Report from Taiji: October 24
The dolphin hunters stayed in port again today. The free dolphins are safe again, but the captive dolphins continue in their new life of misery.

We went into Taiji this morning and watched the enslavers feed dead fish to the dolphins in the net pens. We also filmed one of the trainers working on the breaking of the dolphins. She lowered a platform into the pen and stepped into the water. She used a whistle to call the dolphins and handed them dead fish. It was terribly difficult to watch these majestic creatures reduced to conditional response for food. Remember, friends do not let friends patronize establishments that capitalize on captive dolphins.

I check on our dolphins everyday. This just completely breaks my heart!

Please pray for them.

FAST FAR DEEP... is a great way to pray for our dolphins. They need to be fast to get away from the 15 -20 Japanese fisherman's boats, swim far and stay away and go deep to get beneath the sound of the banging pipes that the Japanese fisherman bang on to terrify them and trap them in the cove.

They don't deserve this!!

One day.....they will be free!

We must all visualize this!

Detroit showed up!

A lot of people contacted me saying they want to get involved and do something to help the dolphins.

Everybody loves dolphins!

I'm keeping all of your emails and will contact you when things come up that we can do as a group to help save Japans dolphins from Michigan.......which are really ALL OF OUR DOLPHINS!



No one in this world has a right to kill a dolphin, whale or shark. Or any animal for that matter. They are here for all of us to love and enjoy.



Millions of us want to protect our world's dolphins, whales, etc. and visit them in their natural environment.



Whatever you do........do not swim with dolphins in captivity. This business has to be shut down.

Do not visit Sea Worlds.......those businesses need to be shut down as well. Do not feed the "capturing dolphin machine" with your money. This is about money.......we stop spending.....they stop stealing dolphins from their families and will stop putting them in swimming pools.



Let's see........ pool? ........ Ocean? .......no comparison for a dolphin who swims 300 miles in a day in the ocean. They cannot be kept in captivity anymore.....especially now that we know the truth.



This is NO WAY to experience a dolphin........trust me..........I've been blesssed to be on the oceans with several pods of dolphins..........and there is nothing like being with them in the ocean. They deserve to live their lives together as a family (pod). They live a long time too.....and like all of us, should be able to live out their lifes with family and friends of their choice.


Watch "The Cove"............ educate yourself on what is going on..........and then pass the word! One person at a time is all it takes!

Nature..............Life...................Beauty

Somedays it would be easier to just ignore what is going on in our oceans. Particularly now that there are volunteers in Taiji Japan documenting daily the number of dolphins that are captured and killed and we can all see first hand the horrors that are taking place.

2 websites report daily.

Sea Shepard's and

Ric O'Barry's blog

I know there are things going on here at home that need our help.......but after I saw "The Cove" I've been unable to let this go.

It's my cause right now, my passion, to save these dolphins. And to save the whales they are preparing to go out and kill anyday now. The vessels are in the harbor.

The intense anger I feel over what the Japanese allow to go on in our oceans burns my heart. Literally.

I pray about this daily.........what does God want me to do?

In time, my answer will come.

For today, I am participating in the worldwide Save Japans Dolphins Day protest from 12-2. A lot of us are out of work and this will be a great place to gather together and do some good. Sure beats sitting home alone on the computer sending out resumes that never get answered.

In places like Florida, and around the world where oceans are close by their will be huge turnouts.

This is a longshot cause to be a part of, there's no doubt about that. It's heartbreaking and I am in pain a great deal of the time. I also know God hears my prayers to watch out for and save the dolphins and whales that Japan allows its fisherman to kill DAILY.

I believe that most people in Japan do NOT support what is going on in Taiji. Most don't even know what's taking place in this village........much less that their government allows it to take place.

My biggest hope at this time is for everyone to watch "THE COVE"..........that's where you can see firsthand why so many of us are up in arms over this.

These are DEAD DOLPHINS. The Japanese killed them again today!

