UPDATE ON BELUGA WHALE IMPORT BY THE GA AQUARIUM

Several things you need to know and be informed about concerning our efforts to stop this action by the aquarium.
1.) An event has been created for next Saturday, July 21st, outside the GA Aquarium main entrance.  If you live in or near Atlanta, please help us out by attending the event!  You can read about it at the following link!
https://www.facebook.com/gaye.hunter.18/posts/448219275203203#!/events/380676355333421/

2.) A petition has been started going to the NOAA and you need to sign and share it please!
http://www.change.org/petitions/noaa-stop-georgia-aquarium-from-importing-wild-beluga-whales-for-captivity

3.)  The time will come when the permit the GA Aquarium has applied for will be published in the Federal Registry.  Once it is published, the public will have an opportunity to comment.  We want this to be the most commented on publication EVER in the history of the Federal Registry.  We will only have 30 days to comment once the permit is published and unfortunately we don't know exactly when that will be.  We do however have people making this a priority and we will inform you as soon as we know anything!

4.)  Share all of this information with whomever you can.  The public needs to know what the GA Aquarium is trying to do behind your back!  I say "behind your back" because who the heck really reads the Federal Registry, or even knows about it?  I didn't, but then that's not unusual for me.  So glad to have the people on my team who have the brains to uncover this information.

5.)  Stay Tuned!

Permits for the GA Aquarium to get more Beluga Whales for the USA???

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&tbo=1&rls=en&biw=1513&bih=842&sclient=psy-ab&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Flifestyle%2Fgeorgia-aquarium-plans-to-1467253.html&oq=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Flifestyle%2Fgeorgia-aquarium-plans-to-1467253.html&gs_l=serp.3...14412.14412.3.15806.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.1.pfLOt1_iZ_Q&pbx=1

It's been quite sometime since I've posted anything on my blog.  No excuses other than there are only so many hours in a day to do all the things I need to do......but all that aside....I couldn't let this go without commenting.

I found this in my Google Alerts yesterday at 5:50 p.m.  When I clicked on the link to view its contents, I was alerted that the article had been removed and could no longer be seen?  I immediately forwarded the alert to the Free the Atlanta 11 core group, which I am a part of, and one of our members, David Drolet, who is a computer "wizard" found the actual deleted article and posted to FB.  Now you can see it too!

These are my thoughts, questions, and remarks after reading the article....

1.)  How does "improving the genetic diversity of belugas in captivity" make the beluga population more stable?  OHHHHHHH, they mean the "CAPTIVE BELUGA POPULATION".  Got it!
They aren't having any luck with the breeding program of captive belugas or the belugas they have are too old to breed so they have to go rape the ocean of it's young breedable belugas to try captive breeding all over again!  Failing all these years evidently wasn't enough.  They want to go and destroy more beluga families in the wild.  (barf, barf, barf)

2.)  Conservation?  Really?  How dumb do you think the public is?  No wonder you didn't want the story out!  The public is getting wise to your use of the word "conservation" to protect your lucretive captivity industry!  Yes, lucretive industry!  Already 2 million dollars spent on this project just so you can select the most breedable belugas from their pod?  Isn't that leaving the pod in a desparate situation to replenish themselves?  What are they thinking?  Conservation!  Give me a break!  There are so many worthy causes out there to spend your money on!  Real conservation organizations!  But then you would be just spending your overflow of money, you wouldn't be getting anything out of it in return.  Got it!

3.)  "We want to fix this mess so our children and grandchildren can see belugas", states William Hurley, chief zoological officer at the GA Aquarium.  Exactly what mess are you referring to?  Sounds to me like you are admitting that the GA Aquarium has made a mess of the captive beluga breeding industry!  Sounds to me like maybe this statement is the reason why the story was pulled!  I know for sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way....so take note...."As long as I draw breath, I will educate my children and grandchildren that seeing marine mammals such as dolphins, whales, seals, manatees, ect. in a captive atmosphere is nothing but SAD and does nothing for conservation!    They don't have to see them this way! There are alternative methods!  Films, documentaries, whale watching expeditions, books, ect.   I will explain to them how and why, the real truth, about the mammals violent capture and the conditions they are made to live in so that the aquariums and SeaWorlds of this country can make money from the public just to satisfy our curiosities.  I will make sure that they know to teach their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on to NEVER go to a whale or dolphin show or exhibit if they really love whales and dolphins." 
My heart bleeds for the belugas and their families that you, GA Aquarium, are about to destroy.  Call it what you want, I've got your number!  You are destroyers, NOT conservationists!

