How to make Libby cry...

[dougirwin13]

And probably a few others too.

On the upside Dave Rastovich shows just what kind of human being he really is.

Oh yeah, and "the cheerleader" from Heroes is there too.

Does she surf? I don't think so - not from the way she paddles that board.

Part 1
From: http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_071028_1.html

10/28/2007
Surfers Take Action for Dolphins

Sea Shepherd is currently in Osaka, Japan working with the international surfing community's efforts to stop the annual dolphin slaughter that claims more than 25,000 intelligent and innocent lives every year in Taiji and adjacent seaside towns and villages. Pro Surfer Dave Rastovich is a leading advocate for the plight of these animals and refers to dolphins as "the original surfers." He has called on the surfing community to take a look at what's going on. Rasta's group, Surfers for Cetaceans, along with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Save the Waves, Minds in the Water, and The Whaleman Foundation joined in an action in Taiji, Japan on October 27. In one of the bays where thousands of dolphins are killed, 22 people with surfboards and wet suits paddled into the water and formed a prayer circle to honor their memory. After the surfers returned to shore the police asked for passports and took photos of everybody that was there.

The police had known for weeks that a plan was in the works to oppose the killing of the Taiji dolphins. It so happens that no dolphins were being killed during this time because the Japanese were afraid of being exposed. Rastovich was able to meet with some local community members and discuss the high mercury level in the dolphin meat. The action raised the noise level and opened people's minds. Sea Shepherd's presence puts the dolphin killers on notice that we will not rest until the slaughter stops. This is another episode in a battle to save the world's cetaceans.

For more information on Sea Shepherd's campaign to oppose the dolphin slaughter visit our Taiji Campaign homepage.



-doug
Compsand.com - The Composite Surfboard Cooperative!
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[dougirwin13]

So the Jap fishermen just waited until they left...

Part 2
From: http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_071029_1.html

10/29/2007
Surfers Return To Taiji And Expose Pilot Whale Slaughter

Less than 24 hours after professional surfer and Sea Shepherd supporter Dave Rastovich led an international group of over 30 surfers, celebrities, and musicians on a peaceful paddle-out ceremony to honor the more than 25,000 dolphins killed each year in Japan, fishermen in the tiny village of Taiji resumed the slaughter that had been delayed by the increased worldwide media attention.

In response, the surfers decided in solidarity to make a pre-dawn return to the killing cove to recreate the ceremony, albeit with fewer people to evade detection. Rastovich and the others paddled within a stone's throw of a pod of captive pilot whales and their calves who had been herded into the cove for early morning slaughter.

"The reason we surfers were there was to share the blood-stained waters at eye-level with our ocean kin awaiting their execution," said a dripping, visibly shaken Rastovich, just after paddling in. "Despite the fishermen taking great pains to hide their acts of cruelty, we seized an opportunity to bring this travesty to the world's attention."

Taiji-area fishermen, who kill dolphins and whales for their meat, netted off the bay and constructed green tarps to shield the slaughter from prying eyes and front-line cetacean activists bent on shutting down the dolphin trade forever. When the surfers learned of the imminent slaughter, they did not hesitate to return, despite the distinct possibility of violent resistance and police arrest.

Rastovich and his core team of surfers, trailed by camera crews, arrived at the infamous Taiji cove to paddle out to the captured pilot whales. After entering the water, they quickly arrived alongside the whales, who swam back and forth along the edge of the seaward net.

The six paddlers, including Rastovich, his wife and mermaid model Hannah Fraser, Heroes TV star Hayden Panettiere, Australian actress Isabel Lucas, author Peter Heller, and professional surfer Karina Petroni, formed a traditional surfers' memorial circle situated between the whales and the blood-ridden shallows.

Local fishermen converged almost immediately, harassing the paddlers with threats and advancing on them with whirling propeller blades. The irate fishermen yelled "Why are you here? Go Home!" and then used a long wooden pole to attack and intimidate the surfers.

"Even though the fishermen used force to try and break us up, we held our peaceful stance. The feeling in the circle was of incredible strength," said Fraser.

With tensions escalating and the police sirens growing, the surfers quickly paddled back to shore where a distraught Panettiere fell to her knees sobbing, overwhelmed by the carnage she and the group had just witnessed.

"I couldn't believe how red the water was," said Panettiere. "The whales were so scared. Hopefully their deaths won't be in vain."

After hightailing it out of Taiji, the three-van convoy was stopped at the border of Wakayama prefecture by 30 policemen readied with a paddy wagon. After checking passports and questioning the group intently, the police waved the crew on their way.

Rastovich expressed extreme sorrow, saying, "With many nets and kill boats waiting beyond the cove, the fishermen's intense desire to kill left no room for escape."

Reflecting on the day's experience, a somber Lucas expressed that the worst part was that the whales are probably all dead by now. "We couldn't save these whales, but hopefully shining the light on their deaths will save others."


For more information on Sea Shepherd's campaign to oppose the dolphin slaughter visit our Taiji Campaign homepage.



Note the blood in the water in the background.

Charming, huh? Seems some people still think that raping the ocean is their birthright.

Anyone want to write a snooty letter to their local Japanese embassy?

-doug
Compsand.com - The Composite Surfboard Cooperative!

[libby]

Yep, its totally crazy, in some ways i can just about deal with the IWC giving some indigenous groups the right to kill small numbers of whales and dolphins in a traditional way, but the above situation makes me feel sick.

[myate]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1291049,00.html

[long_man]

why o why do the Japanese feel the need to inflict such pain on such harmless mammals, and i cant believe that they have actually constructed tarpaulin tents to stop passers by from seeing..........

its completely in-humain.....

i feel completely helpless, maybe one day i'll be able to help in one way or another.....

[Dr Rev]

That does make me sick !! This is why i give to Greenpeace, to try and stop these evil people !!

[Sar]

I am not going to click on the links, I think I may have already seen a vid on this a while ago didnt feel right for a while after watching itl. I signed the petition about it but that felt like a somewhat hollow contribution to make.

[northswell]

Truly Shocking




on the plus side tho the girl from heroes is 18

[libby]

[ceweal]

I saw this bit of news posted on a celebrity news blog. It was of course posted there because of Hayden Panettiere.

Initially I thought it was just another publicity act for Hayden because it was posted along with pictures of her singing in a karaoke bar after being at the beach. And people on that celebrity news blog noticed the randomness of Dave Rastovich's wife in a mermaid costume more instead of what the surfers' were really fighting for.

Anyway, I'm glad dougirwin13 posted this article. This detailed writeup wasn't included in that celebrity news blog. And now I am truly in awe of those surfers who were able to face those fishing boats that harrassed them with boat hooks and rotating propeller blades among other things!