Photos taken in March and August by activists show Honey floating in a tiny pool in an eerily empty facility... In another picture, dust-covered penguins can be seen perched on a crumbling structure near a pile of debris.
OLIVIA TOBIN: ‘Activists have taken to the streets in protest after a dolphin and dozens of penguins were abandoned in an aquarium in Japan. Protesters were out in force in Japan calling for the animals to be saved. The animals, including a dolphin called Honey, have been abandoned since the start of the year… Honey, 46 penguins and hundreds of fish and reptiles remain at the Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium, in the city of Choshi in Chiba, just east of Tokyo… Photos taken in March and August by activists show Honey floating in a tiny pool in an eerily empty facility… In another picture, dust-covered penguins can be seen perched on a crumbling structure near a pile of debris.
“Honey is a symbol of both the problem of marine parks and Taiji’s hunting practices,” said Akiko Mitsunobu, chief of aquarium issues for Animal Rights Center. “When we went to check on the facility, she was showing signs of stress, putting her head weakly in and out of the water.” News of the abandoned animals spread quickly over social media, with Twitter users posting photos captioned “Save Honey”. A resort hotel’s offer to give them a new home sparked a flood of retweets. “I beg the authorities to get in close contact with each other and push ahead with this,” wrote one Twitter user…
Honey, a female bottlenose dolphin, was captured in 2005 near Taiji, a western port of the town that has become notorious for its annual dolphin hunt which was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove. The practice of Japanese aquariums buying dolphins from Taiji came under heavy criticism following the release of the film. The hunt involves driving hundreds of dolphins into a cove, where some are taken alive for sale to marine parks, while others are killed for meat’. SOURCE…
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