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an infinitely hot & dense dot 
The documentary film “The Cove” was another eye opening but depressing film to watch. I was unaware that Japan kills so many dolphins each year, especially including the fact that I love seafood and sushi. It will be hard eating those foods and thinking about how the food got there in the first place and the possibility of high mercury levels in many fish products. I was always amazed by seeing the whale shows at Sea World, but knowing the background information from the film makes me second guess everything. I did not know that the sea creatures were held captive when waiting to perform; I thought they were contained in an environmentally safe area. What humans are doing to dolphins and whales is so cruel. I cannot believe that the Japanese town filmed in the movie has not been caught or arrested for what they were doing to the dolphins. I can’t believe that they don’t think the way they are treating the animals is bad. The amount of blood that was in the water made me want to cry, I couldn’t believe someone would harm such a loving and intelligent creature. I knew that dolphins had a good relationship with humans, but from the looks of this movie it seems like dolphins will eventually stop trusting and protecting humans. I also knew beforehand that dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures, but I did not realize that scientists and researchers have come up with so many different ways to communicate with them. I feel like there is a special bond between humans and dolphins. We should be treating them differently, preserving each of their lives instead of fishing and capturing them. Humans could learn from dolphins like the man mentioned in the film. I am really happy that this group of activists made a film to make the population aware of how dolphins are treated.
I think it’s quite surprising that such a small city like Taji, could be caught up in such a big scandal like they are now. The city even has a museum catered to whales and dolphins, and because of that, I would expect them to somewhat honor and care for these creatures in their home town. One quote that surprised me was when the fisherman told Ric that, “If the world finds out what’s going on, then we would be shut down.” I was so surprised at this statement because morally, they know what they are doing is wrong, but they are still casually carrying on. Their government is obviously corrupted and I feel like they are all just greedy for money. It’s shocking to find out what people would do just to make a profit, it its pretty disgusting, especially since you’re putting your town and country name on the line. The world is going to look down on your country and just assume that your whole nation is corrupt. The one thing i just couldn’t stand was just how the entire town was trying so hard to keep this secret. They had museums for everyone to come see and they even had boats in the shape of dolphins and whales! I completely understand where Ric is coming from because he feels that because of his famous movie Flipper, that he caused an outbreak of everyone wanting dolphins. Just the fact that this man was arrested 3 times in one year just shows how dedicated to the situation he is. All he wants to do is just fix the problem that he feels that he made, which I honestly don’t think is his fault at all. Also, just the fact the people were actually murdered, just like Jenny is ridiculous. One funny thing that Ric did say was when he compared buying a dolphin every year to basically buying a Porsche. It basically just shows how much he actually cares for these animals and also shows everyone how valuable these creatures truly are to these hunters. Never do I ever want to see the little body of water that was filled with blood, just because of where the slaughter took place. It was just heartbreaking. I’m glad to know that the man in charge of everything, Hideki Moronuki, was fired and I’m glad dolphin meet was removed from the school’s lunch menu. I’m surprised that other smaller countries have been recruited by Japan after this documentary, but I believe the production of this industry will soon come to an end, especially because we all know morally who’s in the wrong.
Lindsay Hoop
“The Cove” is a documentary filmed by a team who sought out to basically save the dolphins that are being “secretly” slaughtered in Taiji, Japan. The fact that the town is so “pro” whales and dolphins is such a joke and is completely ironic because of the killings they are doing. The town acts like they love the dolphins and whales, but in reality all they want is to captivate them and kill them for profit. Watching this movie literally breaks my heart because of my love for animals, and it’s sickening how people can do these types of things to these animals. The fact that these animal killers murdered activists makes me even madder. The thing that shocks me the most is that half of the Japanese people did not even know about how many dolphins were being killed, eaten, and shipped off to different parts of the world just to make money. I loved how one Japanese girl said that dolphins are not something you typically eat, they are something you watch for enjoyment. Which is completely true, but the only typical way we watch them is normally at aquariums and parks, which is half of the issue. How could someone possibly eat Flipper, an animal that can understand humans and read humans? Exactly they normally do not. Like the movie stated that the packages were incorrectly labeled, so the buyers are thinking they are purchasing a different type of fish meat, not dolphin. Not only was this consumption of the dolphin meat causing life threatening diseases within pregnant women and their babies back in the 1900s, but also the people were almost unaware of the fact that this was the cause. How Japan would even think to feed the little children in schools meat that is filled with mercury literally blows my mind. I would love for their children to be the ones consuming it because in reality they most likely would make other arrangements so their child would not have to do that. After the crew set up the hidden cameras around the area, the film that was captured gave me goose bumps because it was so disturbing. It baffles me that after this movie was released, that this slaughtering is still going on in Japan.
