Dolphin and Whale Slaughter Begins Again

The brutal killing of pilot dolphins, part of the whale family, began again this year in the harbor or Taiji, and the ocean is filled with blood. It is a horrific sight for those who don’t know. These animals are extremely endangered. They not only swim in our increasingly toxic oceans, they are often accidentally caught in fisher harpoons and drown. They’re also hunted for traditions by certain native American tribes (but usually once a year) and for food in the Asian regions, and many more other species of whales are at risk. People don’t realize that they are very much a big part of the ocean ecosystem, and their disappearance will severely impact the balance of all living creatures. There is currently little or no laws around this barbaric practice, but this is changing and we can only hope that more attention is given to it in the media. Please read Hayden Panetierre’s blog post at Social Vibe here. Sign the petition and spread the word. Below are some pictures from the site.

You can also visit the official site for the The Whaleman Foundation to learn more.

via Social Vibe

via Social Vibe

via The Whaleman Foundation

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, hunting, international issues, local issues, ocean , dolphins, hayden panettiere, social vibe, taiji dolphin slaughter, Whaleman Foundation, whales, whaling

Canada’s Seal Hunt – Bloody Business

If you happen to come upon this blog, you already know the seal hunt is WRONG. Here are some pictures from Rebecca Aldworth (HSI/Canada) who has been writing and documenting the atrocity on the ice. It is simply heartbreaking. Read her full entries here.

An excerpt:

“So often the suffering of the seals during this slaughter is viewed at a distance.

	“It takes a special kind of person to club and shoot helpless baby seals.” © HSI/Sanchez, 04-03-09

From the air, from thousands of feet, somehow the pain of the animals does not transmit properly.

You see them wriggling across the ice, blood trailing behind them. You see their mouths open in a silent scream through the camera lens.

But from the ice it is different. You hear their cries, you see them try to escape, you smell the blood and you feel their terror.

Yesterday, the ProtectSeals team travelled to the seal killing area by our boat (a small, rigid, inflatable vessel), documenting the slaughter from 30 meters away. We witnessed so many seals dying a horrible death, as sealers shot at the terrified babies, and then descended on the wounded, struggling animals with wooden bats.

I will never be able to forget the agonizing assault on one seal. The pup was in front of our boat, and a nearby sealing vessel approached. The pup sniffed the air as if sensing danger.

He looked around, and then the first bullet slammed into him. His scream could be heard all across the water. He tried to crawl away but another bullet ripped through his flesh.

His outraged cries echoed as a third and fourth and fifth bullet hit him. Finally, he dove into the water. He did not come back up. The sealers shrugged nonchalantly and moved on.

We looked around frantically for him but he did not surface. Likely, this baby seal would have bled to death slowly and painfully under the water, like tens of thousands of other seals that are “struck and lost” each year in this cruel slaughter.

I want the world to remember this brave seal. His cries of protest are echoing in my mind and I want them to sound across the world. I want everyone to hear as I did the mortal cries of a wounded baby seal who doesn’t understand why he is being hurt.

And hearing those cries, know as I do that this slaughter simply has to stop.”

Images of the bloody business (via Humane Society of the United States):

Filed under: animal cruelty, hunting, international issues, ocean, seal hunt , animal cruelty, canada, canadian seal hunt, harp seals, Humane Society of the United States, rebecca aldworth, seal slaughter

Clubbed, Shot, Skinned for Fur – Seal Hunt

A mother seal looks on her dead seal pups. A sea of blood cover the pristine ice.

I can’t blog about this enough – it is of utmost concern to me. Over 280,000 baby harp seals are being killed at this very moment.Please donate to the International Fund For Animals – the premiere animal welfare group in the U.S. fighting to preserve and save seals all over the world.

I just donated $100 now – who’s with me?

Charities such as Humane Society, PETA, and Mammal Mammal Center among many other organizations are in this fight!

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, humane organizations, hunting, international issues, ocean, seal hunt

Plastic in the Ocean

via L studio/Lexus

Lexus put out this promotional site called L Studio and I found this visualization story on how plastic is polluting and harming our oceans across the globe. Check out the video

Filed under: international issues, ocean , earth, environment, ocean life, plastic in the ocean

Birds Dying From Ingesting Our Waste

My friend Kathleen sent me this short video which documents an exotic bird that died mysteriously. From an autopsy, environmentalists and scientists found a large amount of plastic contents in its stomach. This is what WE dump into our landfills and ocean. Please stop buying bottled fluids — do your part to help reduce the amount of plastic.

Filed under: Resources, environment, ocean , birds, ocean pollution, plastic waste