Please Watch
A CHILD'S APPEAL
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KY9LaxVkDM
Severn Suzuki, representing ECO,
the Environmental Children's Organization
at the UN Earth Summit, 1992
as relevant today as when it was first presented

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The whale-news feature of www.ny4whales.org

THE NEWS FEED

For the latest news updates in the world of cetaceans

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ce·ta·cean n: any of an order of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes whales, porpoises, dolphins, and related forms. (Merriam Webster)

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INTERNATIONAL JAPAN DOLPHIN DAY 2007 IN NYC

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What is the annual international JAPAN DOLPHIN DAY? We think Ric O'Barry, former trainer for the television show, Flipper, says it best:

Japan Dolphin Day:
Abolish the Slaughter

Every year from October through April fishermen in some remote Japanese villages eradicate about 20,000 dolphins and porpoises in the most brutal way imaginable. This is the largest massacre of cetaceans anywhere in the world. The fishermen have told us they kill the dolphins primarily as a form of "pest control." They say the dolphins eat too many fish, and they need to eradicate the competition.

If the fishermen didn't get a permit from Tokyo, they would have to stop the killings immediately. We need to let the Japanese authorities know that these crimes against nature are unacceptable to the rest of the world. Therefore, we have organized a worldwide protest to send a powerful message to the Japanese government: STOP THE DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER.

The Japanese government and fishermen say dolphin hunting is part of Japanese culture. In reality, however, the majority of the Japanese population doesn't know the dolphin slaughter exists. If they knew, they would help us stop it. Our team has traveled to Japanese fishing villages several times to document and expose the dolphin massacres to the Japanese people - and the fishermen have done all they can to hide their bloody work from our cameras. They don't want the Japanese people to know the truth. "It's none of their business," they say.

Our Japanese colleagues tell us that outside pressure can stop the dolphin slaughter. So why not give the Japanese decision-makers in Tokyo some serious, outside international media pressure? The goal is to make this the biggest global protest against the annual dolphin slaughter in history, and we hope that everyone who is opposed to the dolphin slaughter will show up and demonstrate. We need your help in making the international day of protest successful.

To pull this off, we need TENS OF THOUSANDS of non-violent, peaceful protesters in front of Japanese embassies around the world on September 20th.

The event is not limited to animal protection groups, and we would like to add some schools and civic groups to the list. Children should be educated about this issue and have the opportunity to participate in the global effort to stop the dolphin slaughter. What a great learning experience for a child that would be, especially if they actually won as a result of their effort. The Japanese government and dolphin hunters expect environmental/animal protection groups to protest. They don't, however, expect regular people to demonstrate in front of the various Japanese embassies. This is why we are asking you to please contact your friends and neighbors, local schools and civic clubs. Ask them to show up in front of any Japanese embassy or consulate office to protest the dolphin slaughter.

Please note that this will be an all-inclusive event. In other words, the protest will not take place under the umbrella of any one group.

Japan Dolphin Day - 2006

Q: What is it?

A: It's the annual international protest against the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world.

Q: Who's doing this protest?

A: Anyone and everyone can participate: Animal welfare groups, environmentalists, bands, schools, ordinary citizens, dolphin trainers, everyone.

Q: Where is the protest?

A: At the nearest Japanese embassy or consulate office. Here's the list: http://www.learn4good.com/travel/japan_embassies.htm

Q: What do I do?

A: Simply show up with all of your friends at any Japanese embassy or consulate office and protest these crimes against nature. You can also call or write them - or do all three: show up, call them, and send a protest letter.

Q: When do I do it?

A: At noon on September 20th.

For more information: www.SaveTaijiDolphins.org or contact Ric O'Barry at 305-669-4834 or ricobarry@bellsouth.net.

Q: Who We Are:

A: Animalisti Italiani Onlus - Rome
Animal Welfare Institute - Washington DC
Begley's Best - Los Angeles
Blue Voice - San Francisco
Born Free Foundation - London
British Divers Marine Life Rescue - London
Campaign Whale - London
Captive Animals Protection Society - London
Care for the Wild - London
Cetacea Defence - London
Cetacean Society International - New York
COMARINO - Mexico City
Committee for a Dolphinarium-free Belgium - Brussels
Dolphin Project - Miami
Earth Island Institute - San Francisco
Friends of Dolphins - Toronto
Global Ocean - London
GAIA - Brussels
Society for Conservation of Marine Mammals - Berlin
HSUS - Washington DC
HSI - International Cities
In Defense of Animals - National Cities
International Animal Rescue - London
Last Chance for Animals - Los Angeles
Life Conservationist Association - Taipei
LINC - Hong Kong
Marine Connection - London
Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition - Boston
No Whales In Captivity - Vancouver
Nomades des Oceans - Paris
NY Whale and Dolphin Action League - New York
One Voice - Paris
Orca Network - Seattle
Rattle the Cage - Miami
Responsible Animal Care Society - Vancouver
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - International
WDCS - London
WDCS/USA - Washington DC
WSPA USA - Boston

"Eighty percent of success is showing up." Woody Allen

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POSTERS

Here are posters for the September 20th Protest with Japanese translations of the English text. Please include the existing photo credits on these posters. For any use of the photographs beyond the September 20, 2006, event, please contact the owners.

