Kategorie: News
GRD submits 24,144 signatures against dolphin slaughter
Every year, the Japanese and Faroese kill hundreds of intelligent dolphins as part of their tradition, regularly turning the bays into bloody slaughterhouses. On World Dolphin Day (Friday, September 12), numerous demonstrators protested against this cruel practice in Berlin on the initiative of the Society for the Rescue of Dolphins (GRD).
As part of the campaign, the GRD handed over 24,000 signatures against the killing to the embassies of Denmark and Japan. The participants also drew attention to the slaughter by leaving a symbolic trail of blood between the embassies.
Stop dolphin slaughter!
Exactly four years to the day after the largest documented dolphin drive hunt, in which a total of 1,428 white-sided dolphins fell victim on September 12, 2021, numerous animal rights activists gathered in Berlin's embassy district to express their protest against the brutal massacres. The protest was organized by the Society for the Rescue of Dolphins, supported by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation Germany. In their opening speeches, both organizations denounced the unacceptable conditions of the hunts and the immense suffering of the marine mammals.
“Every single creature that is fought for is worth it.”
Mathias Hansen (GRD) emphasized: “The Faroe Islanders and Japanese justify the slaughter of dolphins on the basis of tradition. But tradition can never be an argument when it is based on the blood of innocent creatures.”
Tom Strerath (Captain Paul Watson Foundation Germany) addressed his words directly to the slaughterers in Japan and the Faroe Islands: "Always be aware: There are people who do not accept your actions—even if they are legal. These people are mobilizing at demonstrations, in the media, and with campaigns. Every single creature that is fought for is worth it."
Björn Thun from PETA Germany explained in his speech why dolphins and whales are still hunted in some countries despite international protection.
The participants then made their way to the embassies of Denmark (the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark) and Japan. On their way there, they drew a symbolic connection between the two countries with an 800-meter-long fabric ribbon: a trail of blood that illustrated that both countries are committing serious crimes against dolphins. The Japanese and Faroese are united in the brutal slaughter of marine mammals, which are key species for the ecological balance of the oceans. Every dolphin killed and every whale slaughtered represents a loss for biodiversity, the stability of the oceans, and ultimately for us humans, as our lives depend on healthy oceans.
Handover of around 25,000 protest signatures
In recent years, the GRD has collected 19,608 signatures against the slaughter in Japan and 4,536 signatures against the hunts in the Faroe Islands. These were handed over to the embassies on Friday. Significantly, while the GRD's second chairwoman and co-founder, Angelika Gebhard, was able to personally hand over the lists and a letter to the ambassador at the Danish embassy, the signatures addressed to Japan had to be handed over almost anonymously at the embassy's reception booth.
The protest event was concluded by GRD dolphin ambassador, mezzo-soprano, and director of the UnterwasserOper (Underwater Opera), Claudia Herr. In her speech, she described her emotional encounters with marine mammals off La Gomera: she sang underwater, and the animals responded to her singing – almost as if they wanted to answer her. A short excerpt of this “communication,” recorded using a hydrophone, was played to the participants.
The GRD also emphasized that it now expects the embassies not to ignore the demands, but to pass them on to the respective governments. It is high time that those responsible send a clear signal and put an end to the killing of dolphins.
Background
Dolphin slaughter remains a cruel reality in some countries. In the Faroe Islands alone, over 900 dolphins have already been killed this year – the bays of the archipelago in the North Atlantic regularly turn blood red during the so-called Grindadráps. A similar picture can be seen in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji, where the six-month hunting and killing season began in early September. Ten dolphins lost their lives on the very first day; according to the quota, a total of 1,814 animals may be hunted until the end of February. Both Japan and the Faroe Islands justify this bloody practice as “tradition.”