Taiji Dolphin Slaughter condemned by Broome residents

Aug. 15, 2009 - PRLog -- This is equivalent to the slaughter of the entire population of Humpback whales that migrate into Western Australian waters.  Dolphins and whales are sensitive and intelligent mammals of the order Cetacea, with the only distinction being size.  “Dolphins” are whales less than 3m long.

A new documentary “The Cove”, screened in Broome on Saturday 15th of August, is a powerful and shocking depiction of the dolphin slaughter, which has horrified viewers around the globe.

Local residents at the screening called upon The Broome Shire to suspend relations with Taiji until the slaughter ceases.  Shire councillors are faced with an interesting dilemma; if Broome fails to suspend relations with Taiji, Broome and Australia will be seen to condone both the slaughter of dolphins, and by extension, the continued slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean by the Japanese whaling fleet.  These whales include the Western Australian Breeding Group D population of Humpback whales.

If The Shire of Broome does suspend relations with Taiji, it risks upsetting Japanese oil and gas corporation Inpex (26% owned by the Japanese government), who are proposing
to invest heavily in the North West of Australia.  This would include the loss of major funding for Broome community events.
                           
Richard Costin, a Broome based whale researcher stated that “The Broome Shire and Community can send out a powerful message  to both the Japanese Government and the
international community that the continued slaughter of whales and dolphins in Taiji and the Southern Ocean is completely unacceptable”.

“International condemnation of Japanese whaling through the IWC has failed to stop the slaughter.  Economic sanctions by Australia and the international community against Japan may be the best way to get the attention of the Japanese government.”

“The way that Broome positions itself in this debate will define who we are as a community and as a nation.”

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Kimberley Whale Watching is a Broome based research organization studying and filming Western Australia's Breeding Group D population of Humpback whales, and other cetaceans.