Click for larger printable images:

Now Available on DVD "WELCOME TO TAIJI" the 30 minute "smoking gun" that shows the REAL source of dolphins for swim-with programs and dolphin shows around the world. In 3 parts, The Captures, The Massacre, The Dolphin Slaughter and the Captivity Industry, the video presents graphic description and footage of the actual annual drive fishery dolphin slaughter events, along with the obscene camaraderie of aquarium and dolphin swim-with facilities all-too-anxious to keep the rapidly dying captive dolphins in their lucrative display tanks. This high-impact film is a MUST SEE at your next local ACTIVIST EVENT. Making this information widely available to the public will help to close these brutal operations once and for all. This video is available free of charge with a commitment to attend, organize and/or write a review (for media publication) of the event held at the nearest Japanese consulate location. HELP US DO THIS WORK! Make an optional, tax-deductible donation of $6.00 to cover the DVD and mailing to Cetacean Society International, P.O. Box 953, Georgetown, CT 06829 U.S.A.

For more about the drive fishery: http://www.savetaijidolphins.org/

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What should you do if you see a stranded or injured whale, dolphin, porpoise, seal or sea turtle? Time is critical for a cetacean out of the water. Don’t call the police! Don’t call the fire department! Call the 24-hour stranding-rescue hotline at 631-369-9829 immediately! NEW YORK-NORTHEAST REGION STRANDINGS Marine biologists have noted recently that the numbers of STRANDED CETACEANS, PINNIPEDS (SEALS) and SEA TURTLES have been increasing in the New York Coastal Region. Titan, a "giant among porpoises," was found in early April, 2006, stranded on a Rhode Island beach. The yearling harbor porpoise is recovering nicely from an unknown trauma, and is scheduled for release in late June, 2006, from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. For more pictures of Titan or to learn about other rehabilitation successes, visit: http://www.riverheadfoundation.org/index.asp. If you see a stranded or injured cetacean, seal or sea turtle, call the 24-Hour Standing Hotline at: 631-369-9829 IMMEDIATELY for further instructions. For more information on the NORTHEAST REGION STRANDING NETWORK visit NOAA Fisheries at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/networks.htm#northeast.

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ART INSPIRED BY WHALES INTERNATIONAL ARTIST GULAY ALPAY Of the whales she creates, Gulay says, "My whales talk to each other. Like in my dreams." Drama, tension, emotion and power exude from these amazing works of fine art, inspired by the noble whale and Gulay's receptivity to their energy. More...

Please note:

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is applying the term "Reverse Evolution" to conditions that may result from the loss of evolved traits witnessed in cetaceans, such as beluga whales, dolphins, and orcas, placed in captivity environments. Highly evolved traits lost during captivity may include basic survival skills, use of echo-location and sonar, wide-ranging communication and song-making abilities, foraging and hunting for food, social hierarchy establishment, mating, rearing young, even harm-avoidance instincts.

December 7, 2005

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League announces the successful launch of our

PETITION TO BAN THE DISPLAY OF BELUGA WHALES
AND OTHER CETACEANS IN NEW YORK CITY

Click on this link to sign the petition and support our work: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/368471413

What's wrong with keeping ARCTIC BELUGA WHALES in small chlorinated tanks? In an artificial environment, one made possible by constant infusions of chlorine and other chemicals? In a soundless, concrete world? In a wholly unnatural confinement? In a costly facility that drains funds from the public for what can truly be called a "non-educational" display?

Read the text of our petition:

The NY Aquarium began a disturbing tradition in 1897 as the first facility to display captive beluga whales in the United States. As scientific understanding of these marine mammals grew, many researchers, organizations and individuals began to doubt the educational value of their controversial and what was often viewed as inhumane confinement.

Beluga whales inhabit cold Arctic seawaters and live in family pods where they display the immensely varied vocal ability that has earned them the title "Canaries of the Sea." However, in captivity conditions the whales' behaviors are altered, vastly different from those found in the wild. Gone are natural behaviors such as daily wide-ranging undersea treks, 1000-meter dives, even annual transcontinental migration in long-traveled passages through frozen Arctic waters. Gone are the essential tasks of calf-rearing and the critical interaction with family members that evokes individuality and strong unity within the pod. Gone is the use of their highly-evolved and refined echo-location skill since sound in captivity tanks bounces off concrete walls in a maddening reverberation that suppresses this most fundamental mode of communication and survival. Even the simple act of foraging for greatly varied food items in Arctic waters is replaced with perversely receiving handouts of dead fish from their human captors, their sole food source. Perhaps most disturbing of all, in captive display tanks and pools, the once incredible singers in the wild, these "Canaries of the Sea," are silent. The wild behaviors have been replaced with the only activity that is available to the white whales: swimming in never-ending circles around their concrete enclosures, a sight that evokes pity and even alarm in increasingly-aware spectators of all ages.