Christian Morales
This documentary was literally incredible. I could not believe what these dolphins are being put through. I knew that whaling and the slaughtering of dolphins was occurring, don’t get me wrong, but I had not idea it was this intense. It is also amazing that this is the man from Flipper. My dad had told me about that show. The worst part for me what the suicide. Dolphins can actually commit suicide and they know they are doing it too. When that dolphin swam up to him and looked at him for the last time before ending its life, I would have probably cried. How can anyone who kills these innocent creatures live with him or herself? I mean I understand we kill other animals to eat them, but dolphins are so intelligent, they actually help people. They like people and understand. They are very intelligent. Also I hate sea world. How can you keep dolphins in a tank and not realize sooner how they are continuously dying? I had no idea that a dolphin’s sonar was so intense. They can view the whole insides of our bodies. The poles the Japanese use to make the dolphins swim to where they capture them are pure forms of torture. They get stressed out and enough that some die. Only one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a show dolphin? Really? That’s all they are worth to us? They should be worth so much that no one touches them. One more thing I really couldn’t believe, that woman was strangled with her own belt for all of this. She was fighting for the cause and was literally murdered. That is barbaric. I don’t know how the Japanese can eat dolphin. That is degusting. I am glad it was removed from the student’s lunches. Like the surfer was saying in the film, the dolphin actually helped him. They dolphins hit the shark and made it go away which in turn could have basically saved his life. Since we are treating them so horrible, they will eventually grow to hate us. How can we ruin such an amazing bond with a fantastic creature? How did they even sense the danger the surfer was in? At least the activists did what they were there to do. They got footage of the whole area and gave out information of the situation. They got the message out there. The leader of the IWC is dumb. He spoke about them on an emotional level, saying they are just like other animals and basically we shouldn’t be emotionally attached. What they don’t understand is that they are such an amazing species. They are so intelligent and they need to be saved. I am very happy to be enlightened by this film and hope the activists achieve their goal some day.
“The Cove” is a sad documentary that, like “If a Tree Falls,” really shows the horribly direction the world is heading in and how our environment is on a path to irreversible destruction. The movie really got interesting drew me in, with its use of bugged rooms and men in gray suits. These men, beyond police, follow Mr. Psihoyos and his crew and prevent them from recording the degrading dolphin capture and slaughter that support the economy of Taiji, Japan, and employ its fisherman. The methods used to kill these dolphins are so violent and savage-like that areas of Taiji are under constant surveillance to make sure no one finds about what is really going on. The story contains heroes and villains. I especially like the part where the Japanese councilmen risk losing their job to protect the children in school from dolphin meat that is tainted with mercury. This movie really just shows again how people will do the most morally wrong things just to make a quick buck. Just looking at all that blood in the water made me want to throw up. Animals should be priceless to us. We should not look at other organisms and think of them as money. I am glad that the activists did their job so well. They got video footage of the entire area and what goes on, the showed it to the world so people know what goes on in Taiji. The tourists and people there are completely fooled by the boats shaped like dolphins. The scandal grew so big that people were murdered, a woman was strangled. That is ridiculous. Dolphins help humans. Dolphins made the shark go away from the surfer, possibly saving the surfer’s life. In the future, dolphins will catch on, and stop protecting humans if this continues.