Monday, October 11, 2010

We have confirmed that 14 dolphins were killed today at Taiji. Two were taken into the harbour hoisted onto a flatbed truck and driven out of town. About 6 dolphins, mothers with calves are still swimming in the bloody waters of the Cove. The fishermen have indicated they may release them to appease the Cove Guardians. We cant confirm this until they do but it remains a possibility.
There were Japanese news crews in Taiji covering the kill today. That is unusual.

This is from Sea Shepards Website.

I check it daily.
###

Taiji fishermen slaughtered the entire pod of an estimated twenty Risso's dolphins sparing the life of one to be sold to the Aquarium industry.
Yesterday Sea Shepherd offered to buy the lives of the captive dolphins. The fishermen refused saying that they would not sell us the dolphins to be released. They sneered at the offer saying it was nonsense to buy dolphins to release them hinting it was like welfare and they would not take hand-outs.
Instead they speared and stabbed the dolphins in the cove until the water ran scarlet with blood.
The Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians are on site filming the slaughter, restricted by numerous Japanese Coast Guard and police.

The coolest thing happened in my painting.....

I am doing a mixed media piece with leaves. The most amazing thing happened and it's never happened in any of my pieces.

Yesterday, I was looking at the beautiful mixture of colors I used and all of sudden out of one of the free standing forms.....I see a bright blue dolphin with a baby beside it. It even has an eye.

I keep looking at the piece, trying to decide which way I like it the best (it's an abstract) and all of a sudden, to the right, a perfectly shaped dolphin head with a smiling mouth. Ok, so now I know that piece is go this one way.........3 dolphin shapes....... this is a sign of my heart and where my mindset is now to save them.

To the left, I see another bright orange big whale like looking fish, which sympolizes my cause in general for marine conservation.

I was so excited I called Brett over to look........and then all of sudden kept seeing even more little dolphin shapes everywhere. (He smiles)

When I do my art.....it comes from my mind of course, but so much of my mind is my heart. Some of us are wired that way (you know it if you are one of us!)

If I had tried to create a painting with dolphins, it would have been impossible.

God knows my heart.......my heart knows the killing and capturing of these HIGHLY intelligent

loving animals has to stop!

The worldwide "Save Japan's Dolphin" protest is Thursday Oct. 14. Today I'm making 6 posters......so if you show up without one, I will have one for you.

We start at 4pm. There may be other groups of dolphin protesters starting at 12noon.

We will be at the Japanese Consulate at the Renn. Center. Around the world people will be letting Japan know we are no longer going to tolerate what they are doing to our dolphins. To the oceans too for that matter..........but this protest is to save dolphins.

I hope you will join me.......and all of us around the world who know dolphins do not deserve this treatment. They should be allowed to live their lives in the beautiful oceans with their families, NOT in a pool or having some kid hanging on it's fin in captivity. That's what horses are for.

The BIG DAY is THIS THURSDAY friends!

Greetings Dedicated Volunteers,
I wanted to thank you all for stepping up to speak out for the thousands of dolphins that are being slaughtered every year in Japan. Japan Dolphin Day 2010, Thursday October 14th, is going to be a gargantuan event. I just wanted to check in and see if anyone had any last minute questions and to ask you all to send your photos, videos, and news coverage of your events to me so I can forward them on to Earth Island Institute and Save Japan Dolphins.org.

Many thanks to you for all the hard work you put into organizing the rally in your city! This Thursday Tokyo will see how the world feels about dolphin drive fisheries, because of you.

And remember to tell concerned parties that cannot attend the demo to call their local Japanese Consulate or Embassy to let them know how they feel : )
Thank you for all that you do!

Families and Friends Gotta Stick Together!

Animals of all kinds have always been deeply embedded in my heart. I remember growing up and my brothers hurting a sparrow and how completely sick I felt. I cried for hours.







I've always had zero tolerance for any living creature being hurt or killed.

Taking a wonderful shot of an animal, bird or reptile with a
camera is the ONLY way to shoot.

Once an animal is gone.....it's gone FOREVER. Nobody else will ever get to witness its beauty and uniqueness.

