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April 2005 - Export permit for drive fisheries dolphins approved  | Photo courtesy of Elsa Nature Conservancy |
April 2005 On March 28th Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry granted an export permit for the Taiji Whale Museum allowing a planned sale of eight dolphins captured during the 2004 drive fisheries to proceed. The eight dolphins will be sold to an aquatic park in China unless dolphin advocates are able to convince the mayor of Taiji to block this export. Please send your letter protesting this sale today.
The dolphins, four males and four females, are currently housed in a sea pen at the Taiji Whale Museum. Sunasia Ocean World, a marine park in China, plans to purchase the dolphins for $400,000 through a company in New Zealand. If the sale goes forward, it is expected that the dolphins will be shipped to China around April 20th.
The drive fisheries occur each year in Taiji amid international condemnation and protests. During the drives, dolphins and small whales are forced into shallow water using nets strung between boats. Once the dolphins are trapped in the shallows the fishermen kill them using knives and spear-like devices. A select few, like the eight being sought by China, are spared an immediate death and sold into captivity to be trained for aquatic shows or to participate in swim-with-dolphin programs.
The Ministry's decision to grant an export permit for these dolphins has heightened the sense of urgency shrouding this situation. Please send your letter urging the mayor of Taiji to use his authority to block the sale and export of dolphins by the Taiji Whale Museum to Sunasia Ocean World in China. This sale will give further incentive to the fishermen in Taiji to continue the brutal hunts each year. We cannot allow this to happen. Please send your letter to:
Mr. Kazutaka Sangen
Town Mayor of Taiji
Email: taiji@town.taiji.wakayama.jp
Fax: 81-735-59-2801
Send a copy of your letter to:
Mr. Shoichi Nakagawa
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Email: webmaster@meti.go.jp
Fax: 81-3-3501-6942
Management Authority
The Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office of the People's Republic of China
Email: cites-cnma@vip.sina.com and mengxianlin@vip.sina.com
Fax: 86-10-84-25-63-88
The Endangered Species Scientific Commission of the People's Republic of China
Email: ccites@panda.ioz.ac.cn
Fax: 86-10-62-56-46-80
To read more about the drive fisheries and the proposed sale to China, click here. | |