The Cove
Dolphins are adorable, but I will never watch Flipper again. "A dolphin's smile is its greatest deception", says Ric O'Barry, who helped capture dolphins for captivity. He claims that "Cathy", one of five dolphins who played the role of "Flipper" committed suicide. It might sound absurd, but it's such a moving story. And could well be true.
Much as I would love to see a dolphin up-close, the argument against keeping these creatures in captivity is compelling.
Despite the impact of this story, The Cove isn't actually about Flipper per se. It is an exposé of an annual slaughter of dolphins and porpoises in Taiji, Wakayama.
The dolphins are agitated by noise created by dolphin hunters, who herd their prey close to the shoreline before selecting the ones they want to keep.
Dolphins selected for captivity fetch $150,000 apiece. With their slaughtered counterparts earning only $600 for the fisherman, O'Barry claims that it is the captivity business that ostensibly drives the dolphin market. One thing's for sure: it's a lucrative but appalling business.
After commercial whaling was banned in 1986 , Japan launched research programmes to justify whaling. This has incurred condemnation worldwide, yet it continues.
On a lighter note, a surfer recounts a beautiful story in which a dolphin protected him from a potential shark attack.
Thankfully animal rights are no longer the exclusive provence of so-called "tree-huggers". Films such as The Cove have contributed significantly to the dissemination of information and raising consciousness among mainstream society.