Vegetarian Star

The cancellation of a screening in Tokyo of The Cove,  a documentary about killing whales in the island of Taiji, has resulted in a domino effect across cinemas in Japan.

Variety reports several cities have decided to opt out of showing the Oscar winning film in the country. Theatres in Sendai, Yamagata and Aomori have changed their minds on showing the documentary that was scheduled for screening later this month. And Tokyo’s Meiji University has also canceled the campus showing, saying it would interfere with classes.

Dolphin activist Ric O’Barry, who went along for the filming in Japan, has called the cancellations an “assault on democracy.”

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Although The Cove was scheduled to screen in theatres in Tokyo, protests from groups in the city caused those venues to cancel the showing of the Oscar winning documentary about the killing of dolphins in Taiji that are later sold as unhealthy, mercury contaminated meat for human consumption.

Another cinema, Osaka, has followed the Tokyo theatres and cancelled its plans to show the film as well.

Director Louie Psihoyos spoke about the cancellation, as quoted in Black Book Magazine:

“It’s unfortunate that a few extremists scared one of the Tokyo venues from showing The Cove but I’m confident that the Japanese people will now be even more curious to know what these few people are trying so hard to hide. The extremists themselves are scared of the truth being known because what they are trying to hide cannot survive debate.”

The Japanese distributor, Unplugged, still plans to show the film in Japanese cities that are willing to do so.

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The Cove director Louis Psihoyos and former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry were on Oprah recently to discuss the Oscar winning documentary and distributing the movie in Japan, where it is scheduled to be released in July.

“What does dolphins being slaughtered in Taiji have to do with our lives?” Oprah asked to give her audience a better understanding of the consequences of killing the species.

Watch to hear Psihoyos’ answer.

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A creative PSA has been put together featuring the likes of vegetarian celebrities like Jason Mraz and Woody Harrelson, plus several others who care about the plight of captive dolphins.

The video starts out with facts about each celebrity’s “friend.”

After summarizing a slew of skills this friend has that humans don’t, it’s revealed the friend is in danger, threatened by both captivity and hunting.

The PSA was created by the people involved with the Oscar award winning documentary on the killing of dolphins in Japan that are later sold for meat and captivity, The Cove.

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The Cove has inspired a dolphin broker to enter a new profession.

Chris Porter, who’s in the business of capturing dolphins in Solomon Island and selling them to aquariums, says both the Oscar winning film and the recent death of a trainer by one of the animals at SeaWorld prompted his decision to release his last 17 dolphins.

Porter, who’s been nicknamed as “Darth Vador” by animal rights activists, is questioning the educational value of captive animals in marine parks like SeaWorld.

“Are we really educating and providing the best representation of wild animals in an aquarium?” Porter told the National Post, adding that killer whales often become frustrated in unnatural environments and lash out in response.

Mr. Porter will start releasing the dolphins next month, and the creatures will be tracked with devices to follow up on their statuses.

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Ady Gil. Photo: Hi-Def.com

The Hump, the well known sushi restaurant in California that was caught serving illegal whale meat by the staff who created the Academy Award winning film, The Cove, might take seafood completely off the menu.

Owner of American Hi-Def who donated a boat to the Sea Shepherd Conservation, Ady Gil, told the LAist his lawyers have contacted the city of Santa Monica about leasing the space.

If successful, Gil would like to turn it into a vegan restaurant.

Maybe he will call upon the chefs of Planet Green’s Future Food to make a vegetarian watermelon sushi once the vegan hump is in operation.

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Hayden Panettiere attended a celebration for the award winning film, The Cove at Haven 360 when she was caught by The Dish Rag.

Hayden was pretty passionate about views on the use of animals for entertainment, and makes the next celebrity out of dozens to voice her disapproval of organizations like Sea World.

Hayden said animals self-mutilate in these conditions because of stress and said the Sea World incident should serve as a wake up call.

“Have you ever seen a parrot pull out its feathers? It’s from depression. How do you put an interactive, social animal, one of the smartest animals in the world… and you’re going to stick them in a tub and make them do tricks? How do you do that? Because they make money? It’s disgusting and Sea World is absolutely wrong. This is a big wake up call. How many more people are going to have to be killed? When are we going to realize that these animals are not supposed to be there?”

Hayden has become politically active, reaching out to lawmakers in the United States and in Japan, where she met with the Foreign Minister of Japan and the Minister of Fisheries at the Japanese Embassy.

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The Cove director Louie Psihoyos and Ric O’Barry were caught on the red carpet, where Louie spoke about the Sea World tragedy and the idea of mammals being held in captivity.

“One animal killing three people in one lifetime shows these animals are stressed, they don’t belong in captivity,” he said. “And when we capture them out of the wild and force them to do stupid tricks for our amusement, it says more about our intelligence than it does theirs.”

The Cove won Best Documentary at last night’s Oscars.

O’Barry mentioned how the film’s nomination helped bring attention to the “largest dolphin slaughter in the world,” and hints he’ll be back to work fighting for animals after the post Oscar party ends.

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