If you agree with me and many others who feel the same, please let us know...let the power of the people speak out against what the aquarium is about to do!

I'm going to see if the group can find out who is in charge of giving out permits for the GA Aquarium to acquire more belugas.  Once I find out that information, I'll let you know and we will start a petition to lend our voices for the beluga families this will hurt!
  

Just Say "NO" to the Dolphin Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saK79BvBnLM&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8QTOMY78Ok&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CP8HIyePLGo#!

JUST SAY "NO" TO THE DOLPHIN SHOW!  Few but mighty in Atlanta GA, Free the Atlanta 11 held an educational event outside the GA Aquarium where they passed out flyers, dvds, and coloring books to the public to educate them on why they should not buy a ticket to the dolphin show.  Now that the aquarium has included the dolphin show in the general admission price of the GA Aquarium, those of us who would choose not to see the show must pay a higher price regardless.  Not only that, but due to the limited number of shows put on at the dolphinarium, many people can not get in to see what they have paid for.
 
Once again, these shows have nothing to do with conservation of dolphins and whales.  They are the reason for the brutal captures and deaths of thousands of dolphins and whales every year.  Why would anyone support that?

Thank-you to Martha Brock of Free the Atlanta 11 and her personal blog Cove Blue For Jiyu, http://coveblueforjiyu.com/2012/04/21/dont-go-to-the-dolphin-show-ric-obarry-interview/ for sharing these Ric O'Barry interviews!  I'm proud to say Martha is a close friend and member of the board of Free the Atlanta 11.  Thank-you again, Martha, for sharing!  Together we will reach the world for education about cetacean captivity!

Texans Travel to Taiji to Document Dolphin Slaughter - Washington DC Animal Advocacy | Examiner.com

Glad they finally made it. Just in time to help out towards the end of the hunt! Wishing them all the luck in the world.

Texans Travel to Taiji to Document Dolphin Slaughter - Washington DC Animal Advocacy Examiner.com

Conversation on YouTube with KingsProduction50?? Whoever that is?

I recently saw a video on You Tube of an Australian girl on a vacation with her grandmother in the Carribean. Her grandmother bought her a Swim With Dolphins encounter for her birthday. Obviously something she wanted to do. After she posted it on You Tube, she got some heat from some people, while others tried reasoning with her and telling her about "The Cove".
She wrote a comment back about "The Cove", which she had never seen before people shared it with her. She said had she seen it before the excursion she probably wouldn't have bought it for her granddaughter.
I wrote a comment applauding her for taking the advice of others and actually watching "The Cove", explaining to her how it had really changed my life.
This was my response to her after she watched The Cove:

I'm so glad to hear that you watched The Cove. It certainly changed my life and my desire to want to swim with dolphins. Did you happen to notice that everytime the dolphin finishes a trick they go straight to the trainer....for food. God played a cruel joke on the dolphin when He gave them the fixed smile on their face. The only happy dolphin is a free dolphin. Thanks for sharing and caring enough to comment and post about THE COVE.cobidog123

The following is an ongoing conversation I've had the last few days with "KingsProduction50" on You Tube!!  He obviously has been brainwashed by someone into thinking the slaughter going on in Taiji is not true.  He writes to me:
@cobidog123 how do you know the cove is right ? they are people who just make up things to get SW shut down.KingsProduction50
         
@KingsProduction50 you must be kidding? You can't possibly be that naive. Ric O'Barry is an ex-dolphin trainer. One of the worlds best. (Flipper's trainer) He's done it all and knows what he is talking about. You should read his book, "Behind the Dolphin Smile" and another one you might be interested in is "Rekindling the Waters, the Truth About Swimming With Dolphins" by Leah Lemieux. Captivity of cetaceans is wrong. They have feeling just like humans. cobidog123
         
@cobidog123 im NOT kidding. i dont want your "opinions". im 85% pro captivity so deal with it ! the cove is wrong !KingsProduction50

@KingsProduction50 these are not my "opinions". You need to educate yourself on the subject. How about someone rips you from your family, sticks you in a 12 ft square room, feeds you when and what they want, not what you want, starves you to get you to perform, little or no stimulation, you become so depressed you want to kill yourself, and all you think of is being free and seeing your family again...but OH NO, you watched your family killed in front of you...real fun right?cobidog123                

I'll let you know if the saga continues. Hopefully I'll be able to change his mind!

