News From New York

By Taffy Lee Williams,
Director of the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League

International outrage at the violations of CITES rules and Mexico's environmental laws prompted six protestors from the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League to gather in front of the Mexican Consulate in New York City on August 1, 2003.

Although the emergency demonstration thankfully took place without police interference, a filmmaker and her crew were on hand to document the situation for a future program on cetacean issues and the Solomon Island debacle. The group passed out hundreds of flyers to people on the street, cars passing by and even to employees within the Mexican Consulate. We were assured several times that their bosses "would get this information."

Although one of the biggest events for the New York Whale and Dolphin Action League took place during one of those weekend "deluges," maintaining a booth at the Clearwater Festival, 2003, provided much networking and support for our work. We were interviewed by two radio stations, WBAI/Pacifica and a broadcast from Marymount College News, where Puget Sound Orca Lolita's freedom and military sonar were discussed. On hand at the festival were congressional letters against military exemptions from environmental laws and the weakening of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, petition for the retirement and release of Lolita from the Miami Seaquarium, an anti-Talbot's campaign letter and a petition to prevent the use of Personal Watercraft at New York/New Jersey's Gateway National Recreational Area.

Despite the constant rain, hundreds of petition signatures were collected during the Festival to be faxed or mailed to appropriate legislators and committee members in Congress. Our new exhibits, created for the Clearwater Festival and long-term use, present detailed information and a photo history of whaling, Talbot's involvement in the slaughter of whales, the Navy's use of dolphins as underwater soldiers, the US military's war on the environment of the entire earth, the devastating effects of sonar on marine life, the extent of oil pollution, and the discarding of hundreds of millions of tons of trash into our oceans annually.

A rainy, sopping wet Labor Day presented more event snafus for our permitted protest at the New York Aquarium on September 1, but all was not lost. We gave an interview on WFUV (from Fordham University) which concentrated on exposing and calling for the closure of all US-owned and operated Dolphin Assisted Therapy programs. We moved from the Aquarium to Union Square in Manhattan to gather signatures during a "Stop the Police State" rally in the park. While gathering signatures I was invited to speak and took the opportunity to discuss the DOD's attempts to gain exemptions from environmental law, and the Dolphin Assisted Therapy scam, and other current campaigns. This was a wonderful place to end the day for many dozens of signatures were collected. We are scheduled to participate and speak at future ongoing rallies where we will of course continue to gather support (i.e. signatures) for our campaigns.

One of our newest campaigns concerns the dolphins in captivity at that mega-theme park, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. SFGA sea lions and dolphins are performing adjacent to roller coasters and other high speed mechanical thrill rides, which may make the case for MMPA violations. Beyond that, we are searching for the elusive documents that actually allow these marine mammals on the park grounds in the first place. If anyone has any information on the SFGA dolphins please contact us as soon as possible at 914-793-9186.

Our web site is up and running, at the following address: http://ny4whales.org/. Please visit our site and read about us, our work and our efforts for the well-being of our cousins in the sea.