These are pictures from Kenya, Africa and thank God, in Kenya, they choose eco-tourism over hunting as a way to make money. If a poacher is seen in many areas there, he can be shot on sight! My kind of law.
It's still not happening in enough places in Africa or around the world for that matter, and that's why I've decided to make this one of the TOP PRIORITIES in my life today.


To see different cultures and they way people lived was why I started traveling many years ago. As time went by, I started learning way too many things about the places I visited and what was really going on. We'd go to Costa Rica and find out about the quetzel being nearly wiped out to extinction, because of it's magnificent feathers. They were killed (I mean overly killed) and sold for money. We actually got to see a quetzel and our tour guide said "that was a miracle, she hadn't seen one in years!"


It's just everywhere we went, we'd hear about innocent animals and birds being killed by humans. Not for food.....not for survival.......but for MORE more MORE more MORE more money!! Ya know.....the stuff you just can't get enough of in this world of ours.


We were cruizing in a small canoe down the Amazon River and didn't see one monkey. They'd all been killed. NOT ONE MONKEY in one of those trees. That was just mind blowing to me, and so so disappointing to be all the way in South America and not see a monkey while cruising down the Amazon.


Unfortunately, my pictures of the dolphin pods I shot on the Sea of Cortez didn't come out. The dolphins were too fast for me! They were amazing, simply breathtaking to watch. The way they race each other and play all day was just one of the most amazing sights I'd ever seen.

Right now, our dolphins are being ripped away from their families. Like us, dolphins mate for life. A dolphin is a whale, and I'm sure you know by now that whales mate for life.

Dolphins are being captured by humans and being help in captivity to make money for businessmen and women. They are put in pools to do tricks and put in roped areas so people can swim with them. This is a billion dollar business. The dolphins sell for $150,000.00 a piece in Taiji Japan and are killed if they are not sold.

Dolphin meat CANNOT be eaten. It contains too much mercury. They are being killed just to kill them.........everyday from September to March every year in this village in Japan.

A worldwide protest is taking place this Thursday, October 14, 2010 at the Japanese Consulate in downtown Detroit on Jefferson in front of the Renn. Center. We will start picketing with our "Stop the Japan dolphin slaughter" signs at 4pm.

I volunteered to start the protest in Detroit and it's listed on the Save Japans Dolphins website along with all the other Japanese Consulates around the world. This is going to be a huge event in some places. Not so sure about in Detroit but I have been getting emails and hopefully those who have contacted me will be there with signs too.

There is so much work that needs to be done, and this is not an easy cause to get much satsifaction in. It's hard to convince countries who kill their animals for money to STOP killing them.

We all need to help educate whenever we can about Ecotourism. People will always pay to see whales, sharks, dolphins, lions, exotic birds, monkeys, elephants, etc....in their natural environments. There is NOTHING more thrilling than watching mother natures creatures in their own habitat, doing their own thing. Living the way God intended them too.

And again.....if you're free this Thursday (Oct. 14) from 4-6....I'd love to have you join me for the worldwide "Save Japan's Dolphin's" protest in downtown Detroit Michigan at the Japanese Consulate.

Emceed for the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk Saturday

........and did we ever have a magnificent turn out.
What wonderful families and friends these special kids have. The event was at the Palace and there must have been 2000 people there...........I believe nearly $200,000.00 was raised for down syndrome education, awareness and community involvement for these kids with the one extra chromosone. I learned that from one of the signs one of them was carrying, (that's why she was so special she said!)
The teams all dressed up and had such cute names for their teams. Starwars was there and the people wearing those hot costumes were a class act. It was hot, they donated their time, and made the event. Whoever you guys are.........I couldn't see your faces.........my hats off to you!
It was fun emceeing and I was told by many I did a great job and kept everything moving! Always nice to get compliments on your work!
All of you who put on the 6th annual SE MI Buddy Walk did a wonderful job.......I was just
amazed at all you did for this. Your hard work and passion for these kids certainly paid off!