Hayden Panettiere - A Hero To Dolphins

One brave young lady! We feel your pain Hayden! We feel your pain!

IF YOU DIDN'T CRY

IF THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU CRY.....YOU NEED TO CALL YOUR CARDIOLOGIST RIGHT AWAY....YOUR HEART HAS STOPPED BEATING!

http://vimeo.com/35899599

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4imGEO5-cU

Now this is the way you want to see dolphins! FREE, WILD, and IN THE OCEAN, not concrete prison pools or fenced in swim with programs! If you are a true lover of dolphins and whales, this is where you'll use your hard earned money. Not at facilities that breed and show for profit and human entertainment.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DF4imGEO5-cU&ct=ga&cad=CAcQAhgBIAEoBDAAOABA9fu3-QRIAVgAYgVlbi1VUw&cd=FLQf1ZeyGu4&usg=AFQjCNGZF-BJFPBX77fc8qOiicv7DbLPlg

Sad and Lonley dolphins

IF YOU JUST CAN'T BRING YOURSELF TO WATCH THE COVE

I highly recommend these two books for your reading pleasure!


Rekindling the Waters, The Truth About Swimming With Dolphins
by Leah Lemieux
and

Behind the Dolphin Smile
by Richard O'Barry with Keith Coulbourn

Join in finding freedom from captivity – A New Show | Cove Blue for Jiyu

Join in finding freedom from captivity – A New Show Cove Blue for Jiyu

What a great idea!  I'll do whatever I can to help this become reality!

taiji Jan 10 2012

More killing today at the cove. A very large pod of striped dolphins were driven into the cove to be slaughtered for meat that is loaded with mercury. The Japenese people don't even know they are being poisoned by thier own government who allow this to happen. Sure everyone has to eat, but this meat is poison to humans. We need to get the word out. Now other countries in Asia are following suit!

Rissos Jan 9 2012

A Video Shared by author of "Rekindling The Waters" The Truth About Swimming With Dolphins, Leah Lemieux.  A must read book!  Highly recommend!
As you can see this is dated today in Taiji, Japan! We need to stop this madness!

A VOICE FROM ANOTHER

For the Love of Dolphins

January 1, 2012by jamielynn2001Leave a Comment

Look into my eyes and tell me why my life does not matter.
I socialize with my brethren, as our communication is essential.
We speak in tones and have a complex language.
Only other dolphins can understand what we are saying.
Sensations engulf us at every twist and turn of our bodies.
Our sense of touch and hearing is immaculate and very sharp.
This is how we guide ourselves through the ocean, without getting lost.
We are a sight to behold, jumping in and out of the water.
Swimming and playing so carefree with other members of our pods.
Pushing seaweed with our noses, and passing it to each other.
Racing each other in the blue ocean so big and wide.
No worries in sight, and this is how it should be for all time.
Loved by most, but hunted by others.
I don’t understand what’s going on.
What’s that noise I hear?
It surrounds me from every side.
I can’t escape it, though I keep trying.
Swimming faster and faster, but to no avail.
I can’t tell which direction I am moving in now.
We are all lost, myself and my family.
Where do we go from here?
We will be okay, as long as we stick together, right?
Never losing sight of my family, we keep swimming.
We are slowing down now, coming to a place where we can’t swim any longer.
Now we are stuck here, trapped in this unfamiliar place.
Suddenly I see my sister being pulled away from me.
She’s yelling for help….so loud and anxious.
I can see the pain in her eyes, but I can’t get to her.
What’s that new fluid coming from her body?
I edge closer, and I can see so much of it now.
Her body is twitching violently in her own blood.
Her eyes call out for us to help her.
We are all are trying to save her.
Now they have my daddy.
STOP! Leave my family alone!
Mommy, Daddy, help us, don’t let them take us away from each other!
My daddy is yelling for us to swim away.
We all try to swim closer to help them, as he tells us to go now.
But how can we ever leave our family?
I hear mommy yelling, she’s also in pain.
I look around me, and I take it all in.
The water is no longer blue. My families blood is all I can see now.

