A 16-Year-Old's Chronicles of the Taiji Dolphin Slaughter

"I mentioned that I have never seen a dolphin before, and how the first ones I will see will either be captured or slaughtered. He said I was very brave for coming here and being prepared to witness that ... but what is being brave?"

Those are the words of Elora Malama on her way to Taiji, the Japanese village where the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove, was filmed about the village's annual dolphin hunt. Elora is the 16-year-old daughter of Sea Shepherd's Scott West, and the two of them are bearing witness in Taiji.

Elora's first sight was over 80 dolphins trapped by nets in a small area. "You could see and hear them all panicking. They were slapping their tails against the surface, clicking, and screaming, moving around in this small ball they formed in the middle of the net area. It was so hard to watch."

Yesterday, they witnessed the second slaughter of the season. Elora writes: "The mothers, fathers, friends and family of the pod were killed. We think about 14 lost their life for their dirty money. 6 adolescent dolphins were set free later that day, without their mothers ... They witnessed their parents get slaughtered, then were sent out to sea to face life on their own." It is unclear if the young dolphins will be able to survive.

West offered, on behalf of Sea Shepherd, to buy the dozen or so bottlenose dolphins being kept in a netted area of the cove to set them free. Taiji fishermen rejected the offer, preferring to sell the animals to dolphinariums. The only reason any animals are being set free is likely due to growing international pressure.

It's been a rollercoaster. Some days the animals are captured only to be let go. Sometimes they're released while a few of their family members are held back to be sent to marine mammal parks around the world. Sometimes they're slaughtered. Elora, her father, and the other volunteer Cove Guardians have been stopped by police officers, harassed by fishermen and faced with anti-Sea Shepherd protesters.

Elora knows that her presence changes the game. For the most part, fishermen and angry right-wing protesters keep their distance and police are protective; they know if anything happened to a young woman, there would be an international scandal. But that tightrope of politics isn't the only reason why Sea Shepherd is there to observe, not cut nets or physically interfere with the hunt.

Elora recounts a recent conversation with the local Coast Guard, who told her that people get angry when activists come and break the law, but when people who care about the animals come to take pictures and document what's happening for the world to see, the Japanese are more likely to listen and care.

"I understand why people have the desire and have actually come to cut nets," she writes. "I really do. It's very tempting. There is a feeling of helplessness that takes over your body and I can understand how that might give you a feeling of euphoria. However, [this conversation] was a wake up call. The people may reach out and listen, if SSCS (being my dad) doesn't do anything criminal. The government portrays us as terrorists and we have witnessed it ourselves, people being surprised by how normal we are. A father and his daughter ... not criminals."

Check out Elora's blog. Her observations about the ethics, culture and controversy surrounding the hunt are insightful and compassionate and, yes, brave.

Add your voice to the call to end the dolphin slaughter and join the International Day of Protest against the Taiji dolphin hunt coming up on Thursday, October 14th.

Photo credit: Jesslee Cuizon