'Cove' star Ric O'Barry says footage of false killer whale leaping out of tank demonstrates animal cruelty

TOKYO — The star of a film about Japanese dolphin hunting said Friday that new video footage showing a dolphin jumping out of an aquarium tank underlines the cruelty of captivity and demanded that all of the creatures be set free.

The startling footage of the dolphin, a species known as the false killer whale, shows the animal suddenly leaping out of a tank during a July 4 marine show at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in southwestern Japan. An American tourist who was among the spectators shot the footage and sent it to Ric O'Barry.

O'Barry, 70, a former trainer for the "Flipper" TV show who now makes a career out of setting the animals free, made the videos available to the Associated Press.

In them, the dolphin lies on the floor. Workers wrap it in a mat and raise it by a crane to be placed back into the water. The other dolphins gather around the side of the tank.

O'Barry says the videos show a dolphin under stress.

"The habitat of that false killer whale is so unnatural it leaped out in desperation," he said in a telephone interview from Florida. "It wanted to end it. Why does a person jump out of a building?"

Hideshi Teruya, who manages the dolphin section of Churaumi, said the dolphin suffered minor scratches and bruises on its head and fin but was fine, and had a healthy appetite for mackerel and squid almost as soon as it was returned to a tank.

"It was playing around and jumped out by accident from the momentum," he told the Associated Press.

The age of the dolphin, a female named Kuru, which means "black" in Okinawan dialect, is unknown. It was captured about six years ago in the seas around Okinawa, Teruya said.

Teruya acknowledged that dolphins sometimes spring out and so he has placed mats around the tanks to prevent serious injury.

He denied the captivity was cruel, and said the tank was not overcrowded and followed general aquarium guidelines.

O'Barry believes such guidelines are inadequate. Dolphins are used to roaming for many miles a day, not swimming in a circle and doing flips at shows, he said.

Sound is the most important sense for dolphins. So keeping them in a concrete box is cruel, bombarding the animal with strange sounds and depriving a key sensory skill, according to O'Barry.

"It proves that captivity doesn't work," he said of the videos. "They are free-ranging creatures with a very large brain. They're self-aware and putting them in a small tank in a stadium setting is abusive."

O'Barry said many other animals, including snakes, tend to get zoo cages that look more like their natural habitat than do dolphins.

"Release all of them and find a cruelty-free way of making a living," he said.

"The Cove" depicts O'Barry's efforts to stop the slaughter of dolphins for food in the Japanese town of Taiji. It uses hidden cameras to show how the dolphins are killed, being herded into a cove and pierced with spears as they bleed and writhe in the water.

The film, which won best documentary at this year's Academy Awards, opened at theaters in Japan this month despite protests and threats by nationalists, who say the work ridicules Japanese culture.

RELATED DOLPHIN NEWS:
Tests show residents in dolphin-hunting village in 'The Cove' have elevated mercury levels
In Taiji, Japan, fishermen in the Cove are still killing dolphins (guest post by Ric O'Barry)

-- Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press

Comments

[Sharanya Krishna Prasad]

This footage is yet another piece of evidence that marine mammals should not be kept in captivity.

Ric O’Barry is correct in stating that captivity denies marine mammals most of their natural behaviors and is inherently cruel. Dolphins and whales are extremely social creatures who, in their natural habitat, interact with tens to thousands of pod-mates, hunt communally, and swim many miles in a day. In captivity, even the largest facilities provide these animals with access to only a tiny fraction of the space available to them in the wild. Captive facilities cannot adequately simulate their natural habitat or provide for their complex social and behavioral needs, which ultimately results in the decline of mental and physical health of these intelligent mammals.

It is certainly understandable that people are drawn to these incredible, charismatic animals. However, concerns about the safety of people and the welfare of these animals, as well as ethical concerns of keeping them in captivity, should outweigh our own desire for entertainment. Every time someone buys a ticket to a dolphin show – or even to a theme park that holds captive marine mammals – they are contributing to the suffering of these remarkable creatures. Instead, people interested in learning about marine mammals should participate in sustainable, responsible wild whale and dolphin watching tours where they can observe these animals’ natural behaviors in their natural habitats.

For more information visit www.wspa-usa.org and read WSPA’s and HSUS’s “Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity” report.

Sharanya Krishna Prasad
U.S. Programs Manager
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)

[law]

That dolphin was NOT playing! She made 3 different attempts to break out! I wonder how long was she stranded outside on the cement? As for the matts placed alongside tank for their protection.......well.... she landed on the cement next to the matts. Now what?

Aren't these the same people that slaughter all those dolphins every year at the cove????????

[Lori Marino]

I have studied dolphins for the past twenty years and have done research on various aspects of captivity and use of dolphins in shows and for so-called therapy. This heartbreaking video instantiates the abundance of scientific evidence that dolphins and whales are not suited for captivity of any sort. They evolved to live their natural lives in large complex social groups ranging over hundreds of miles. They need to make choices about their lives and that choice is taken away entirely in captivity. Research shows that dolphins and whales do not live nearly as long in captivity as in the wild and they suffer from a variety of stress-related diseases, included immune function breakdowns, cancers, and psychological abnormalities.

And, yes, it is more than likely that dolphins and whales in Japanese facilities come from the Taiji drive hunts. Taiji is the number one supplier of live dolphins for theme parks around the world.

We can make a difference by not patronizing any theme parks that hold dolphins and whales - anywhere. We can send the message that this barbaric practice is out of step with our science and our sensitivities.

Thank you.

[Elena Phrydas]

I think this is disgusting and I completely agree, how does that tank resemble anything like their natural environment, they are made to do shows, its like putting a human in a circus, we would never do that, so why treat animals the same way? Human beings disgust me when i see things like this, there is no compassion whatsoever.
I don't know how these theme parks are still running because its absolute cruelty and i think us as humans abuse the power we have.
I want to get involved with something to help prevent this.

[Chris20906]

Can they hunt for food in the open ocean or are they stuck in this tank for life?

[Fraser]

I just dont get it, these are the people that slaughter hundreds of dolphins and beautiful whales a year. Yet they have them as an attraction (and no doubt they sell save the dolphin merchendice) this needs to be put to a stop.

[jmg]

That's what you call DOLPHIN SUICIDE!! Who can blame him - I'd rather be dead than stuck in those tanks the rest of my life. I'm fascinated by the fact that all the other dolphins came over to watch what was going on. They were probably thinking "Check out Buddy - he made it out! YEAH BUDDY!! BE FREE!!!!"

[Sweetwater Tom]

When I first saw this I doubted the significance of the dolphin jumping. It *could* have been accidental. To see that the dolphin tried *TWICE* to escape really drives home the prision-like nature of the tank.

[DC]

Accidentally?!
Uh... dolphins spend, oh i don't know, thier entire lives swimming in water, I'm pretty sure they have control over where they are swimming. its no accident what happened, dolphins have incredible control and agility in water, which is why the were caught, trained, and out on display for our entertainment... unfortunately. ..