In addition to the absence of natural behaviors in captivity, one should not forget that the lives of beluga whales are dramatically shortened in their stressful, chlorinated captivity conditions. While rarely surviving their teens and with an excessively high calf mortality rate in captivity, belugas have been known to reach over 50 years of age in their natural environment.

To anyone who has studied beluga whales in the wild it is broadly deceptive to consider the silent despair of the captive beluga whale "educational." In reality, facilities like these are prime locations for studying the de-evolution of beluga whales, to witness evolution in reverse, a repression and ultimate absence in wild-caught or captive born individuals of the highly evolved echolocation, or sonar, skills, and the loss of natural song-making that has so distinguished this whale in the wild. The New York Aquarium presents an opportunity to view the reduction of the environmentally powerful yet vulnerable whales to utter dependence on human captors for food and basic survival in this inappropriate artificial environment.

The New York Aquarium once again can take the lead, but this time in ending the travesty of false education which is keeping beluga whales on display. It is time that New York City takes a stand against this kind of misleading non-education, against the casual acceptance of utter human control over the lives of creatures that belong in their natural environments only, and to make illegal the confinement of beluga whales in captivity. After over 100 years of questionable and unproductive "study," what exactly have we learned? Certainly today we can say that "we know better" than to believe beluga whales kept in drastically restrictive, artificial, chlorinated tanks present any real public educational value. The whales are maintained at great expense to the facility and New York City, yet the whales' endured and cruel confinement does little or nothing to "enlighten" visitors to the nature of these creatures in the wild.

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League with the organizations and individuals below are calling on the mayor of New York City, the New York City Council and the Wildlife Conservation Society to end the beluga displays in New York City, to divert monies dedicated to sustain these expensive, high-maintenance artificial displays to environmental education programs within the New York City school system and other critical needs of the youth who have been deprived of so much during NYC's never-ending fiscal crises. Environmental awareness and projects that educate the young on the many serious issues facing our natural world will be rewarded with a sense of purpose, increased responsibility, and a funneling of energy into noble efforts for wildlife and conservation.

New York City's new role must be that of leader in the humane acceptance of whales as unique to their environment and unsuitable to captive situations, while taking its place beside the many US cities that have already banned the captivity and display of cetaceans such as the white Arctic beluga whale.

We therefore urge the Mayor of the City of New York, the New York City Council and the Wildlife Conservation Society to close the exhibition of beluga whales at the New York Aquarium, and to ban the captivity and display of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) in New York City.

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In Memory of BEN WHITE: AN EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST

By Taffy Lee Williams

This article appears in the October, 2005 edition of SATYA magazine which includes a tribute to this great American activist and hero.

BEN WHITE, 1951-2005
AN EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST

Ben leading the WTO TURTLES, Seattle, 1999
Photo Courtesy Animal Welfare Institute.

How does one define "activist?" One might say simply two words: "Ben White." Working tirelessly for the environment, for wildlife and social justice, Ben repeatedly risked his life leaving a legacy of decades-long direct action that has become a standard to which many activists aspire.

One of Ben's earliest "hardcore" actions was at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Thanks to "insider" information, hearing of aquarium staff taunting and teasing a male beluga whale, Ben headed for NYC. Aquarium staff members were allegedly taking bets as to who could last the longest in the beluga tank with the "vicious male." Ben put on a white lab coat and transformed himself temporarily as "Dr. White from Sea World." When Ben demanded, "Show me the beluga!" he was taken to the tank where he withheld his anger and appraised the situation at hand. Then, under cover of darkness, in the early morning hours, Ben found his way to the whale and in a leaky wetsuit jumped into the icy beluga tank.

Ben waited in the almost freezing waters and shivered, for several hours, before aquarium personnel and the Coney Island police were able to retrieve him. Now this was direct action at its finest, NYC-style, by a Seattleite none-the-less, who cared less for his own well-being than for the oppressed, maltreated and pitiful beluga whale, a prisoner in a sterile, concrete soundless world. Ben, the hero. Ben, the activist. The media jumped on the story, and the aquarium oppression was exposed to a previously gullible, non-judgmental public.

Photo Courtesy Animal Welfare Institute: Marching against the WTO, 1999;
International Day of Protest against the Japanese Drive Fisheries, 2003:
Photo Courtesy Sea Shepherd.

