I find it highly distressing that the topic I had for today’s blog has fallen on a Red Cove day in Taiji. As I am writing this, there are bottlenose dolphins penned into the infamous Cove awaiting their fate; either being selected for captivity or being brutally murdered for not being attractive enough to sell to marine parks.
However, I think that it’s the perfect time to celebrate World Wildlife Conservation Day and give you a guide on how you can help the animals that share this planet with us from the comfort of your home. Not everyone is able to get out and physically get stuck in to protecting our wildlife, but don’t let that put you off! Your voice can be heard – and here’s just some of the ways you can be a voice for the voiceless.
Sign Petitions
You may think that petitions are a huge waste of time; who is going to listen to a whole list of faceless people?
However, by signing a petition that involves the welfare of animals, you are showing that people aren’t just going to sit back and let animal abuse happen. You might be a name, but imagine how the person who receives the completed petition will feel if there are hundreds of thousands of signatures rather than just a few?
Buy Merch
For me, the best way that I can currently find to help the dolphins in Taiji is by supporting those who are out there monitoring and documenting the slaughter. I do this through donating and buying merchandise, where all money raised goes to helping stop the drive hunts.
If your cause doesn’t have any merch to buy, why not agree to a small direct debit to them every month? this way you can pay as much as you want while helping the cause with very little effort on your part.
Educate Yourself
The media will mostly try and tell you what you should think on certain issues, but the best way to learn is to research yourself. Find out exactly what your cause is about and how they are helping the wildlife in the world.
In Taiji, there’s a media blackout on the dolphin drives, meaning that many Japanese people don’t know that these drives go on. However, through their own research and following charities such as Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project and Sea Shepherd, many Japanese people have joined the fight against the drives – which is great news!
Educate Others
Don’t be afraid to air your views with other people around you. My Facebook friends are probably sick and tired of me posting about dolphins, but y’know what? I don’t care. As long as people see what is going on, that’s a start in my book. I’ve had people come up and ask me about my Dolphin Project hoodie and chat to me about Blackfish when I’m wearing my documentary tee-shirt.
I even have people at work discuss the drives with me – it’s a great talking point, especially as you can inform people first hand!
It’s all about spreading the word, and with the power of social media, this has never been easier. Follow your favourite causes, interact with them and share their knowledge with those people you know!
Conservation is so important, especially for species who are on the brink of extinction. There are a variety of conservation projects set up around the world that don’t require you visiting a zoo – many of which are legit establishments with traceable conservation efforts in place.
However, don’t just automatically believe that animals in zoos are part of a conservation effort; many are not and will never see the wild again, instead, being caged up and left to become depressed and express stereotypic
behaviours, such as pacing and swaying and logging in pools.
Please, join me in the fight against humanity destroying our wildlife; become a voice for the voiceless.
Excuse This Honesty 