*Option #3: Become an ACTIVIST

Of the many ways to get involved with this issue, becoming an activist is the most intense, demanding, and rewarding option of them all.  Not only are you standing up for your beliefs, but you are actively and publicly making a difference at the same time. There are many different types of activists, each requiring a different level of exertion and commitment. 

Here are a few ways that you can become an activist:

1. Protest

Perhaps one of the oldest methods of activism, protesting serves as the most public and emotionally contagious way of spreading awareness for a given cause. Since putting an end to the Taiji drive hunts is a worldwide movement, protests are organized annually in all major cities around the world. If you feel strongly enough about this cause, then make a sign, collaborate with others, and protest against the dolphin massacre.

2. Get Friends and Family Involved

If you haven't already spread awareness of this atrocity to your friends and family members, I suggest you share this blog with them immediately. Friends and family are great people to get involved since they are usually supportive of issues that are most important to you. If your passionately contagious attitude isn't enough to get them behind the movement, then the writings and videos on this blog will definitely change their minds. To be honest though, I haven't showed one person this video that didn't immediately feel the urge to do something about this atrocity afterward. 

3. Risk It All for Reward

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is offering a $10,000 cash reward for the person or persons who can best document the annual slaughter of dolphins and small cetaceans in Taiji, Japan. Due to increasing access restrictions by the Taiji government, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is looking to motivate Japanese citizens to intervene and capture footage of the slaughter. The cash prize goes to the person who captures the most graphic images of the hunt. The photos and/or videos will be utilized by the Society to further expose the annual dolphin massacre.

Option #1: Write to a Government Official

Since the Taiji drive hunt is such a deep-rooted operation, involving a variety of individuals, each with different levels of authority, it means that there are multiple change agents that we as activists need to target in order for our presence to be felt. One of the best ways to connect with these change agents is to send them a letter or an email regarding your feelings on the issue, and demanding that they put a stop to the drive hunts immediately. 

SeaShepherd.org provides a nice sample letter to get you started:

SAMPLE LETTER I am outraged by the annual brutal slaughter of dolphins and whales that takes place in Japan. The images of bloody red water clearly show the world that Japan has little respect for the state of the world’s oceans and for the conservation of the marine resources it claims to support. Many scientific studies show that the oceans are in decline. We must take whatever actions are necessary to stop their over-exploitation and to protect the creatures that live in them. These dolphins do not belong to Japan. The status of the species of dolphins and whales that you kill are either endangered, threatened, or unknown. It is an unthinkable waste that they will likely end up as a meat product or deceptively sold as whale meat, polluted with toxic levels of mercury and cadmium, killing people that eat it. It is tragic and unacceptable that the remaining dolphins that are not killed will end up destined for death in an aquarium, water park, or "swim with dolphins" program. In addition, the methods used to kill these animals are cruel. Corralling the dolphins into bays, then making them suffer a long and painful death by spears, hooks, and drowning is an inhumane way of fishing. This action is disgraceful and has caused much disappointment in the international community. We demand that Japan permanently and immediately renounce and stop this slaughter. We will work diligently to bring this issue to international light until you have ceased your reprehensible violence. Sincerely,

 

Once you finalize your letter, send it out to the following government agents:

 PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
1-6-1 Nagata-cho 1 Chome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. 100-8968 JAPAN

Fax: +81.3.5511.8855
E-mail form:
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment.html

MINISTER OF FISHERIES
1-2-1 Ksumigaseki 1 Chrome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. 100-8907 JAPAN

Tel:+81-3-5510-3303 (direct) or 3-3502-8111
Fax: +81-3-3502-8220 or +81-3-3502-0794
E-mail: sinsei01densi@nm.maff.go.jp
E-mail form: http://www.voice.maff.go.jp/maff-interactive/people/ShowWebFormAction.do?FORM_NO=5

THE DOLPHIN HUNT IN TAIJI IS CONDUCTED BY TAIJI FISHERY COOPERATIVE
3167-7 Taiji
Wakayama, 649-5171 Japan

Tel: +81.735.59.3517
Fax: +81 735 59 3018

PERMISSION FOR THE DOLPHIN HUNT IS GIVEN BY THE GOVERNOR OF WAKAYAMA
Mr. Yoshiki Kimura
Prefectural Office of Wakayama
1-1 Komatsubaradouri, Wakayama-shi
Wakayama-ken, 640-8269 Japan

Tel: +81-73-441-2034
Fax:+81-73-423-9500
Public comment lines: +81-73-441-2028
Fax: +81-73-431-0462
E-mail: e0006001@pref.wakayama.lg.jp

THERE IS A FISHERY AGENCY POLICY EVALUATION GROUP 
WHICH HAS THREE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CHARGE:
Kawase, Yoshino and Tokura
Tel: +81-3-3502-8111 ext. 7057 and 7058
OR: +81-3-3591-5613 ( direct)
E-mail: sui_hyoka@nm.maff.go.jp

EMBASSY OF JAPAN IN WASHINGTON D.C.
Ambassador Ryozo Kato
2520 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington D.C. 20008-2869

Tel: (202) 238-6700,
Fax: 202-328-2187
Hours: M-F 9:15-12:30 and 2:00-6:16
E-mail: jicc@embjapan.org 
www.us.emb-japan.go.jp

OR FOR A CONSULATE OR EMBASSY NEAR YOU
visit: http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/consulat.htm 
or http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

*What Can YOU Do to Get Involved?

Throughout this blog, I've covered a multitude of reasons as to why the dolphin massacre must be put to an end.  By now, it should be very clear that this is an atrocity that violates multiple legal and ethical standards. However, it is not enough to merely be upset. 

You must take ACTION

There are a variety of ways to get involved, depending on your level of passion and commitment. There is no "right" choice of involvement; each of these options adds to the momentum of our movement. I will cover this array of options throughout the next few posts.