Demonstrations Against Taiji’s Brutal Dolphin Hunts to Take Place at Japanese Embassies and Consulates in the U.S. and Overseas

As Valentine’s Day nears, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is calling on supporters and concerned individuals around the world to join with them and their Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians as they show their love for dolphins and call for an end to the brutal capture and slaughter of cetaceans in Taiji’s infamous cove.

On Friday, February 13th, Sea Shepherd will show Japan just how much the world reveres dolphins with peaceful “World Love for Dolphins Day” demonstrations across the U.S. and other parts of the world. Sea Shepherd USA chapters will host demos at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. and Japanese consulates in cities across the nation, in solidarity with Sea Shepherd’s volunteer Cove Guardians currently on the ground in Taiji.

** Please note that because Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, when embassies and consulates will be closed, the “World Love for Dolphins Day” demonstrations are being held on Friday, February 13th. Make sure you check the correct location and time of the event nearest you. **

“Each year, entire families of cetaceans are driven into the cove and brutally separated, as pod members are either kidnapped and sold for captivity or ruthlessly killed. The Cove Guardians have seen firsthand the depth of the relentless greed and brutality in Taiji, but the love of dolphins, deeply felt by people around the world, is stronger than the killers’ desire for profit could ever be,” said Sea Shepherd Senior Cove Guardian Campaign Leader, Melissa Sehgal. “Please join Sea Shepherd as we ask Japan to heed the international community’s call for compassion and a forever peaceful, blue cove.”

How can you participate in “World Love for Dolphins Day” demonstrations?

1. Demonstrate at Japanese Embassies and Consulates

Sea Shepherd will be demonstrating outside the following Japanese consulates and the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. Join Sea Shepherd and Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians at these locations to remind the Japanese government that the Taiji dolphin drive hunts bring dishonor to the entire nation of Japan, and that the world is calling on Japan to end the bloodshed. Download & print a poster, and join Sea Shepherd.

Poster 1
Poster 2
Poster 3
Poster 4
Poster 5

Dolphins of Taiji Leaflet (English)
Dolphins of Taiji Leaflet (Japanese)

More cities to be announced by Sea Shepherd soon.

US Demonstrations

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Demonstrations begin outside the following locations at 12:00pm ET/PT and ends at 1:00pm ET/PT unless otherwise noted below. Make sure you check the times for your demo location:

Portland
Wells Fargo Center, Suite 2700
1300 S.W. 5th Ave
Portland, OR 97201

Seattle
601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle WA 98101-4015

Los Angeles
350 South Grand Ave, Suite 1700
Los Angeles CA 90071-3459

Denver
1225 17th Street, Suite 3000
Denver CO 80202-5505

Houston
2 Houston Center Building
909 Fannin Street
Suite 3000
Houston TX 77010

Washington DC (12pm-2pm ET)
Meeting at DuPont Circle Metro station 12pm and marching to Embassy of Japan DuPont Circle Metro
1525 20th St. NW
Washington, DC 20008

New York
Consulate-General of Japan in New York
299 Park Ave, 19th Floor
New York NY 10171-0025

San Francisco (10am-2pm PT)
275 Battery Street, Suite 2100
San Francisco, CA 94111

Boston (12pm-2pm ET)
Federal Reserve Plaza, 22nd Floor
600 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02210

Atlanta
Phipps Tower, Suite 850
3438 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30326

Honolulu
1742 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817-3201

Indianapolis
11 South Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Chicago
737 North Michigan Avenue #1100
Chicago, IL 60611

Miami
Consulate General of Japan
80 Southwest 8th Street #3200
Miami, FL 33130

Dallas (11am-2pm CST)
Dealy Plaza
Dallas, TX

Worldwide Demonstrations

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Demonstrations will be held outside the following locations. Make sure you check the times for your demo location:

Toronto (11:30am-1:30pm ET)
77 King Street West
Suite 3300, TD North Tower
Toronto, ON M5K 1A1

Vancouver
900-1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, V6E 2K9

Santiago (Feb 14. 4pm CLST)
Av. Ricardo Lyon 520
Providencia, Santiago, Chile

Melbourne (12pm-2pm AEDT)
GPO Steps
Cnr Bourke Street Mall & Elizabeth Sts
Melbourne, Australia

