As the clock ticks down until the moment when the waters of Taiji, Japan’s disreputable cove run red with cetacean blood, the fastest and easiest way to stay on top of the news is via Twitter.
As portrayed in the Oscar-winning film The Cove, a handful of Taiji fishermen lure dolphins into the waters of a secret inlet and sort out the ones deemed worthy of selling to aquariums both in Japan and around the world. The rest are systematically harpooned and then butchered, with their toxic meat being sold in supermarkets.
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Local officials and fishermen vehemently defend the 50-year-old drive hunt. Since 2009, when the The Cove was released, the cetacean kill count at the infamous Japanese inlet has decreased every year. “It’s a lot less this year than it was last year and last year was less than the year before,” said O’Barry to TakePart in December. “So we’re seeing progress.”
The 2012-2013 hunting season begins on September 1, when Cove star and long-time dolphin freedom fighter Ric O’Barry will lead 50 activists from around the world in a peaceful prayer vigil on the Taiji beach.
Here’s a short list of must-follow Twitter hashtags.
And now a rundown of the Twitter handles you need to follow.
How will you be protesting the 2012-2013 Taiji dolphin hunting season, which begins on September 1?
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An Angelino by way of Wilkes-Barre, PA, Sal holds a Political Science degree from George Washington University. Though he began his career in sports, he's written about all things environment since 2007. @SalCardoni | Email Sal | TakePart.com