Reporter: Liam Bartlett
Producer: Howard Sacre
They're magnificent! One of the most glorious sights on earth.
You just can't beat the exhilaration you feel being with dolphins in the wild.
So why do we keep them in captivity - why do we pay good money to see them in zoos and aquariums? That's the question Ric O'Barry's now asking.
Which is pretty remarkable when you consider he's the bloke who caught and trained Flipper - star of the 60s hit TV show.
Ric's had an amazing change of heart. He's a man on a mission - to free the dolphins. And to show he's deadly serious, he's organised the most audacious and dangerous rescue operation ever.
Full transcript:
STORY -
LIAM BARTLETT: There is something very special about dolphins.
RIC O'BARRY: They've been around for 65 million years.
LIAM BARTLETT: We all feel a special connection with dolphins. Their playful intelligent natures have made them the aquatic icon of our time.
RIC O'BARRY: A dolphin can look in the mirror and they know what they're looking at - like humans or the great apes. There is something special about them
LIAM BARTLETT: And it was this man, Ric O'Barry, who almost single-handedly ignited our affection.
RIC O'BARRY: You're talking to a guy who has worked with dolphins for the last 50 years. Y'know I've watched them give birth. I've nursed them back to health when they're sick and, so, I see them differently to you.
LIAM BARTLETT: And, as you'll see tonight, this man's love affair with dolphins has made him a radical campaigner against those who want to exploit them.
RIC O'BARRY: These fishermen, they seem to be numb to it, they've been doing it for so long, they don't even think about it any more. This is genocide what's going on here.
LIAM BARTLETT: As a young man, Ric captured and trained the dolphins for the 1960s hit TV show 'Flipper'.
RIC O'BARRY: It was probably the best thing and the worst thing to happen for dolphins.
LIAM BARTLETT: The 'Flipper' phenomenon sparked a worldwide demand for live dolphin shows. But, even as he was making the series, Ric came to believe that dolphins were far too intelligent to be kept in captivity and forced to perform.
RIC O'BARRY: I remember putting a television set at the end of the dock at 7:30 on Friday nights so Flipper could watch 'Flipper' on TV. That should tell you they don't belong in captivity, if they're that smart.
LIAM BARTLETT: Finally, when Flipper died in his arms, Ric's change of heart was complete. From that day forward he declared a one-man war on the dolphin industry, becoming an eco-warrior who would go to any lengths to set them free.
RIC O'BARRY: The very next day, I was in jail in Bimini, in the Bahama Islands, for trying to free a dolphin. I was going to free every captive dolphin that I could.
LIAM BARTLETT: So, literally, it was an overnight turnaround?
RIC O'BARRY: It was. It was immediate. I just, I just lost it.
LIAM BARTLETT: For the past 30 Ric has campaigned to free from marine parks around the globe. But it's here, in the fishing village of Taiji, in southern Japan, that he's come to the world's attention, campaigning against an annual round-up of dolphins for the aquarium trade. It's a barbaric ritual he exposed in a documentary called 'The Cove' - one of the most audacious undercover missions in the history of the conservation movement.
RIC O'BARRY: They can see this very small village has now become infamous on an international scale, so they blame that on me.
LIAM BARTLETT: We're returning to Taiji with Ric O'Barry, for the first time since the film's international release as the locals prepare for this year's round-up, and he's a marked man, likely to be deported at any moment and, perhaps, worse. Would it be safe to say the fishermen hate you, or is that an overstatement?
RIC O'BARRY: It's an understatement. They would kill me if they could do it quietly.
LIAM BARTLETT: Taiji lies on the Pacific Coast. It's outwardly beautiful and spectacular, but it hides a dirty secret. ..an inlet known as The Cove where Ric's hidden cameras captured the annual round-up. Well, there it is. It's only a tiny stretch of water but you can see how they had to go to such extraordinary measures to get pictures of the place. You can also see that green tarpaulin there on the side. That's the stuff they put over the top to hide the actual slaughter of the dolphins. They're herded like sheep. Banging on metal poles, the fishermen create a wall of sound to disorientate them and drive them into the cove.
RIC O'BARRY: This is what they use right here to drive them in, this bell.
LIAM BARTLETT: So, they bang on this end?
RIC O'BARRY: Yeah, and it sends out a - it terrorises, literally terrorises the dolphins, this sound.
LIAM BARTLETT: Dazed and confused, the dolphins are separated. Trainers from international marine parks hand pick those that will make good performers, knowing full well the ones they reject will be butchered for food the following day. The chosen few are sent to the export pens.
RIC O'BARRY: Those dolphins are being transported around the world to China, Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, they've gone to the Miami Aquarium, Sea World, places like that, and that's what keeps this slaughter going.