It was just something he HAD to do. It was a dark night in Taiji, Japan, where a group of 25-40 dolphins were trapped in a shallow bay by the infamous JAPANESE DRIVE FISHERIES. This is Japan at its worst. Just 26 whalers in 13 small boats "drive" pods of dolphins, often hundreds at a time, into the shallow bays where they drop nets and begin a bloody carnage that is like a scene from a holocaust movie, dolphin style. Aquarium owners, who subsidize the events, pick out the prettiest, unblemished few, while those not chosen are slaughtered on the beaches. The seas turn red with the blood of dying dolphins, destined for watery graves or to become a plate of sushi, despite mercury and methyl-mercury levels up to five times their allowable limits under Japanese law. Dolphins are seen as competitors for fish that are becoming increasingly scarce given global over-fishing that is affecting western Pacific stocks. An opportunity to slaughter dolphins is seized during the dolphin "drives" while aquarium owners boast to the public they are saving a few dolphins' lives. In return, the fishermen are paid far beyond what they would receive for the sale of dolphin meat. Although they live to be 50 years or more in the wild, 50% of all dolphins die within 7 years in captivity. As Ben was well aware, the resulting financial loss compels operators to obtain dolphins by any means, even if it means virtual slaughter on the beach. He found his way with wire cutters in hand and while armed guards patrolled on the cliffs above, dove down in the blackened seas and cut through the barriers to free the dolphins. Had he been discovered, this master of self-giving would have been stopped literally dead in his tracks. That wasn't to be. More direct action beckoned.

To stop loggers in ancient forests, Ben slept in old growth trees, and trained others to do the same. Using his skills as an arborist, Ben scaled buildings to hang banners exposing circus cruelty. In full view of a Navy warship he jumped into the Pacific Ocean waters to stop the testing of military sonar so powerful it can cause the brains and lungs of whales and dolphins hundreds of miles away to literally explode. Once again, Ben could have been killed had the sonar been turned on and begun its deadly hum. Later, Ben plunged into the depths of the Delaware Bay attempting to save 300 dolphins during calving season by covering another navy acoustical seismic killing machine.

Ironically, it wasn't these almost deadly actions that Ben is most known for. He received world renown as the creator of the marching Seattle WTO turtles, a symbol of the environmental destruction sanctioned by multi-national corporations and international trade agreements. Whether it was making dolphin costumes, fighting for indigenous rights, or working to protect whales during International Whaling Commission meetings, Ben continued a quiet but resolute heroism that shows how powerful and important activism is. The tradition must and will continue.

Ben's life was that of a powerful warrior, a character rarely seen among human beings today. How very few are willing to take these kinds of risks for the things that need defending, for the wrongs that need to be made "right." In Ben's case one can honestly say that the world is a better place for his being here. This great man and heroic activist will not be forgotten.

WE STAND IN MEMORY OF BEN WHITE TODAY.

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New York Whale and Dolphin Action League's

PUBLIC AWARENESS PROJECT

Poster Series

Sponsored by New York State Assemblyman Michael J. Spano,
the New York State Assembly, New York State Governor George E. Pataki,
the Empire State Development Corporation,
and Cetacean Society International (csiwhalesalive.org).

(Click to download the poster. Requires the free Adobe Reader or equivalent.)

We are happy to announce the successful launch of the Public Awareness Project Poster Series with the distribution of our first in a series, the NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN.

Printed on tough 100 lb. stock, the 16" x 22" NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN poster is already making a big splash! Volunteers are distributing the poster in the New York metropolitan area, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

This poster is available to anyone free of charge with a $6.00 donation for packaging and postage. We can ship up to 3 in a package. (For larger amounts please contact us at ny4whales@optonline.net.)

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League thanks our New York State Assemblyman Michael J. Spano, the New York State Assembly, New York State Governor George E. Pataki, the Empire State Development Corporation and Cetacean Society International for making this project possible.

PLEASE JOIN OUR

NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN

A "Public Awareness Project"? Why?

Simply put, we are setting out to help inform the public in general of the consequences of seemingly harmless actions in our environment.

Case in point: BALLOONS.

For example, did you know that Mylar foil balloons will float for about 10 days, but will never degrade in the environment? Or that latex balloons may take a year to degrade and that their ribbons and string are also often not biodegradable? Did you know that balloon fragments, like plastic bags and wrappers, look like jellyfish or floating plants and are quickly gobbled up by ever-hungry sea birds, turtles, even fish? Did you know that as a baleen whale scoops up thousands of gallons of water to sieve through for its meal, its baleen traps plankton and fish along with cigarette butts, balloon fragments, plastic floating toys, straws, food wrappers and more. A whale can't pick the trash out from the fish meal it has just sifted from the water. Everything is swallowed! One baby sperm whale died of starvation after it swallowed a Mylar balloon that lodged in its intestines.

Whales, dolphins, and marine life are facing many challenges to their survival today. Illegal whaling and hunting continues while commercial fishing bycatch kills hundreds of thousands of dolphins each year. The oceans are riddled with over 150 pollutant and runoff-laden "dead zones," oxygen-depleted areas that are devoid of fish and getting bigger each year, some as large as the state of New Jersey. Many commercial fisheries have already collapsed, and a 90% decline in many Pacific Ocean fish stocks is now being reported. Human generated noise in the oceans from enormous vessels, speeding watercraft, air-gun arrays for seismic and oil exploration, and even powerful sonar is being blamed for mass strandings of marine mammals, ship strikes and disorientation. Global warming and pollution is upsetting normal cycles for the release of krill and the reproduction of other planktonic food chain organisms and changing the very chemistry of our oceans.

