The Movie " The Cove"

Recently I got the following questions about the movie "The Cove" (the movie made by activists exposing the annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan ) from my the son of one of my closest friends.


His questions were so thought provoking and so worthy of serious reply that it took me several days to compose my response.


Now that I have answered him I also want to share my response with others because in my answer to this young man I realized I articulated many strong opinions that hold regarding our relationship not just with dolphins but with all animals as well as other human beings.


His questions 


How much was fact and how much was exaggeration the film "The Cove" ? 


Is what's going on in Taiji as bad as claimed, or is it a only very small portion of the dolphin population affected? 


Also, claims were made very whole-hearted claims about dolphins' self awareness and high intelligence, like that the Dolphin Kathy who played Flipper committed suicide. Is any of that true, or even plausible? 
The Japanese representative to the IWC (the International Whaling Commission)  representative of Japan is made out to be a cold hearted person who lies to the world everyday about what goes on in Taiji. Truth? 


Sorry about all of these questions, but I just wanted to pick apart as much of this documentary as possible and analyze it for truth. 


My Response: 


Excuse my delay in responding to your E-mail. Your questions are some what difficult for me to answer. 


First, yes, dolphins are highly intelligent, social, and complex creatures who suffer loss, who are self-aware, who have complex language systems and who can grieve. That said, being intelligent and self aware is not the only or even the defining pre-requisite for not being harmed or caused to suffer needlessly by another.

Any sentient creature has the right not to be harmed by another especially those of us who "know" what we do, and do so even though we could choose not to do so.


The IWC representatives from Japan as well as Norway and Iceland are not cold blooded they are ignorant. 

Ignorance has always been a primary cause where ever suffering and needless pain and death have occurred as a consequence of human behavior, be it to animals or to other humans. 

Jonathan Swift the great English satirist wrote," I am never surprised to see men wicked, but I am always amazed that they are not later ashamed". 

What goes on annually in Taiji is brutal, and unnecessary and represents the last vestiges of a barbaric past relationship man has had for eons with dolphins as well as whales.

Thus in answer to your questions, "yes" the facts in the movie "The Cove" are accurate. 

My issue with so many "activists" is what was the motivation for the film? 

These groups fund raise on exposing issues and atrocies, they often gain international attention, but what do they do as a afterwards to stop the 

killing and the brutality?

Did they even have a strategy for following up after the movie? 

What has this film done to reduce even by a single dolphin one death?

Did alienating the Japanese as a nation help those dolphins? Will it help future dolphins? 

I am at a point in my life where unless you have a plan to make things better, just "stirring the pot" to make yourself look good or make money, is not enough. And it is not justified in my opinion. 

In closing one thing you wrote disturbed me.

You wrote," Is what's going on in Taiji as bad as he said, or is it a very small portion of the dolphin population? "

Words like "population" like the words "species" or words like "human kind" or "man kind" or "the forest" are just terms we as a people use to categorize what we observe around us.

Forests, mankind, people, don't feel pain, suffer and die, only individuals do.

You don't cut down a forest, you cut down one tree at a time and if you cut down enough individual trees people say "you cut down a forest". 

How many trees does it take to make a forest?

You don't save or destroy human kind or people. You kill or harm and a real person, an individual or you save that individual person. 

Never think that the harming or killing of a single living individual regardless of species is made acceptable by its single impact on a larger group. 

That individual has the right  to exist and flourish and live their life unharmed as 

much as you or I. 

The reason the Vietnam Memorial in DC is so moving so emotionally heart wrenching is that when you read the names of the 55,000 plus individuals that died in that conflict you cannot think they were just 55,000 soldiers, no, they were 55,000 individuals who dreams, whose experiences, who joys were snuffed out.

If one dolphin or one person suffers or dies for no good reason then it is wrong at every ethical and moral level, (from my perspective).