csiwhalesalive / CC

After a brief glimmer of hope that the slaughter in Taiji, Japan, would not happen this year, it has belatedly begun. Of the 100 dolphins rounded up so far, half will be released and the other half will be sent to prison aquariums. Fifty pilot whales have been slaughtered.

But there is hope: Worldwide outrage prompted by the recent movie The Cove means that the future of the slaughter is uncertain, according to an anonymous official at the Taiji fisheries association.

There's still work to be done. Please contact your local Japanese embassy and express your disgust over the sale of dolphins to aquariums and the slaughter of pilot whales.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

From the folks at Ecorazzi comes the number-one reason for rushing out to see The Cove: It saves dolphins' lives.

The annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, was supposed to start yesterday, but all's quiet in the cove:

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Compare that with last year at this time:

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Ric O'Barry, the famous former (and reformed) trainer of TV's Flipper, has been battling Taiji's dolphin slaughter for years. He reports that instead of being filled with dolphin killers, the cove was filled with news reporters, including—for the first time ever—Japanese film crews.

Looks like Japan's dirty secret is no longer a secret.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

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"[A] living, breathing movie whose horrifying disclosures feel fully earned."
—The New York Times

"To watch bleeding dolphins struggle for their last breath, to actually hear their agony, is devastating. … [Y]ou feel culpable just for being part of the species that can teach another mammal tricks, reward it with snacks and pats and at the same time be capable of getting up at dawn to poke it to death with spears."
—Time

"[O]ne of the most powerful, heartfelt, and (yes, I'll say it) important 'nature' documentaries I've ever seen."
—Cinematical

"[T]he footage is so horrifying, the facts so disturbing. It's not that you can't believe it, but that you don't want to."
—The Huffington Post

When this movie hits theaters near you, go!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

harrywalker / CC

"Would you go to see a brilliant actor who's been framed for something that he didn't do, and put him on a stage and say he's going to do Hamlet for you, and why don't you enjoy it? That's a hell of an analogy, but it's about the same thing."

That's what comedian Jerry Stiller had to say as he was leaving a screening of The Cove, a documentary about the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. During the slaughter, some of the young dolphins are captured and sent to aquariums to be put on display. But Stiller won't be going to see them—and neither will many of the other people who see this powerful movie.

Look for The Cove at a theater near you on July 31.

Posted by Amanda Schinke