Want to join the Cove Guardians 2012-2013

August 10, 2012

From the Sea Shepherd website 

Operation Infinite Patience: Cove Guardians 2012-2013

The dolphins need you.  Sea Shepherd is gearing up for our annual dolphin defense campaign Operation Infinite Patience 2012-2013. Cove Guardian volunteers are needed.  We need volunteers to travel to Taiji, Japan and we need volunteers around the globe to engage the Japanese government.

The dolphin slaughter continues in Taiji, Japan.  We have slowed it down these past two years, but dolphins continue to be driven into the Cove for capture and slaughter.  Until the slaughter ends, we will not stop! We will display our Infinite Patience.

The drive hunt season is set to begin on September 1, 2012, and continue through February or March 2013.  Here is your chance to participate.  We need volunteers to join us on the ground in Taiji.  Want to be a Cove Guardian?  We know that our presence on the ground costs the Japanese government a significant of money and the greater our presence; the more expensive it becomes for them.

The Japanese authorities are getting desperate. Just this past season Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen was detained by the Japanese Government for 64 days and forced to stand trial for a crime he did not commit. This trial cost the Japanese government a significant amount of money. The judge found Vermeulen not guilty and the government of Japan was forced to pay him $10,000 USD for wrongful incarceration. Acquittals are essentially unknown in Japan thus demonstrating how little evidence existed to support the case. Vermeulen donated all funds to Sea Shepherd.

If you cannot become a Cove Guardian in Taiji your participation is still critical.  We need dedicated and passionate supporters all over the world to follow our tweets4taiji on Twitter and other information coming out of the campaign. Your continued efforts to contact the Japanese embassies and consulates and inform them of how offensive this slaughter is and how it damages Japan’s reputation is as important as ever.

We know that our presence and the communications to the Japanese embassies and consulates reduced the number of dolphins killed these past two years.

Not everyone who wants to crew for Sea Shepherd can take the time needed for an Antarctic campaign, nor is it possible for everyone who applies for ship’s crew to be selected. However, with very few exceptions, most Cove Guardian applications are accepted.  While this is a relatively easy campaign to join, be aware that it can be emotionally difficult and financially expensive.  It is not something to act upon lightly.  It is important work and we must stand tall and strong in the face of this horrific slaughter -until it ends. Many Cove Guardian volunteers return to Taiji and others have gone on to crew on our ship-based campaigns.

Think you have what it takes to practice Infinite Patience in Taiji?  Write to Scott West atcoveguardian@seashepherd.org and request a Cove Guardian application package.