Everywhere I look is red. Red from our blood. My families blood.
I realize now I am the last member of my pod alive, and I am scared.
I try to get away, swimming so fast, my heart pumping.
My body aches, and my heart is sad and breaking.
I don’t understand what’s going on.
What is this? This has holes in it, but I can’t get through.
Maybe if I push harder I can make it to the other side.
It’s not working. What if I jump? I can see the other side, but how do I get over there?
Suddenly, I feel my tail being pulled. Humans have me now.
What’s going to happen to me? I don’t want to die.
I’m just a baby, I have my whole life to swim, play, and learn.
Mommy, Daddy, please save me!
They are yelling and pointing now. I’m so confused; What is this contraption I’m on?
I think I’ll close my eyes and maybe this will all be a bad dream.
But, it wasn’t a dream. They moved me a lot, and I was feeling so sick to my stomach.
I remember when they took me it was light outside, but now it’s dark.
Where am I? What happened to my family? What will happen to me?
Now I am stuck in this small space, very little room to swim.
It’s so loud all the time; I am hungry and I don’t feel good.
I miss my family and my ocean very much. I don’t like it here at all.
I have to jump out of the water and land on this one spot just to get fed.
They also have me jump out of the water and through hoops.
There’s so many things they want me to do for them.
If I don’t do it right, they get mad at me, and won’t feed me for days.
Humans will give me food if I do it right, so I always try to please them.
This is how I will spend the rest of my days; In this hell, doing tricks for food.
I should be swimming free in the ocean with my family and my friends.
Instead, I am here, in this fake shallow ocean, with these unnerving clear walls.
They keep coming back to see me every day.
They bang on the walls and throw things inside at me.
They scream and yell, and I have no place to hide from them.
I guess it makes the humans happy to keep me here like this.
Do they not care that I am miserable?
I can’t swim, dive, or play like I used to do in the ocean.
I miss talking with the other members of my pod.
I would do anything to feel their fins against me again.
I can still hear them in the back of my mind like it was yesterday.
I hope I can go home soon, I don’t want to be here anymore.
I feel myself growing more depressed with every single day that passes.
I wish it all would end soon somehow.
Why did this happen to me?
If you come see me someday, do me a favor.
Look into my eyes, and tell me; Do I look happy?
If this happened to your family and friends, you would want help too. Right?
I am all alone, and I can’t do this myself.
Can you please help me get back home?
Dolphins are very complex creatures, and are often dismissed as mere fish by some. But, the truth is that they are far from it. They are mammals that live in the water. They breathe air and communicate with each other in their own language, like we do. They thrive in their pods, and need to socialize in order to be happy. So why is that some people treat them like they are just disposable, useless waste of space? They hunt them down like they mean nothing to our ocean and our world. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I am talking about the tragedy that happens from September to March in Taji, Japan every year and it will continue until we stop it.
Japan may seem like a great spot to go on vacation. There are plenty of things to see: colorful buildings, beautiful scenery and many tourists destinations to mark off your list. There’s no way you can leave Japan sad, right? Wrong! If you go down to a little place known as Taiji, you will think nothing of it, but just another place to travel through to get to the next spot on your list. This is how they like it. You will have to have your eyes and ears open, and then you will understand. For in Taiji, it is a place of murder. You have no need to worry unless you are a dolphin or you are there to save them. Yes, you read it right . . . murder. There is a group of men and women who go out of their way to collect wild dolphins from the ocean and bring them back to a spot famously known as “The Cove“.
Fishermen gather their gear early in the morning and head off on their dozen or so boats in search of dolphins. Instead of marveling at their beauty, they will hunt them down. Once spotted, they will take poles and bang them on the boats under the water. This sound disrupts the sonar the dolphins use to navigate through the water and they become disoriented. At this point, the fishermen then steer the dolphins back to the cove to await their future destinies. This process as a whole could take as little as an hour or as much as the whole day. Once the dolphins are driven into the cove, roped off by various nets and trapped for copious amounts of time, there are only three possible endings.
Outcome number one is what we all wish for, but rarely ever happens. The fishermen for whatever reasons, decide to let the dolphins swim free. It doesn’t happen too often, as I stated, but is a huge relief when it does.
Outcome number two is not as rare as the first, but doesn’t happen on a regular basis. This is where dolphin trainers come from all over the world and pick out the dolphins that they think would serve them best at their theme parks. Of course they are looking for young attractive females, so they can be bred to males, and make profit any way they can. They are prepared to pay an unlimited amount of money to buy these wild dolphins and then call them their own.
Outcome number three is the most common and by far the most dramatic of them all. After the trainers pick their dolphins, and they are sectioned off safely, the fate of the other dolphins become a reality. The fishermen gather dolphins and begin to stab them. Repeatedly. Slashing and ripping at their bodies, cutting their throats, leaving them to gasp for air while in such terrible pain. Bleeding out, only to watch helplessly as their pod members undergo the same horrible treatment. It takes anywhere from 10 minutes to hours to die. Though lately, the fishermen try to kill them off sooner due to complaints. I won’t go into any more details on this, but note that they are crying in pain as all of this happens, and the fishermen are laughing and smiling, carrying on as if nothing is wrong.
Now that all the dolphins are dead, suffering from bloodied hands of the soulless fishermen, you may wonder, what happens now? I will tell you. They then take the dolphins up to the slaughterhouse to slice and carve them up. Now I mind you, some dolphins may even still be alive at this point. The ones that are, will get cut up alive. After they cut the dolphins up and the meat is packaged, it will be shipped in mass quantities, not just to the people in Japan, but all over the world – even the United States. You may be thinking, oh, well at least the meat won’t be wasted. But, did you know that because of pollution, the waters these dolphins swim in are contaminated with mercury? Hmmmmmm yummy, huh?
Particles fall into the ocean and can be harmless enough if left alone. But fish eat it, and other fish eat those fish, and so on and so forth. So the fish the dolphins eat are just riddled with mercury. So imagine how much mercury the dolphin meat actually contains. Lets just sum it up to lethal doses and move on. This mercury-laced meat is being served to not just people who choose to eat it, but also their school children. Japan still stands behind their word that dolphin meat is safe and parents of these children are none the wiser. They believe their government won’t lie to them. I urge you to look up Minamata disease, http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20111219/8322/fukushima-radiation-epa-death-united-states-nuclear-meltdown-japan-tsunami-earthquake.htm#.Tu_ZT-C6ick.facebook, and http://www.radiation.org/reading/pubs/HS42_1F.pdf, then do your own research on this matter. This has happened before, and if not stopped, will happen again.