I have never been more upset than when I watched this documentary. The fact that human beings can be so cruel as to kill thousands of innocent dolphins for the sake of money is beyond me. Being an animal lover and having had pets since the day I was born it is beyond my knowledge as to how anyone can brutally slaughter hundred of dolphins a day and go home with a smile on their face. These Japanese murderers deserve to rot in hell for what they do for a living. Money has become so important in today’s world that society is forgetting the actual important concepts of life. Nature needs to be left alone, and if society did not have activists like those in the documentary the dolphins in Japan may as well have become extinct within a year or less. I honour the activists who are willing to risk their own lives to better improve the world that we are living in. It is easy to look past the imperfections in this world but it is much harder to actually step up and make a difference. I never considered the dolphins and whales in aquariums or who perform in front of people at shows to be prisoners until I watched this documentary. However, now it makes a lot of sense. Although, we may enjoy and be amazed at what these animals can be taught we cannot forget the fact that they do not belong in a small aquarium surrounded by public noise and flashy cameras. Rather, they need to be set free in the ocean where they can swim as far as they would like, because as the documentary mentioned dolphins swim up to forty miles a day. I hope one day animal cruelty and child abuse and everything evil in this world will have an end put to it.
Watching this Documentary really opened up my eyes. The documentary only shows the sides of the activist, which makes it very biased. At many points I had to walk away from the screen just because blood was coming out of the dolphins body. It is unbelievable how the entire nation of Japan does not know about this. It is also most shocking that many foundations are only protecting whales and not dolphins. I live 2 minutes from Sea World in Orlando and it is shocking to find out how bad it is for the dolphins. The closed captivity causes death due to sound. Also this video formed a huge impact on my point of view on zoo’s and theme parks that hold animals captive. Many people will find out about this crisis through word of mouth, but this video makes me want to become an activist. It was put together very well. First off they formed visuals even though they didn’t have pictures or videos. They got up close and personal and did not care if the Japanese opposed them. They truly opened the eyes of many locals and people around the nation. The lagoon noise caused me to feel eerie and I still think about it at night. The sound of the Japanese people hitting the poles in the water was the worst feeling in the world. I compare this to the holocaust and compare the dolphins to the Jewish people. The good ones are chosen to go help at camps, just like the good dolphins go to the zoo’s. The bad ones or young ones are killed immediately just like the dolphins were. The dolphin meat was used for food through out Japan and the people don’t even know that they are eating the dolphin meat. The overall documentary was put together very well.
After watching this documentary, The Cove, I automatically felt sympathy for the dolphins and the people trying to help them. Now this is a common reaction to any documentary about preservation of animals. But the fact that dolphin are one of the smartest animals alive on this earth makes it feel almost like murder. At times I found myself wanting to be there, helping O’Barry in these situations. I found myself developing an intense anger towards these Japanese fisherman. How could they be so stupid and insensitive to these animals? There is no positive reason to killing dolphins because the meat is poisonous. I understand why they might catch live ones. Dolphin sows are popular around the world. But they only keep a small portion.
I really enjoyed the very ending when O’Barry wore the TV on his chest and walked into the IWC meeting. I felt that was the most peaceful yet real way of showing these men in their suits what was really happening.
Another favorite part of mine was when they showed the deputy of fisheries for Japan, Hideki Moronuki, the video of how they were killing the dolphins after he had just explained that it was a quick painless process. His face was honestly a priceless one. He had the face of a man who knew he had been caught lying about the process. He had no idea that anyone had video of the process.
I thought this was a really well done documentary. It showed the terrible things happening in Taiji, Japan. IT did its job in the sense that it made me, the viewer, want to take action. I found myself debating texting the number at the end of the video. I just wanted to get involved and help. I also think that what they are doing is the right thing. Somebody needs to step in.
The documentary “The Cove” is a true and heartbreaking story about the capturing and killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Activists have been trying to uncover the cruel and harsh unexplained killings for years. With the right amount of persistence and spy gear they were able to show the world how the dolphins are being killed in a sea of their own blood.
The act of killing such an intelligent creature is sad, yet the act of doing it in a cruel way is depressing. The fishermen off the coast of Taiji use the dolphin’s echolocation for their own advantage. Banging a metal rod in the water they create a wall of sound that is excruciatingly painful to the dolphins ears. With this wall they drive the dolphins to shore and net them off. Dolphin trainers select the prettiest dolphins to use for tricks and the rest are slaughtered and sold.