Copenhagen (3pm CET)
From City Hall Square to the Japanese Embassy
Copenhagen, Denmark

Chañaral de Aceituno (4pm CLST)
4th. Region
Chañaral’s harbor, Chile

Ottawa
255 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 9E6, Canada

The Hague (2pm-4pm CET)
Tobias Asserlaan 2
2517KC Den Haag
The Netherlands

Barcelona (11am-1pm CET)
Av. Diagonal, 640, 2ª planta D
08017 Barcelona, Spain

Madrid (11am-1pm CET)
Calle Serrano, 109
28006 Madrid, Spain

Rio de Janeiro (Feb 12. 15pm-17pm BRST)
Praia do Flamengo, 200
Rio de Janeiro
Because Feb 13 is carnival in Rio and the Japanese Consulate will be closed, this event is on Feb 12

Perth (12pm-2pm AWST)
U22 / Level 2,
111 Colin Street,
West Perth, WA 6005

Mexico City (11am-12pm CST)
Paseo de la Reforma, 395
06500 Mexico City, Mexico

Wellington (12pm-2pm NZDT)
The Embassy of Japan
The Majestic Centre
100 Willis Street
Wellington, New Zealand

Auckland (12pm-2pm NZDT)
Consulate General of Japan
AIG Building
41 Shortland Street
Auckland, New Zealand

Budapest (2pm-3pm CET)
H-1125 Budapest, Zalai út 7
Budapest, Hungary

Dublin
Nutley Building
Merrion Centre
Nutley Lane
Dublin 4, Ireland

2. Take a “selfie” picture, either at one of the planned demonstrations or wherever you may be in the world, holding your “World Love for Dolphins” Day sign and send it to Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd will post your selfies on their social media pages to proudly display your love for dolphins. Download Sea Shepherd’s “selfie” image.

Email your photos to: worldlovefordolphins@seashepherd.org. Make sure you send your photos to Sea Shepherd by February 14th, 2015 at midnight PST.

3. Send a Valentine for a Dolphin directly to the Embassy of Japan

Remind the Japanese government that dolphins are loved and revered by millions. Download & print a Valentine for a dolphin here and send it directly to:

Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae
C/O The Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008

Sea Shepherd invites their global supporters and dolphin lovers to join in World Love for Dolphins Day and bring their concern to the doorstep of the Japanese government in cities around the world on the same day. If you are interested in organizing a demonstration at a Japanese embassy or consulate near you, email worldlovefordolphins@seashepherd.org to set up your approved event.

For a list of Japanese embassies and consulates worldwide, visit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

For a staggering six months of each year, from September 1st until March, entire families of dolphins and small whales are driven into Taiji’s killing cove. Once netted within the shallow waters of the cove, their fate is sealed and the members of these doomed pods will face either imprisonment in captivity or brutal slaughter before the eyes of their families. Killers and trainers work side-by-side to select the “prettiest” dolphins and whales for captivity (those without visible scars). The others are mercilessly stabbed with a metal spike inserted into their backs, just behind the blowhole, to sever their spine. The dolphins slowly and painfully bleed to death or drown in the blood of their family; others may die as they are dragged to the butcherhouse, where the once living and free cetaceans are processed into meat for human consumption. These inhumane killings would not be allowed in any slaughterhouse in the world. Japan refuses to sign on to many protection efforts and regulations for marine mammals, despite most of the world recognizing the need to protect these self-aware, beloved and imperiled animals.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society first brought the cove to the world’s attention by capturing and releasing now-iconic footage and imagery of the brutal hunts and slaughters in 2003, during which the cove turned blood-red. Later the Academy Award-winning film The Cove again shone a spotlight on the hunts, bringing worldwide attention to the killings. Many individuals thought the film succeeded in bringing an end to the hunts, but that was not the case. So in 2010, Sea Shepherd established Operation Infinite Patience and our volunteer Cove Guardians took up positions alongside the cove to document, report and live stream these atrocities in the hope of capturing attention to bring pressure to bear to stop these barbaric acts. Sea Shepherd is the only organization to have a team on the ground in Taiji each day throughout the entire six-month killing season, and the only group who live streams every capture and every kill for the world to see. Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians will not stop shining a light on this atrocity until the slaughter ends.

For more information, visit www.seashepherd.org/cove-guardians.