My time alone with dolphins and whales on the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean

It wasn't very long ago that Brett and I were on the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean in a tiny boat with only a driver. NO one else was around.....not one person or boat the entire time we were in the oceans.

Day #1. A mama Grey Whale spots us. They are very curious. She senses she can trust us and swims over with her baby. Next thing I know.......I am petting the baby whale and looking in her eye. I saw God! I truly felt such a deep soul connection with her. She was looking right into me with such trust and love that I literally felt the holy spirit.

Day #2 and everyday: Pods of dolphins keep swimming by. They are so playful. They are so fast. They jump. They are full of life. They race each other. They are a forever family....just like all whaless (dolphins are whales too in case you didn't know)....they stay together for life. They love their life in the ocean and have such fun being all together. They should never ever be kept in a seaworld or in captivity for people to swim with. When a dolphin is ripped away from it's family......it's like you or I being ripped away from ours. This is happening daily in Japan and in the Solomon Islands. Dolphins are being sold and shipped to little pools for people to stare at them. They do those tricks because they are hungry. They keep them starving until showtime.

REMEMBER:
A dolphin always looks like it's smiling.......in captivity......it is crying and dying inside and missing it's family. These are highly intelligent whales and this treatment of our dolphins has GOT to STOP! This isn't even the worse of what's going on right now in Japan.

But first......back to DAY #3:
All of a sudden 2 humpback whales jump high out of the water in front of our boat......oh wow, another 2 are rolling over on each side of the boat......wait...2 more flying out of the water and slamming back down into it behind us. We got a Humpback Whale show that they did for us because it made them happy. I was completely in awe of the wonder of this. They loved us....they trusted us........they are curious, playful and friendly. They won over my heart completely!

DAY #4 and 5.......was spent with the Great Blue Whale who is very very shy. Now remember, we were in a tiny boat....totally quiet and respectful of the whales space and home. We didn't startle it or scare it. They are the biggest whales in the world....and so very shy. But we were with several of them and everytime she came up to breathe and then back down with that gorgeous fintail following.......I thanked God everytime! What a gift this creature is to us. What a glorious animal. What a peaceful home for them. I was happy because I felt they were safe here. I think they are. I pray they are.

This trip was the one that got me really into wanting to help the dolphins and whales. Of course I love sharks, and turtles and seals and walrus and every creature on our earth and in our seas. But I had to start somewhere, so saving the dolphins and whales was the place I decided to start.

I recommend you watching on the Discovery Channel to educate yourself...."Whale Wars".......it's not easy watching.........but if we hide our heads because it's depressing to watch........we won't know what is going on. AWARENESS is the key to everything in life.....if we don't educate ourselves...we can't make a difference...knowledge is power.....and we have to take a stand for something as huge as keeping our whales safe and alive and with their pods (families).

Also, please see the award winning documentary "The Cove"....it runs on the Discovery Channel and can also be rented at video stores. This will change your life....you will see why so many of us are so passionate about stopping Japan from capturing and selling our dolphins to seaworlds and such. As if that isn't bad enough......they then KILL all the ones that don't sell in this cove. They hit poles that drive the dolphins crazy and then lock them in the cove. The dolphins have no clue what is going on and are scared to death. YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS. Please!

Tomorrow I will tell you about the worldwide protest called "SAVE JAPANS DOLPHINS".....thousands are meeting up to demonstrate with signs at the Japanese Consulate in Detroit. People will be doing this at Japanese Consolutes all over the world.

The details tomorrow.....I want to try and post some of the pictures from my trip. I had the wrong kind of camera and it wasn't fast enough to get a good shot of a dolphin....but boy did I try.
I truly know we all want to do what's best in life. This may not be your top passion.....but please, if you just stay away from seaworlds and don't swim with dolphins or go see Orcas held captive in swimming pools....we will put these places out of business. This is the goal! This will stop the violence against dolphins.

In the name of money and greed, dolphins and whales are slaughtered everyday! This has got to stop!

Somehow, someway......someday soon I pray!