Two American aquarium specialists are brokering the sale and transfer of twelve bottlenose dolphins from the Japanese slaughter pens to a Dominican Republic amusement park, Ocean World Adventure Park. We believe the dolphins will be transferred to the Dominican Republic sometime before March. We are trying to stop this and need your help.

Stefan Meister, a German national and vice president of Ocean World Adventure Park, Dr. Michael Briggs DVM, who is an American citizen associated with the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, and another American dolphin dealer and marine mammal veterinarian, Dr. Ted Hammond, are all involved in the deal.

The 12 dolphins, now known as "The Taiji Twelve," were recently captured in Taiji, Japan. This was an extremely violent and deadly dolphin capture, with dolphin hunters and dolphin trainers working side by side, killing several "reject" dolphins in the grueling selection process. The more than 200 bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales that were not selected for the aquarium industry were killed and slaughtered. By purchasing select dolphins from the Japanese drive hunts, the western dolphin dealers are making the hunt extremely profitable, thereby causing the hunts to continue. We have been successful, at least to some degree, in shutting down the demand for dolphin meat for human consumption, by exposing the mercury contamination of the meat. We now want to expose aquarium industry members who support the dolphin slaughter by doing business with the hunters. The campaign in the Dominican Republic is the first important step toward our effort to shut down the demand for live show dolphins from Japan.

You can see the capture here:

www.youtube.com/watch ( Please send this link to all your contacts.)

We are in the process of composing a letter to the president of the Dominican Republic, asking him to not allow The Taiji Twelve into the country. If your organization wants to be included in the sign-on letter, please let me know ASAP. We need to act quickly.

Thanks,

Richard O'Barry
Marine Mammal Specialist
International Marine Mammal Project
Earth Island Institute
Miami Florida Branch
Phone/Fax: 305-668 1619
Mobile Phone: 786-973 8618
ricobarry@bellsouth.net
www.SaveJapanDolphins.org