‎The Cove is a 2009 documentary that describes the annual killing of dolphins in a Quasi-National Park at Taiji, Wakayama, in Japan from an ocean conservationist's point of view.The film highlights the fact that the number of dolphins killed in the Taiji dolphin hunting drive is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and claims that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year in the country's whaling industry. The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats. The film follows former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry's quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Japan. In the 1960s, O'Barry helped capture and train the five wild dolphins who shared the role of "Flipper" in the hit television series of the same name. The show, a pop-culture phenomenon, fueled widespread public adoration of dolphins, influencing the development of marine parks that included dolphins in their attractions. After one of the dolphins, in O'Barry's opinion, committed a form of suicide in his arms by closing her blowhole voluntarily in order to suffocate, O'Barry came to see the dolphin's captivity as a curse, not a blessing. Days later, he was arrested off the island of Bimini, attempting to cut a hole in the sea pen in order to set free a captured dolphin. Since then, according to the film, O'Barry has dedicated himself full-time as an advocate on behalf of dolphins around the world. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cove_(film)) Learn more on the official website here: http://www.thecovemovie.com/

Find out what Ric O'Barry is doing today at SaveJapanDolphins.org