Now is the time to educate ourselves and our children on the environmental issues that go hand in hand with whaling. Together, we can make a difference, and open up our lives to help other beings. If you don’t know where to start, let me suggest that you watch the cove movie preview. Then go out and purchase or watch thecovemovie.com/buy_the_dvd.htm. If this doesn’t change the way you look at how we treat dolphins and whales, then maybe you should be asking yourself if you are part of the problem. All animals deserve a happy, long, exciting life, just like we do. Do your part and be that difference for them.
Help us spread the word about what is happening in Taiji, Japan. The more people who know about it, the faster we can end it. Please sign and share these petitions http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/takeaction/724/210/624/, http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/27/save-the-dolphins-of-the-cove/.
Also, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been fighting for this cause from the start, middle, or who has just joined. Nothing can change if we ignore this. So many of you have done so many different things to help out. People of all ages have chipped in where they can. Whether it be word of mouth, posting on social media, signing petitions, donating money, calling the embassies, protesting in various forms and fashions at various places, making pamphlets and handing them out or taking the ultimate leap and going to Taiji for any length of time, it all helps us achieve our ultimate goal. We will save the dolphins from ourselves. It will take time and let us not be faltered by setbacks. There is great strength in numbers and our numbers grow rapidly as every day passes. So lets keep doing what we do and continue to fight for what we know as equal rights amongst all living beings. Never give up!