The Japanese people do not even know this is happening. They claim to not eat that much dolphin because its meat is not that tasteful nor is it high class. However the fisherman are mislabeling the meat simply to sell it. Not only are they tricking the consumers, but the government is covering up the dolphin murders by giving the meat to its school children.
Mercury is also a bg problem in this scandal. People are getting tested positive with mercury poisoning from the dolphins because of toxic waste in the ocean. Now the disease is spreading to children and uninformed consumers.
The documentary was very well made. The trouble the filmmakers went through (breaking and entering, using undercover cameras) shows how much they truly care for the fair treatment of these dolphins and their need to survive. The sadness only draws the watchers in more, wanting to help make the difference and put an end to the slaughter.
Zoe Unger
The “Cove” makes me angry and worried. I was aware that things like this occurred, but I never knew it was to this degree. The harm they are doing to the environment is by far the worst I’ve ever seen. They are harming themselves to through the mercury which makes it even worse. This documentary makes me want to do something about it. I’d love to see them shut down. However this is a supply and demand case, which makes it nearly impossible to shut it down. It’s funny how they relate whales to the reason why fish are decreasing, but before they killed the whales and before the world began mass fishing fish were much more plentiful. The ocean is dying. I have grown up near the ocean and I much prefer the water over the land. I don’t want the ocean to dye out as it is today, but it seems so difficult to fight against the current of our world and save nature. The most powerful scene in this film, I think, was when you saw the mass killing and the red water. I never thought the water could turn so red and so bloody. At first I thought that the image of the blood red water was just an attention getter, but it was real. It didn’t surprise me as much as confuse me. How could these humans work like this and not have a guilty conscience. Why is it such a secret in Japan? How can I help? It makes me wonder why I never heard of this on TV before. I am also afraid for the Japanese population and their exposure to mercury. IF the government is hiding the mercury consumption from them, then what else are they hiding? Might they all be breathing and living in toxic fumes which will slowly become known to them. I don’t want to imagine what might happen to their future.
The Cove is a earth shattering brilliant documentary. Living in Florida, we have all been or know about the dolphin and killer whale shows that take place everyday. I’ve been to this once magical place several times in my life. The shows with shamu peaked my love for marine life as a child. I loved going to sea world. I even participated in sea world camp for several summers. I always believed that Seaworld has the best intentions for their marine life, however as I grow older my eyes have been opened to the truth. Sure the animals kept in captivity are treated well and are given the necessary nutrition, but captivity can not provide the freedom of the open sea. Dolphins deprived of the open ocean become depressed and lifeless. They long for the freedom of the open sea. For most this fact can be utterly depressing. If only people new that the dolphins sent to captivity from the small Japanese town of Taiji are the lucky ones. Activist Richard O’Barry has dedicated his life to destroy the industry he built. He and his team has uncovered the inhumane actions of the fisherman in the small town of Taiji. The scene of the slaughtering sent chills down my spine. The cove was completely engulfed in the blood of helpless dolphins. It’s one of the roughest scenes I have ever seen. Even in the desensitized era of the internet, I had to force myself to watch the atrocity. I have deep respect for Japan, but after watching this film I have lost respect for its government who very well knows of this atrocity. Their reasoning that dolphins are destroying the fish population is stupid. Study shows that overfishing is the cause of the decline of the population of fish. Richard O’Barry and his team are true heroes for exposing the whaling industry in Taiji. Unlike the previous documentary, I could see myself going to the extremes the team. I may never get the chance to, but if I were ever given a chance to help marine life, I would immediately take it.
