- Heather Hibbitt plans to Occupy The Cove Down Under - Image courtesy of Heather Hibbitt
Nov. 30, 2011. Based upon the spirit of the grassroots "occupy" movement, an international group of dolphin activists are banding together on Facebook to symbolically occupy Taiji's infamous cove. The social media campaign, which began online and now has several chapters around the world, organizes ongoing protests outside of Japanese Consulates or popular city venues, to object to the dolphin drives currently underway in Japan.
Occupy The Cove movement branches out
From San Francisco to Chicago, England to Australia, the Occupy The Cove movement is spreading rapidly. They'll continue to spread their message they say, until all of the dolphin drives and the slaughters have ended in Taiji. Just under 1,000 members strong, Occupy The Cove has branched out into fifteen international chapters, each with its own members who represent either individual cities or entire countries. Occupy The Cove San Francisco for example, initiated by Jack Colwell, will hold regularly scheduled monthly protests downtown, right in front of the Japanese Consulate. Their next event is planned for Friday Dec. 02, from 12 PM to 4 PM.
Suite101 spoke with Heather Hibbitt, a 66-year-old great-grandma from Queensland, Australia, who has recently taken on an administrative role for Occupy The Cove – Australia. Hibbitt says she first came by her dolphin activist role quite accidentally when she was watching television – a "rare event," she admits. "A friend suggested I watch an episode on house renovations," Hibbitt said, "so I sat, watched people spending a lot of money ... dozed off and woke up in time to see a real-life drama that completely turned my life around – The Cove (2009), directed by Louie Psihoyos."
Hibbitt's first introduction to the Taiji cove happened back in August of this year; since watching the movie, the great-grandma has been blazing new trails for herself and other, like-minded individuals. The day after watching The Cove movie, Hibbitt visited Savejapandolphins.org and made a donation. "That was huge for me because I’m not particularly well off!," says Hibbitt. A few weeks later she added, "I received a nice t-shirt, copy of The Cove and a copy of Ric O'Barry's book: Behind the Dolphin Smile." (Renaissance Books July 7, 2000). A passionate advocate for dolphins quickly emerged.
Hibbitt tackles Taiji's sister city: Broome, Australia
On Sep. 01, 2011, Save Japan Dolphins hosted an international Save Japan Dolphins Day. Hibbitt wondered whether there was an organized event in Brisbane. Discovering that there wasn't, she was told that she could organize one herself – something she admits, "Was way out of my comfort-zone." Hibbitt adds, "I’m a 66-year-old great-grandma who has been wearing blinkers all my life," but "The Cove was firmly imprinted in my consciousness and I felt I had to do something."
Armed with what Hibbitt calls a "tacky poster," she drove 165km to the Japanese Consulate in Brisbane, thinking she would be the only one there. "What I didn’t know," said Hibbitt, "was that many, many people had known for years what I learnt that night in August when I watched The Cove, so as I approached the consulate, I was very relieved to see lots of wonderful people carrying banners and posters and handing out flyers to passers-by."
Hibbitt's next project tackled Taiji's sister city of Broome, Australia, where after The Cove movie's release in 2009, the council of Broome issued a warning to its sister city, threatening to cut off ties unless the dolphin hunts were stopped. The council's warning lasted just two months says Hibbitt, when a backlash from the local Japanese community in Broome, forced the council to reverse its decision and issue an apology for its actions to Taiji.
Hibbitt sent the Broome Council an e-mail, voicing her disapproval over the reversal and proceeded to download an official petition form from the city council's website. On Oct. 20, 2011 she took the petition to Brisbane, by herself, to get more signatures. She then submitted it to the city council.
Occupy The Cove goes Down Under
It was Jack Colwell's, Occupy The Cove San Francisco, which prompted Hibbitt to approach him about an Occupy The Cove – Australia chapter. Colwell established the group for Hibbitt and made her administrator. Although the great-grandma admits that she is "Not sure how that works yet," she has organized her first event in Brisbane for December 03, 2011. "And it's legal!" Hibbitt says proudly, "I got a 'Note of Permission’ from the Queensland Police today."
Hibbitt hopes to distribute 800 postcards she has created for the event, and hopes to take the opportunity to talk to people. "I feel the need to let as many people as possible know about the cove," says Hibbitt, and "maybe just one more person will tip the balance on the side of the dolphins."
The small town of Taiji, Japan, can capture or kill over 2,000 dolphins annually, by driving pods into a natural funnel area leading into the coastal cove. Once trapped inside the cove, a small number of dolphins may be held for captivity, but the majority of the mammals are slaughtered.
Hibbitt hopes that people will support her efforts to get the dolphin slaughter stopped, and join her Occupy The Cove – Australia event, which will be hosted in Brisbane on December 03, 2011. "We will meet @ 9 AM outside the Treasury Casino, Brisbane Square, Hibbitt says, "And if you can print some postcards, that would be helpful."
Hibbitt can be reached for further information @ 0434 031 502 within Australia or 0011 61 434 031 502 from overseas. She may also be contacted via e-mail at heatherhibbitt@gmail.com, or through Facebook.
Elizabeth Batt - Elizabeth Batt is a former large animal nurse, certified NREMT, lover of equines and conservationist.