Many of us feel helpless in the face of these overwhelming problems, and think, "There's nothing I can do to help!" But the helping often begins by realizing that seemingly little things we can do will make a difference. Simply not releasing balloons into the atmosphere; simply not tossing cigarette butts overboard, or crushing them onto streets, grasses, or sandy beaches where they are carried by the rains into our streams, lakes and oceans; simply placing food wrappers and other trash out of wildlife harm's way and in the proper recycling receptacles: all these will go a long way to protecting our dwindling wildlife. There's an old saying that goes, "Wildlife are hungry: NEVER throw anything outdoors into the environment that you wouldn't eat yourself!" I like that advice!

Please consider helping us share this important information with the public and displaying a NO BALLOONS CAMPAIGN poster. You can help us further by becoming a member of Cetacean Society International, one of the world's most quietly prestigious environmental organizations, with personnel in over 30 countries! Their constant attention and cetacean support have made possible much advocacy for whales, invaluable research and protective legislation by marine researchers and activists all over the globe. CSI (csiwhalesalive.org) is an all-volunteer, no-frills, no-nonsense organization whose personnel are working overtime to prevent what many fear is the inevitable extinction of many large and small whale, dolphin and porpoise species.

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is proud to be a project of Cetacean Society International. Stay tuned to this website to learn more about upcoming posters in this series and check out our current and past advocacy actions from our post in the New York metropolitan area.

And as always, let our animosities and apathy toward simple acts of environmental protection be cast to the wind as we work together to respond to the increasingly critical needs of our outdoor land and seascape. Simple acts bring simple rewards, but simple responses like these are having huge effects! Thank you for your support.

Taffy Williams
Director

HELP WANTED: A few good hands needed to help distribute posters in your area! Please contact us at ny4whales@optonline.net for more information.

New York State Laws Concerning Balloons (in Adobe Reader format)

Letter to Palestine Government and Media Regarding the Release of 21,915 Balloons

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About Us

Expenses have been climbing for the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League! A generous donor has offered an exquisite Tiffany-style stained glass floor lamp as a fund-raising gift. A long-haired mermaid plants a kiss on the nose of a colorful dolphin who rises from frothy waves of bronze in this lovely 80 inch high masterpiece. We are now accepting bids for the tax-deductible sale of this fine lamp. Please send your bid or inquiry to ny4whales@optonline.net. If you are not a subscribing member of Cetacean Society International/NY Whale and Dolphin Action League, please visit csiwhalesalive.org and make your membership donation today. Your gift/membership means you are working with us to protect marine life, the ocean habitat, and especially those amazing whales, dolphins and porpoises. Together we can address the critical issues presenting such dire challenges to ultimate survival. Not tomorrow. TODAY! Join us today!

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, a project of Cetacean Society International, is an environmental advocacy group dedicated to the preservation of marine life, and especially cetaceans, or whales and dolphins.

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is actively seeking legislation on various issues that will work toward the preservation of our oceans, coastal regions, waterways, and its invaluable marine life. Only by protecting our marine environment can we ensure the survival of the millions of species that dwell therein.

While based in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area, our efforts are far-reaching, often global in focus. Our crusades pit us against the exploitation of cetaceans in aquarium facilities, Japanese drive fisheries and whaling. We are participating in the legal battle against the use of high-intensity military sonar by the US Navy and working to educate the public on the tragedies of acoustic pollution in the sea.

Understanding the inadequacies in laws protecting marine life in New York state, through our efforts, a bill was introduced in the NYS Assembly that would "establish the marine life protection task force within the Department of Environmental Conservation to determine the laws, rules and regulations providing protection to marine life in the marine and coastal district and assess the effectiveness thereof." The Bill, A04124, sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Englebright, would require the inventory and mapping of various species of marine life at the sites within the marine and coastal district, to determine whether such species need further protection. "The task force will propose a marine life protection plan and a timetable for the implementation thereof to the commissioner of environmental conservation, governor and legislative leaders to assure adequate protection of marine life in the state. The plan is to include proposed legislation. The task force will study the feasibility of municipal regulation of marine life reserves." (From the legislative summary.)

We are actively engaged in a battle to prohibit the use of personal watercraft ("jetskis") in the Gateway National Recreation Area. Through our efforts, a bill will be introduced by Assemblyman Mike Spano that would require environmental education in all schools by the New York Board of Regents. We are working on creating legislation that includes banning vehicular traffic on beaches (the nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles and shorebirds), prohibit the outdoor disposal of cigarette butts, and banning genetically modified fish farms in New York state. We are also promoting the release of Lolita, the captive orca languishing in a leaking, sub-standard-sized, chlorinated pool at the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita's return to her family pod in Puget Sound would help bolster chances of her endangered pod's survival.