“The Cove” was such an emotional documentary to watch. Richard O’ Barry had originally captured Kathy for the hit show “Flipper.” The two of them had a connection that no one could explain. He could tell Kathy’s emotions and he loved her so. All was good until the day she swam into his arms and breathed her last breath. Yes, a dolphin committed suicide. I honestly didn’t even know that was possible for an animal to do, and it made me so sad to know that this dolphin was so miserable that she would rather die. From that point on, Richard became one of the leading activists to free the captive dolphins. The biggest issue of dolphins being caught was in Taiji, Japan. Here, they would blockade a ton of dolphins in one common area, and day after day they would either slaughter the dolphins for meat, or they would allow dolphin trainers/swimmers come to choose dolphins to bring to aquariums. However, none of the civilians in Taiji knew that this was going on, and they were infuriated. They had no idea that their children were being exposed to such high levels of mercury through the school (dolphin) meat. The workers of this operation would prevent people from seeing anything they were doing. If people came up with cameras they would stand in front of the cameras, or hold signs up so that nothing could be captured on film. However, Richard and a bunch of other activists took matters into their own hands. They created a plan to implant rocks along the cove that had cameras in them. They finally showed everyone the truth of what was occurring. Honestly, this documentary made me tear up and gave me the chills. It blew my mind that human beings could be so beyond cruel to animals. I think the part that got me the most was the part about Flipper. I have swam with dolphins before and I have gone to countless aquariums. I would have never known the pain that they feel being held captive. It breaks my heart that these beautiful creatures are being treated as poorly as they, and I hope that one day the issue will be completely gone.
The first time I’ve ever watched The Cove was in 11th grade with my marine biology class. My teacher was very passionate about the ocean, the animals, and helping us become aware of what people all over the country do to these poor innocent animals. When I first saw The Cove I was in shock about how the people in Taji could just get away with slaughtering so many dolphins and passing it off as whale meat. Not only are they hurting and punishing innocent animals, they’re also falsely advertising the “product” that they are selling and putting the people of Japan at risk of mercury poisoning. It was extremely painful to watch the conditions in which they kept the dolphins in and how they were treated and slaughtered. Dolphins in my opinion are one of the smartest animals out there that we could benefit from. To think that people could just get away with all of this especially after the documentary is sickening. This movie was from the activists point view, which in turn made it bias. But what I liked most about this documentary was that even though it is bias it opens up your eyes to a whole new world, it teaches you that everywhere around the world we’re slowly hurting our planet. This documentary also opened up my eye to the captivity of dolphins and whales in sea world. I don’t think it’s right that people can take these animals out of their environment and keep them in a tank way to small for them just to make money off of entertainment. Animals are not meant to be in captivity unless it’s the only way to keep them alive. Keeping them captive will make them go insane and eventually lead to tragedies like the one in sea world with the whale trainer. Everyone wants to blame the animal when in reality it’s their fault for keeping a wild animal captive. I think everyone should watch the cove just to see what’s really going on in the world.
I was not really sure what to expect before watching ‘The Cove’. At first I thought it was bad that they were killing the dolphins, but if the Japanese are eating the dolphins, how does that make what they are doing any worse than what we are doing to cows or chickens in America? I was not ready when I got to the part of the documentary when the interviewed Japanese people had never heard of people eating dolphins. It shocked me that 23,000 of them were being slaughtered each year and it is not even in the Japanese culture to (knowingly) eat dolphin.
To think that highly-poisonous dolphin meat is being falsely advertised as some fancy whale meat is absurd. People are being unknowingly poisoned with mercury and it is all because of the immoral actions of one small group of fishermen in the cove.
Some parts of the documentary were really sad and spoke to me. One that stands out is when O’Barry’s dolphin went into his arms, took one final breath, and committed suicide. It sounds crazy to think that a dolphin can commit suicide, but when you realize how intelligent they actually are, it is only sad to think that it hated its life in captivity so much that it did not want to even take another breath. Another really depressing part for me was seeing the sea of red constantly near the end of the film. Seeing so much blood and fishermen stabbing dolphins left and right was really heartbreaking.
It was nice to see that there were some improvements and steps forward at the end. That annoying Private Space guy was fired, another higher up guy was fired, and dolphin meat got removed from the lunch at a school. It is just scary to think that unless more progress is made, another Minimata disease could be around the corner.
