The Cover

    When talking about the endangered species, human beings’ cruel actions towards the nature come to my mind. However, I still be shocked by the bloody scenario when I watched the movie The Cove. I could never imagine such cruel killings towards dolphins before I watched it.

    The Cove is a documentary film that recorded the dolphin hunting culture in Japan. The film follows former dolphin trainer and former Sea Shepherd activist Ric O'Barry's quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. Ric O'Barry, himself used to be one of the best dolphin trainers in the world. He spent ten years in training dolphins, but at last used thiry-five years to abolish such activity. He was proud that he made more people fall in love dolphins, the clever and beautiful animanl, but he also felt guilty for such love has made more dolphins be killed.

  The film highlights the fact that the number of dolphins killed in the Taiji dolphin hunting drive is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and claims that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year by the country's whaling industry. It also argues that dolphin hunting as practiced in Japan is unnecessary and cruel. To get the real scenario, the film crew met a lot of difficulties. Their attempt to film the dolphin hunting in the cove is blocked by the local government who treats foreign visitors as enemies. Foreigners who come to Taiji are questioned by the local police. Thus the film crew could not get the permission. In response, together with the Oceanic Preservation Society, Psihoyos, O'Barry, and the crew utilize special tactics and technology to covertly film what is taking place in the cove. They also get help from O'Barry’s friends who were good at plunging. Anyway, at last this film finished.

    After this film came out, people were shocked by what was happening in Taiji in Japan. Many actions were called to halt mass dolphin kills, change Japanese fishing practices, and to inform and educate the public about the risks, and increasing hazard, of mercury poisoning from dolphin meat, and the situation of dolphin hunting has improved a lot now.

    I was extremely when watching lots of dolphins were killed cruelly. When I was a child, I heard about a story that a dolphin save a person who fell into sea and also be drowned, so in my mind dolphins are kind and clever animals, and I love it very much. Protect dolphins, and give a peaceful beautiful cove to those beautiful dolphins.