Issues involving the oceans and marine mammals, along with actions that can be taken to help, are posted daily to our Internet group (ny4whales@yahoogroups.com). Discussion topics focus on the US Navy/NATO's use of Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS), acoustic pollution, whaling, captivity, pollution, overfishing, and habitat degradation. Becoming informed and involved in these issues is essential to bringing about positive change and preservation for our marine life. To learn more, please send an email to ny4whales-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, or contact us at 914-793-9186.

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Index

News Items

On Wednesday, July 20, 2005, the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, Taffy Williams, Director, appeared as the special guest on the cable program "Pet Peeves," a production of the Animal Defenders of Westchester (http://www.adow.org/), hosted by Kiley Blackman. The discussion centered on the captivity of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and especially the Japanese "drive fisheries," where hundreds of dolphins at a time are "driven" onto the beaches in order for aquarium operators to choose the youngest, most beautiful, unblemished "specimens" for the display and swim-with industry. The remaining dolphins or false killer whales are more often than not slaughtered for meat, despite exceedingly high levels of pollutants and mercury in their bodies.

Check your local cable guide for times. If Pet Peeves does not run in your area send your request to http://www.adow.org/ and you can be a "sponsor!" It doesn't cost anything, and you'll be helping to speak for those who can't speak for themselves.

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is organizing this year's International Day of Protest against the JAPANESE DRIVE FISHERIES, which features the slaughter of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dolphins each year, sponsored by the aquarium industry. The event is shaping up with European, Asian and American cities gearing up for this public show of outrage for the Japanese lack of ethics and complicity with the DOLPHIN-AQUARIUM SLAVE TRADE.

New York will show its force with a contingency from the metropolitan area. The event is scheduled for October 8, 2005. Stay tuned for more information.

Don't forget our annual speak-out against our most local cetacean prison: the NEW YORK AQUARIUM, where three oppressed white Arctic beluga whales have been hurled into an endless monotonous journey swimming around in circles in their tiny tanks to "entertain" the crowds. When will this cetacean nightmare end and these whales given the dignity of freedom that they deserve? Join us for our Labor Day gathering and protest at the Coney Island prison site. Stay tuned for times and places.

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Military Sonar

• High Intensity Military Sonar: Ocean Patrol or Killing Machine?
  Prize winning Beacon Scholar Paper on the struggle to protect the oceans against deafening military sonar.

• Cape Cod Humpbacks NO RED TIDE Letter

• Letter to Legislators Opposing Military Exemptions from Environmental Laws

Click for a larger image (print in landscape mode):

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Current Dolphin and Whale Issues

The New York Whale and Dolphin Action League is looking for information, pictures, video or eye-witness accounts concerning the dolphins transported for the "tourist season" to both Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, and the amusement center at Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. Please contact us immediately at 914-793-9186.

• Wal-Mart Goes 'A Whalin'

• Stranded Whales Close To Home

• Trashing Our Oceans

• The Fate Of Kingfisher

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Captivity

• LOLITA: An Orca That Has Captured Many Hearts

• Petition to Free Lolita
  Please print, copy and distribute.

• Letter to Free Lolita
  A sample of a letter to the Mayor of Miami-Dade County urging the return of the orca to her family in Puget Sound.

• What's Wrong With Captivity? Everything.

• Close to home, the dolphins and sea lions at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, are enduring deplorable conditions in the midst of roller coasters, thrill rides and screaming children. Print out the petition below, circulate and return to ny4whales (snail mail). These will go to regulatory agencies and local officials to hopefully have these permanently removed from the park.

  BOYCOTT SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE!

• DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY (Swim With The Dolphins): A Dangerous SCAM

  Please read and circulate the petition to close U.S. owned and operated Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT) facilities, one of the biggest scams of our time. Alternative-medicine seekers are mortgaging homes, paying thousands of (non-refundable) dollars in hopes of the miracle-cure that will never occur: studies have shown that DAT has no measurable or lasting effect and is no more therapeutic than taking a warm bath. The number of serious injuries caused by dolphin aggression, vastly under-reported by the industry, and the rash of litigation from broken bones, cuts and lacerations prove once again that dolphins in confined spaces forced into unnatural behaviors become aggressive and even violent toward humans. What's more, the USDA, through APHIS (Animal Plant Health Inspection Service), suspended all regulations governing DAT's in 1999 for review; four years later DAT's are still operating with NO REGULATION OR ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE OR HUMAN-DOLPHIN INTERACTION PROTECTION. These facilities must be shut down immediately. This obscenely lucrative industry is sweeping the "new age" and holistic community, and luring the desperately ill into one of the most well-kept secret "snake oil" scams of the animal-trafficking industry. The petition will be sent to the US Department of Commerce, NMFS, USDA, APHIS, state and federal officials, members of the SENATE and HOUSE Environment and Public Works Committees, the SENATE and HOUSE Health Education Labor and Pension Committees, SENATE and HOUSE Commerce and Science committees, and the US Department of Commerce.