For once it was a good thing that I had done my homework incorrectly. Had I watched this documentary all the way through, I don’t think I could stomach all of it. I really hate that Sea World was ruined for me. But at the same time it is awful the kind of treatment that these animals are going through. If this story were brought to everyone’s attention I think so more drastic actions would be taken. But people always want to make money so I don’t see an end to this business anytime soon.
To me it was like something out of a fictitious movie how O’Barry had pretty much single-handedly started this business and now is trying to put an end to it. It was very empowering, seeing how he is dedicating his life to right his own wrong.
The images in this movie were so disturbing to me. Probably more so than the people being pepper sprayed in, “If a Tree Falls…” because these animals were defenseless and they had no choice in their own fate. I feel as though I feel more for these animals than I do for protestors.
I also couldn’t stand how the way in which this documentary portrayed these Japanese people. It seemed to me as if they were all like this. They all seemed so corrupt and almost verging on hateful. I don’t think I have ever been so infuriated while watching something on a screen. The Japanese men who would just stand in the way of the people filming just bothered me to no end. It was like the biggest alert to me saying that, they knew this was wrong and they are trying to prevent it from being fixed.
Also, the blaring health facts that they were harming all Japanese people selling this meat. That there were poisoning their own people just to make some money, I just can’t comprehend that.
I thought that “The Cove” was a very interesting documentary. The main focus of the documentary is to inform people about what some companies are doing to whales and dolphins. I think that what some people and companies do to dolphins and whales are horrible. To keep an animal captive is extremely cruel and it is wrong. I think it is interesting that the leader of the company in Japan that captures dolphins and whales knows that what they are doing is wrong. He even explains that if people found out about what they were doing, then they would be shut down. I also thought that it was very ironic that the Japanese city, Taiji, had a lot of things that were dolphin and whale themed even though the city was built upon the capturing of these dolphins and whales. Richard O’Barry is an activist that wants to put an end to the capturing and selling of dolphins and whales in order to keep them captive. What he is doing is great. What hit me was the story that Richard O’Barry told about the reason why he wants to free the captive dolphins. The reason he does this is because of his previous experience with “Flipper”. He began his life keeping dolphins capture for shows and movies. One of these dolphins, Flipper, died right in front of him. This really hit him hard. Therefore, he decided to take action. Richard O’Barry became an activist against the captivity of dolphins. Therefore he tries to free up dolphins everywhere, and as a result he gets arrested many times. All in all, the capturing and selling of dolphins and whales is wrong and it needs to stop. This needs to be put to an end, and all dolphins and whales need to live in their natural habitat and not in captivity, so that they can remain healthy.
The Cove is a documentary telling the story of a group of activist secretly documented the capture and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. This movie is made by activists to bring light to situation, so naturally it is extremely biased.
In the 1960s Ric O’Barry was the dolphin trainer for the TV show Flipper. The head dolphin on the show then apparently committed suicide in O’Barry’s hands and that motivated him to become a dolphin activist. He then went around the world releasing captured dolphins. Louie Psihoyos meets O’Barry at a marine biology conference. They become friends and Louie becomes a dolphin activist. Louie assembles a team to help him document the dolphin slaughter Ocean’s Eleven sytle. They place cameras inside of fake rocks, sneak out to the cove and film the fishermen, and evade the policemen.
The Japanese government has convinced the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that dolphins are not whales, so they should not be protected by IWC. They also bribed small, bankrupt nations so that they will back their agenda in the IWC. At the end of the movie O’Barry walks into a meeting room wearing a TV showing video of the dolphin slaughter until he is escorted out.
I guess I do not have a conscious because I do not have a problem with dolphin hunting. In my mind meat is meat, so I see nothing wrong with dolphin hunting. If someone is going to become up in arms over the slaughter of one animal then they should have the same reaction to the slaughter of every other animal. I believe people are only finding this so horrible because they did not grow up eating dolphin meat. People have no problem eating cow, pig, and chicken even though they are raised on farms in much worse conditions for the sole purpose of slaughtering them.
