AR-News: FW:(JP) Urgent/Sign-on letter re dolphin-assisted-therapy program

[Masako Miyaji]

Please consider adding your name to below sign-on
letter regarding the cancellation of
dolphin-assisted-therapy program in Sanuki City,
Japan.

From: <PAH03724 at nifty.ne.jp> 
Subject: New Letter for Sign on 

GOOD NEWS--the Mayor of Sanuki city finally rejected
the project of Dolphin Healing Center and declared
that the city would not draw up a budget for this
project for next year. He received nearly 900 protest
letters from abroad, and this is one of the reasons he
decided to stop the project. We thank you again for
your cooperation. 

The following are the Update and a new letter for sign
on to express thanks for the Mayor as well as to URGE
HIM TO CLOSE DOWN the facilities for the Dolphin
Healing Center.

Best wishes,
Sakae Hemmi/Fujiwara
Elsa Nature Conservancy
P.O.Box 2, Tsukuba-Gakuen Post Office
Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8691 Japan
Tel & Fax:+81-29-851-1637

*****
Update   

Please sign on to letter below.

We have been working to stop the local government's
plan to expand its facilities for dolphin assisted
therapy which uses dolphins caught by the drive
fishery in Taiji. 

Thanks to your support, the Mayor of Sanuki city
decided to stop the project and did not draw up a
budget of \25,000,000 (US$220,000) for the next fiscal
year. The Mayor provided the following reasons to
explain why he decided to stop the project.

    1) It is difficult to allocate \25,000,000 every
year to proceed with the plan. 

    2) The environment of the Seto Inland Sea is not
suitable for dolphins to live. He reportedly explained
that no bottlenose dolphins live in the Seto Inland
Sea and that wild animals should not be kept there by
force.

    3) He received 893 protest letters from 19
countries. 

    4) The number of visitors to the facilities is
decreasing. 

The dolphins are owned by Ask Japan Corporation, a
company which was entrusted with the implementation of
the plan by Sanuki city. Ask Japan Corporation works
with Japan Dolphin Assisted Therapy Association
(JDAT), which was established in October 2002 and
newly registered as NPO corporation in August this
year.

According to a local newspaper named the Shikoku
Shimbun, Ask Japan Corporation, JDAT, and people who
welcomed the expansion of the dolphin healing center
are furious with the Mayor's decision. There is a high
possibility that Sanuki city will lend the facilities
to Ask Japan Corporation and take a conciliatory
attitude with people who want to proceed with the
project.

We succeeded in stopping the local government's
financial support to expand the facilities for the
dolphin assisted therapy, but it's possible that Ask
Japan Corporation and JDAT will manage to expand their
plan using the facilities of Sanuki city.

New Letter for sign on:    
This letter is sent to express our thanks to the Mayor
and request that he not lend the facilities to the
company concerned. We also request that this business
is closed in Sanuki.

We hope that many organization/individuals will sign
on to this letter. 

Very Urgent - We would like to send this sign-on
letter as soon as possible before the Mayor agrees to
lend the facilities to the company.  

Please let me know (pah03724 at nifty.ne.jp) if you can
sign. We are grateful, if you would circulate this
letter to others who might not be on the list.
   
 ***

To: Mr. Shinya Akazawa, Mayor of Sanuki city
5385-8, Shido, Sanuki-shi, Kagawa-ken, 
769-2195 Japan
E-mail: hisyo at m.sanuki.ne.jp    
Fax: +81-87-894-4440

Dear Mr. Shinya Akazawa,

First, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks
and applaud your decision to stop the Dolphin Assisted
Therapy Project and not budget for it for next year. 

It is appropriate that you declared, as one of the
reasons you had decided not to proceed with the
project, that the environment of the Seto Inland Sea,
where the facilities are located, is not suitable for
the dolphins to live. We appreciate that your decision
does not involve cruelty to animals.

The undersigned organizations and individuals strongly
urge you to:

     1) Please close down the facilities, and seek
programs to utilize the facilities without using
dolphins. 

     2) Please do not permit the company, Ask Japan
Corporation, to use dolphins or any animals at the
facilities. It is our understanding that the surviving
three dolphins are owned by Ask Japan Corporation and
they want to continue their dolphin business in the
same facilities owned by Sanuki city. By allowing Ask
Japan Corporation to use the facilities, Sanuki city
supports and participates in this animal abusive
business. Allowing dolphins to be used contradicts
your assertion that the environment is not appropriate
to expand the Dolphin Healing Center.

We encourage you to follow through with your
courageous decision and to do right thing again. 

Thank you very much for your time and effort regarding
this issue.

Sincerely,

Sakae Hemmi, Director of Marine Mammal Project
Elsa Nature Conservancy, Japan

Signatories: 

1. The Humane Society of the United States, USA

2. Lolita Legion, USA

3. OrcaLab/Pacific Orca Society, Canada

4. BlueVoice.org, USA

5. Dolphin Project, USA

6. One Voice, France

7. Project Thursday 's Child, USA

8. The Marine Connection, UK

9. Cetacea Defence, UK

10.Reseau-Cetaces, France

11.Captive Animals' Protection Society, UK

12.Animal Friends Croatia, Croatia






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