  BOYCOTT DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY AND SWIM-WITH THE DOLPHIN PROGRAMS

  DEMAND THEIR IMMEDIATE CLOSURE

  For more information about DAT visit http://members.tripod.com/tiggerdolphin/DAT.html

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Other Environmental Issues

Trashing Our Oceans

The debris of human civilization: everything from untreated sewage, trash, cigarette butts, commercial fishing debris, plastic bags and packaging materials. All these and more routinely make their grave in the oceans. Industrial pollutants laden with mercury carried from afar, chemicals and agricultural run-off, even fertilizers and lawn products add to the blight on our waters. At last count there are 150 oceanic dead zones, black, grimy lifeless regions barren of their earlier bounty. Cruise ships dump millions of gallons of untreated waste directly in the waters they travel. Oil rig accidents, spills during transport, even military and commercial vessels add their refuse to humanity's garbage heap in the sea.

Of all these oceanic assaults, personal litter is perhaps the most easily "manageable;" that is, major legal battles and protest campaigns are not necessary to encourage people to simply dispose of their trash properly. If everyone did their part, our oceans would be that much more habitable for those that call it "home."

It is well known that trash and debris can kill marine life. Plastic bags or balloons floating on the water resemble jellyfish, squid, and other plankton. Marine organisms living in their often fierce environment and are on a constant quest for nourishment to survive. To a hungry sea turtle, a cigarette butt becomes a deadly snack that within minutes may block its intestinal tract thereby initiating a slow death by starvation. 90% of the shore birds treated by one Sarasota, Florida, rescue center have discarded nylon fishing line wrapped around their beaks, wings or feet. A British study found that 96% of one seabird species, fulmars, had ingested plastic scraps. 100% of the 300 albatross chicks examined 1600 kilometers (994 miles) from land in the northern Pacific had swallowed plastics, balloon fragments, bottle caps, even plastic toys. Roughly a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles become entangled in deadly traps of floating rubbish each year.

Trash Also Kills Whales and Dolphins!

In April 2004, a rare Cuvier's beaked whale was found on a Scottish beach with its stomach filled with polythene bags. In 1985, a young sperm whale died of starvation after swallowing a Mylar balloon that blocked its intestines. The stomach contents of a dolphin that washed up on the shores of Normandy in 2002 included 7 transparent plastic bags, 2 supermarket plastic bags, and other aluminum and plastic food product packaging materials. The whale had 800 grams (over a pound and a half) of plastic bags and packaging materials in its stomach. Larger baleen whales scoop hundreds of gallons of water into their mouths at a time; as they strain the fish from the water, debris, plastics, balloons, and much more are swallowed as well: a whale cannot pick the trash out from the plankton meal in its mouth.

Thick ropes, nets or cages broken off and discarded from the commercial fishing industry, often with buoys attached, linger on the surface forming deadly traps for sea turtles, seals, whales and dolphins (see The Fate Of Kingfisher). Floating marine debris lingers, sometimes for years, only to needlessly destroy marine life, sometimes over and over again until the materials are removed from the environment.

You don't need to live on the beach or join a whale-rescue team to help whales. Taking simple steps wherever you are can help put an end to the senseless tragedies caused by trash in our waters. Organize a cleanup of your local river, beach or lakefront region with your nearby junior high or high school. Start a clean-up project in your area, even a contest for the most cigarette butts, styrofoam packing "peanuts," or plastic bags collected. Encourage your municipality, school or household, anywhere in the world, to take the "NO BALLOONS PLEDGE." Now more than ever, we must strive to achieve in every citizen of the world a sense of pride in protecting and caring for our environment, for the future of all species, including the human race, depends on it.

Working together with the same goals, whether we live in Kansas or Argentina, every one of us can be good stewards of our environment, giving something in return for all the earth has provided for us.

Drama On The High Seas

The Fate of KINGFISHER, an Endangered Right Whale

On March 17, 2004, one of just over 300 critically endangered Northern Right Whales was found entangled by roughly 100 pounds of fishing lines and discarded buoys in the waters south of St. Augustine, Florida. Due to the rough seas, rescuers were unable to free the young whale, named Kingfisher, from the heavy ropes wound tightly around his body and flippers, but did manage to attach a tracking device for future rescue attempts.

By April 3, 2004, Kingfisher had traveled north, with ropes and buoys in tow, as far as Cape May, New Jersey, when his telemetry device was accidentally removed during an encounter with a commercial fishing vessel. At that point, the whale had traveled almost 850 miles despite his life-threatening entanglement!

The prognosis for Kingfisher's survival is not good. Deep wounds from the thick and tightly bound ropes may have already caused infection, and without his telemetry device, the whale must be resighted before any further rescue attempts can be made.

