He is only 7 years old but he already has very clear ideas, that is to save the dolphins from the slaughter that every year sees them cruelly protagonists during the Taiji hunt in Japan, what is now considered the Bay of Death.
He is only 7 years old but he already has very clear ideas, that is save the dolphins from the slaughter that every year sees them cruelly protagonists during the Taiji hunt in Japan, what is now considered the Bay of Death.
Imogen is the youngest of the volunteers of the Dolphin Project, an international team that has always fought to avoid the extermination of over a thousand dolphins that every year are brutally pushed into the bay to be slaughtered.
The hunt begins every first September, the mammals that manage to survive are not destined for a better future than those that do not. For them, in fact, they begin years of agony in marine parks.
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For this reason, Imogen decided to write a letter intended for the mayor of Taiji to ask him to stop this slaughter. After having already obtained a day of respite from the start of the hunt, the little girl together with her mother Vicki Kiely and another volunteer of the project, have made a long journey to go - with little expectations of being welcomed and listened to - in the office of the mayor. .
In fact, in no time, the mayor Kazutaka Sangen it was there in front of them.
“He was very helpful, what was supposed to be a five-minute meeting was instead a dialogue of over twenty. The mayor read the letter with the help of a translator, dwelling on Imogen's words on how much it was wrong to kill the dolphins, ”he said Vicki Kiely.
Imogen had already prepared, together with her class, also a plan B.
"I told the mayor that money could be made even without killing the dolphins, that is, hunters could buy boats and take tourists around to see the mammals from afar, making them pay a ticket, but without hurting anyone", Imogen explained.
This was the mayor's response, Kazutaka Sangen of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture, after listening to the little girl.
“It is not in my faculty to stop hunting because the Japanese government has given permits, so the fishermen are not breaking the law. This is their job and a means of earning a living. All I can do is make them they don't break the law killing or capturing endangered or life-threatening dolphins. Only then will I be able to punish who does not respect the rules ".
“Immediately after these words, the mayor showed us the administrative plan to save the dolphin populations rare and threatened. According to the document, when they are mistakenly captured, they are then released back into the wild, ”he added Vicki Kiely.
A dialogue which, even if it did not achieve the desired effects, also served to bring two populations together and seriously discuss this useless slaughter. Even Imogen with her seven years was satisfied with the meeting.
“The mayor gave me a bag with a dolphin and a whale, I'm very happy that he listened to me”.
name="the-slaughter-of-dolphins-in-taiji">The slaughter of dolphins in Taiji
In the meantime, however, something has also moved on other fronts. L'Japanese Fisheries Agency it authorized fishermen to kill or capture almost 16 cetaceans, a very high number for sure but lower than in the last two years (23).
Nearly two thousand of these could be killed in Death Bay, the rest with hand harpoons all over the coast of Japan.
What can we do
On the Dolphin Project there are some suggestions on how to contribute, in our small way, to change.
1) Stop buying dolphin show tickets
2) Sign the petition to stop the violence against dolphins
3) Watch The Cove or Blackfish documentary to fully understand the problem
4) Support the project to save dolphins through a donation
