writing letters, keep telling your friends about the movie-- it's more important now than ever. We can stop this as long as we keep fighting.
Please send a message to the Japanese Embassy, asking to stop the dolphin drive hunt and prohibit the sale of mercury-contaminate d dolphin meat:
Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C.
Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki
2520 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington D.C. 20008-2869
Tel: (202) 238-6700
Fax: 202-328-2187
Hours: M-F 9:00-12:30 and 2:00-5:30
E-mail the Japanese Ambassador in D.C.:
jicc@embjapan.orgYou can also write to other Japanese Embassies and Consulates around the world.
Dolphins and Mercury
Thankfully, Japanese press continues to report on Taiji and The Cove.
But we've noticed that they don't talk about mercury enough.
The following quote from a Taiji resident was in an AFP news story today:
"I can never understand those Westerners' argument. They eat cattle, pigs and chicken. We eat dolphins and whales. That's it."
While many of us are concerned about the dolphin drives as an animal rights matter, the bigger problem is a public health issue. The dolphin meat being distributed throughout Japan contains toxic levels of mercury.
Help us get the mercury message out by including this when you talk about the film or write letters to officials.
Thank You!
A BIG thank you to everyone that has donated to OPS! Your contributions, big and small, have helped us get this far.
But remember, the fight isn't over.
Haven't donated yet, but would like to?
Visit our secure online donation site here.
THANK YOU!
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Act/Mutilated Sharks - Fin Soup's Main Ingredient
KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
9/11/09: Mutilated Sharks - Fin Soup's Main Ingredient
Finning is the process of cutting off the fins of a shark and discarding the
body at sea. Photo - "Shark Finning," added by Chanica at
http://wdydwyd.ning.com/xn/detail/u_39n264op8kemu============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ====
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.
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EVERYONE MAY SEND COMMENTS TO:
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Public Information Office, 508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510-6125
Public Information Office: 202-224-5115
Full Committee Office: Majority: 202-224-0411 / Minority: 202-224-1251
Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman:
http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfmSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Ranking Member:
http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfmDr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5128 / Washington, DC 20230
ph: 202-482-3436; email:
jane.lubchenco@noaa.govU.S. CITIZENS ONLY, ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives / Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Senators [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building / Washington, D.C. 20510
To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
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http://www.senate.gov* Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121
MEMBERS, Senate Committee On Commerce, Science & Transportation
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ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC):
info@kinshipcircle.orgEasily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
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Honorable Senators, Representative, and Dr. Lubchenco:
I understand the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 81) has been referred
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation after its
passage in the House on March 3, 2009. I hope this bill moves quickly so
that a ban on the amputation of shark fins is enforced.
Until fishermen stop severing fins and dumping mutilated sharks at sea, many
species -- including hammerheads and makos -- remain vulnerable to
extinction. Please support the Shark Conservation Act (H.R. 81), which
mandates that sharks be landed with their fins naturally intact.
H.R. 81 amends the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to close a
loophole that let boats transfer illegally acquired fins as long as sharks
weren’t butchered aboard the same boat.
An estimated 73 million sharks are killed annually. In most cases, their
fins alone are sold for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy. Though "finning"
was outlawed in all U.S. waters in 2000, negligent fishing practices
continue to hinder enforcement.
Finning is just plain cruel. Fishermen haul living sharks on to decks, slice
off their fins, and toss them back to bleed to death or become defenseless
prey at sea. It is time to end this crime against nature and promote
conservation worldwide. Please do everything possible to ensure that the
Shark Conservation Act passes into law.
Thank you,
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SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
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Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (Passed in House; Referred to Senate Committee)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:3: ./temp/~c111LwBq b3::
Shark Conservation Act of 2009
http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/wildlife/ shark_conservati on_act_of.html
Tell Congress: Ban Shark Finning
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/190900047?z00m=19382402Stop Shark Finning
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618227620?z00m=19788991Buy Compassion-Inspired Clothes
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