After watching “The Cove” I was very sad and concerned for the dolphins in Japan. The mass killing of dolphins is makes me want to cry. Dolphins are beautiful creatures and I don’t know what makes people want to kill them, especially because you can’t eat them because they are high in mercury and you can get mercury poisoning. This was the second time I have seen this documentary and it was still just as hard to watch it the second time as it was the first. I found it ironic that the town in Japan had sea creature themed décor everywhere when they are killing the creatures they are in a way idolizing in the town. I found the investigators in the documentary to be very brave. They got into the faces of the Japanese men trying to everyone from not seeing what was going on in the cove. Even when they were being followed by Japanese police they still continued their mission to find the details of what exactly went on in the cove. The investigators used a lot of high tech equipment to get proof and data of what was going on. They hid video cameras in the bushes and other plants so the guards would not see or find them. I thought this was very clever of them. When they snuck into the area at night I was very nervous for them even though I knew the events had already happened. If I was in their position I would chicken out when we got there and make someone else complete my part. It was a very suspenseful situation. My favorite part of the documentary was the very end where they show up at the conference and make the accusations to Japan and use the footage that the collected as proof.
I have known in the past that certain Japanese cities kill massive amounts of whales (and dolphins) right in front of seaside streets, but I never knew the impact it causes until I watched “The Cove.” I highly respect O’Brien for turning back on the industry of dolphin training and move onto dolphin liberation. His viewpoint made me consider not going back to any of the seaquariums that display dolphin shows because I now know that the dolphins are indeed going through deep depression. The fact that dolphins decide to take each breath astonishes me, and to think that they could go through so much pain to take their lives away really made me feel touch by the loss of O’Brien’s dolphin. I thought this topic would lead onto talking about why captivity is wrong but it lead me to another surprising point, and that is that there is high demand to capture large amounts of dolphin off the coast of Taji. I personally thought that the fishermen would at least be decent enough to let go the other dolphins not worthy enough to be trained, but as soon as I saw that they killed them and sold them for meat, I was deeply disappointed and mad. On top of this massive slaughter, I really found it nauseating that the whole town appeared to love dolphins and how the city government was in it to keep dolphin slaughter legal. I find it a sad reminder how those fishermen are overtaken by the idea of making a profit, while ignoring the inhumane factor of killing dolphins, and the health implications of selling dolphin meat. On the subject of selling dolphin or whale meat, I find it horrible that it can be sold anywhere in Japan, without people knowing what meat they’re eating. It’s not just the fact that the meat itself is toxic, but the dolphin is not like a fish that doesn’t share high intelligence. The video showed me that dolphins are very social animals, that have the impressive capability of self awareness and the precise use of their biological sonar. All of these human like characteristics make me worry that dolphins in captivity or being slaughtered are not even looked over as beautiful fascinating creatures. I really hope that the film produced by O’Brien, his friends, and his friends can get through to the IWC or any national commission and actually convince them to stop all types of whale/dolphin killing.
The cove really opened my eyes to something I had no idea was going on. I have always loved dolphins and thought they were amazing creatures, ever since I was a little boy I would get extremely excited when I would see dolphins jumping out of the water or whenever I was on a boat and would see dolphins follow me I would be very fascinated. They have always striked me as the smartest animals in the world, but what O’barry and Psihoyos shed light on is something that disgusted and deeply angered me, what is the point of rounding up and mass murdering all of these dolphins? And why does the Japanese government keep it a secret? I feel like the residents of Taji, Japan should be disturbed and angered by such a thing, but they knew about it all along and were well aware of it which really surprised me. Dolphin meat is barely even edible, so by killing and eating all of these dolphins the Japanese people are just putting themselves in danger. If I was O’Barry of Psihoyos I would have done the same thing and shed light on this incident. I think that the directors of this film were really motivated by what they found and were determined to expose such a horrid secret, and that’s why this documentary was so good, because the directors were passionate about it. These mass dolphin killings are just unexplainable, what do they do with the dolphins that they don’t sell to aquariums? Do they just kill them for sport? It is absurd to kill so many dolphins which are barely even edible. This documentary really opened my eyes to the harsh realities of the world around us. This documentary should be seen by the entire world and a movement should be started to save the dolphins.