Freeing this young whale, a future-breeding male, from the ropes that trap him, might go a long way in preventing the feared loss of this species. Read more about Kingfisher's high-stakes plight as reported by those trying to rescue him, The Center for Coastal Studies, operating from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Diagram Courtesy Scott Landry, Center for Coastal Studies

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• Cigarette Butts: A "Flicking" Disaster

• How Now, Mad Cow?

• Veal: Some OTHER White Meat

• Tree Free Campus Campaign Comes To WCC

• Campus Recycling Bin Contamination

• Recycling Industry Supports 1.1 Million American Jobs

• How Do I Recycle? Let Me Count The Ways

• PERU: Jewel Of The South Succumbs To Its Refuse

• Nuclear Nightmare On The Water

• Go, Granny!

• Cats In The Cradle, Cats On The Loose

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Personal Watercraft

• Why Ban Personal Watercraft from the Gateway National Recreation Area?

• Letter Opposing Personal Watercraft at Gateway National Recreation Area

• Petition against Personal Watercraft at Gateway National Recreation Area
  Please copy and distribute, and join in the struggle to keep PWC out of NY/NJ's richest marine/aquatic estuary.

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Press Releases

• November 1, 2003 - November 4th, 2003 protest of Japan's drive fishery
• December 2, 2003 - December 10, 2003 protest of Japan's drive fishery
• February 4, 2004 - February 10, 2004 presentation on Mundo Azul of Peru
• April 1, 2004 - April 21, 2004 Earth Day Festival
• September 1, 2004 - Labor Day Protest-NY Aquarium
• September 6, 2004 - Report On The Labor Day Protest
• September 1, 2005 - September 5, 2005 New York Aquarium Protest
• September 12, 2005 - September 21, 2005 "An Evening with Eddie Lama"

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Other Events

• Earth Day 2005 at Westchester Community College

• Art Inspired By Whales: International Artist Gulay Alpay

• Whales and the Quest for Survival in the 21st Century, Pace University, April 24, 2006

• Earth Day 2006

• 2006 IWC Protest Event, NYC

• Festival and Swim to Save Dolphins, September 17, 2006

• Dolphins: Just What Are They Thinking? Pace University, November 8, 2006

• Earth Day 2007: Mass To Save The Earth

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Archives

• October 8, 2005 International Day of Protest Against the Japanese Drive Fisheries
• September 15, 2005 - Press Release
• New York Activists Needed
• Report on the Demonstration

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Resources

The New York Whale And Dolphin Action League supports the work of many outstanding environmental organizations around the world. Please support these organizations and their noble efforts to protect marine life, the ocean environment and cetaceans in particular. Here are some of the groups we support.

Cetacean Society International
CSI, the parent organization for the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, is one of the plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit filed in August 2002 against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to challenge their decision to authorize, and the US Navy's decision to deploy, the LFA sonar system. Please visit http://csiwhalesalive.org/ for information from CSI on whale populations worldwide.
Please support our work! Joining CSI directly helps the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, and many other CSI projects with our important mission. Membership entitles you to receive CSI's quarterly newsletter as well.

Natural Resources Defense Council
The NRDC, http://www.nrdc.org/, is litigating against the US Navy for its use of high intensity military sonar which has been linked to several mass strandings of whales and dolphins. Studies have shown that high intensity military sonar can deafen cetaceans, destroy the hearing of fish and injure human divers while flooding entire ocean basins with sounds louder than the SST at takeoff.

Earth Island Institute
Earth Island Institute, http://www.earthisland.org/, is working on many marine issues, including LFA Sonar, captivity and drive fisheries. Earth Island's Marine Mammal Project is critical to environmentalists working on global cetacean issues.

Blue Voice
Please visit http://www.bluevoice.org/ to learn about efforts to halt the Japanese drive fisheries that slaughter hundreds of whales and dolphins at a time, some of which are culled to sell to aquarium. The BlueVoice video team have repeatedly risked their lives on the ground in Futo and Taiji documenting dolphin-slaughter atrocities. Their work has led to regulations restricting the hunt.

The research and efforts of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, http://www.wdcs.org/, have resulted in numerous scientific reports on cetacean issues, including the graphic anti-captivity report, "Biting the Hand That Feeds."

The Humane Society of the United States, http://www.hsus.org/, is actively working on cetacean captivity issues as well as military sonar while promoting the well-being of non-human species.

The Animal Welfare Institute, at http://www.awi.org/, has staff dedicated to protecting cetaceans and marine life, focusing especially on anti-whaling and military sonar issues. Its personnel have on numerous occasions risked personal safety to protect cetaceans.

For more information and archived files on the important struggle against military sonar and acoustic pollution please visit http://www.stoplfas.com/.

Read about and support the efforts to free the oldest surviving whale in captivity in the "Lolita Come Home Project" at http://www.orcahome.de/lolita.htm. Dedicated to the survival of killer whales the Orca Conservancy, at http://www.orcaconservancy.org/, and the Orca Network, at http://www.orcanetwork.org/, offer a wealth of information while working for the pres