Follow my quest towards "Animal Equality": My experience in Taiji, Japan

I made the long journey home from Taiji two weeks ago today. During my two weeks there, I experienced a whirlwind of different emotions, and seen a lot of innocence being lost due to ignorance and greed. The experience of being in Taiji, is an experience that is hard to explain in the context of a blog. However, I will say that it’s an experience that will stay with, and haunt me for the rest of my days.

Being on the ground in Taiji, and experiencing first hand what takes place here is truly unforgettable. The town itself is very strange. Images of dolphins and whales are everywhere. On sidewalks, on top of buildings or, even on the sides of tunnels. You'd think that this town loves these beautiful marine mammals. Yet, we all know that it's known for the tragic and inhumane slaughtering of these magnificent beings.

Waking up every morning before sunrise with my fellow cove guardians, and heading to the harbor to greet the fisherman is something that I will never forget. Seeing the faces of these men as they walk towards their boats, made me realize that these fisherman have absolutely no empathy, or compassion for these dolphins and whales they hunt everyday. They can be seen smiling, and laughing while a slaughter is taking place or just after. And even though this behaviour is crude and ignorant, I do not hate these fisherman. I hate what they stand for, and truly don't know how they can go out everyday and mercilessly end the life of a living being. But, I do not hate them. Though I wish they could see for just a moment, why so many people from around the world care, and come to Taiji. It's not because we hate Japan, or the people of Japan, but because we can't stand to see these intelligent and innocent sentient beings forced into a tiny cove and inhumanely slaughtered, or, taken from their families to be enslaved for human entertainment and greed. They don't see this unfortunately, and that is an absolute shame, as if they could just see what we see for just a moment then maybe, just maybe they would change their way of thinking, and stop this senseless slaughter once and for all.

Being apart of this campaign, and seeing what these dolphins and whales go through on a daily basis has completely changed my life. In my regular everyday routine, im constantly reminded of the images and sounds that I witnessed in Taiji. It truly never leaves you, and I will never forget those beautiful souls who lost their fight, and the ones that remain held up in jail because of such speciesism. When my time in Taiji came to a close, I had NO desire to leave. If I could of stayed for the rest of the campaign I would have. Leaving was incredibly tough to say the least.

I met some of the most incredibly passionate, brave, selfless, inspiring and truly genuine human beings in Taiji, Japan, who traveled around the world from six different nations with the same desires and reasons for coming here as my own. Together we got up everyday before sunrise to defend the rights of these beautiful, innocent and intelligent sentient beings, who have every right to swim wild and free. Whether that be in the waters close to Taiji, or anywhere else in the world. I love and admire everything that Sea Shepherd stands for, and their unwavering commitment to protect and conserve the world's oceans and all it's beings. I will continue to be a voice for the voiceless, and plan to go back to Taiji every season until the "Cove runs blue forever". It might sound cliche but, my heart will always remain in Taiji with the dolphins and whales of the Pacifc ocean.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Damian