Animal charities yesterday protested against dolphin hunts in Japan by laying red flowers outside the Japanese embassy in London.
Protesters outside the Japanese embassy
Protesters laid red flowers
Around 20,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales are killed annually in Japan's coastal waters. Some are sold into captivity and the rest are killed for meat.
The demonstration by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), Campaign Whale, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society coincides with the release of the film The Cove on 23 October. The docu-drama follows a team of filmmakers as they try to film a dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji for the first time.
Claire Bass, programme manager for WSPA, said: 'The Cove shows the tragic truth behind the captive dolphins' smile - they are literally dying to entertain us. We're urging people who love dolphins not to love them to death by paying to visit them in captivity.'
The European Alliance to End Dolphins in Captivity are calling on the European Union to ban the construction of new dolphin aquariums and ban the trade of whales and dolphins into the EU. A petition has been launched and you can sign it and find out more on the WSPA website: www.wspa.org.uk
