TODAY
Dolphin watch
05:55 AM Sep 04, 2009
Letter from Salina Ibrahim
I WOULD like to thank Golden Village for bringing the eco-movie The Cove to cinemas here.
It is disappointing that there has not been as much awareness of it as there should be. There needs to be more exposure of the issues raised because many of us are unaware of the slaughter that is taking place. We need to be shocked into awareness.
Singapore is indirectly guilty of contributing to the entertainment market that demands the capture of dolphins in the first place.
The Dolphin Lagoon in Sentosa and the proposed oceanarium at the integrated resort will only add to the bloody hands of fishing towns such as Taiji in Japan.
More than half of all captured dolphins die within two years in captivity, compared to their natural life expectancy of about 40 years.
When that happens, another "fish" order is issued and the vicious cycle is repeated. So begins yet another massacre of more than 20,000 dolphins in Taiji.
There are those who might ask: "So what? There are many dolphins in the sea."
The fact is we are causing an acute and unnatural depletion of these beautiful creatures.
Marine life generally does not have the privilege of a governing body or organisation to look after it, unlike their land-dwelling counterparts, but it is connected with and affects the sea - the largest and most influential ecosystem around.
I would urge more people to watch the movie, which runs for only 92 minutes. It's about being socially responsible. The next step is to educate others to do their part, no matter how small, in objecting to such activities.