LIAM BARTLETT: What sort of price do they get for a dolphin?
RIC O'BARRY: I know they got $154,000 each for the 12 that were sold to the Dominican Republic.
LIAM BARTLETT: For Taiji's fishermen it's big business - profits well worth protecting - and nothing they feel they have to justify. These men just don't seem to get it, that much of the world believes what they're doing borders on sheer savagery. They refer to dolphins as "cockroaches of the sea". And when you see the pathetic fate of some of the dolphins, it's sickening.
RIC O'BARRY: It's extreme violence. Ah, it's extremely brutal and it's unbelievable. This cove will go from the most beautiful tranquil, quiet, peaceful environment to Dante's inferno for dolphins in a matter of you know it's like - it's a schizophrenic place.
LIAM BARTLETT: It's schizophrenic alright. Only 100 metres from where the sea turns red with blood, there's a marine park for tourists, where you can have a bite to eat at the kiosk.
RIC O'BARRY: They actually sell the dolphin meat right in there. You can watch this dolphin show and you can eat a dolphin at the same time you're watching the show.
LIAM BARTLETT: But, away from the main performance, it's not such a postcard-perfect sight. This one here is spending a lot of time in the corner.
RIC O'BARRY: Yeah, it's depressed. This is captive dolphin depression syndrome. This is cruel and unusual - yeah, it's like a bathtub.
LIAM BARTLETT: All this is run by Taiji's local council, which, incidentally, is a sister city of Broome, in WA. We want to know when your mayor is going to put a stop to the killings? This week, Broome will decide whether or not to disown Taiji, but no-one here, at City Hall, was ready to talk about it. Are all your officials too busy washing dolphin blood off their hands?
COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE (TRANSLATION): If you're rolling the camera, I'm not going to talk to you. I refuse.
LIAM BARTLETT: So, we went to see Mr Yoshito Umezaki, from Japan's Whale and Dolphin Meat Culinary Association. Can you understand why many Australians would consider what your doing to be barbaric?
YOSHITO UMEZAKI (TRANSLATION): Yes, I can. I do understand the feeling, but I'd like to say that, for Japanese people, killing kangaroos is sad and unbearable. Don't you think it's the same?
LIAM BARTLETT: Are you saying we are hypocritical?
YOSHITO UMEZAKI: Yes, I can.
LIAM BARTLETT: Mr Umezaki went on to say it was more than hypocrisy.
YOSHITO UMEZAKI: I think there is racism towards people of colour.
LIAM BARTLETT: So, when we ask fishermen in Taiji to stop killing dolphins, and we are racist?
YOSHITO UMEZAKI: Yes, that's how we understand it. We never tell you in Australia to stop killing kangaroo or wild camels.
LIAM BARTLETT: Ric O'Barry would like to see every captive dolphin back in the wild and for all of us to reject dolphin shows in favour of appreciating them in their natural environment. To experience for ourselves what Ric is talking about, we've come to Rockingham, just south of Perth - one of the rare places you can interact with dolphins in the wild. A few minutes offshore, we found them. And it was truly remarkable. The dolphins actually played with us. There was nothing to entice them - no food, no nets. All we needed were underwater scooters to keep up. It's hard to imagine why the Japanese regard them as pests, to be exterminated. When you get so close to them, in this sort of situation, in this setting, you wouldn't even think about trying to hurt one, would you?
TERRY HOWSON: No, no, not at all. They're just a beautiful animal. They've got that beautiful dolphin smile and, you know, it just brings that smile out in us.
LIAM BARTLETT: It does. They eyeball you, they're looking at you. As you twist and turn they're daring you to "come with me!"
TERRY HOWSON: Absolutely. That's what they're wanting.
LIAM BARTLETT: Terry Howson used to swim with the dolphins as a teenager and has spent the years since taking tourists under the water.
TERRY HOWSON: I believe so strongly in keeping them in the wild and I believe, these days, that's what people want to see.
LIAM BARTLETT: You think they're capable of forming friendships, do you?
TERRY HOWSON: Absolutely. 100%.
LIAM BARTLETT: It's that same remarkable bond that keeps Ric O'Barry going in his campaign. He hopes by shining a global spotlight on Taiji's annual horror show and creating international pressure and shame, that the Japanese will have no choice but to stop. If they don't, neither will he.
RIC O'BARRY: When you see what goes on in The Cove, it's really difficult to sleep. When you see it, you can't unsee it. Those images stay with you forever.
LIAM BARTLETT: Still give you nightmares?
RIC O'BARRY: Yeah. Yeah. I think about it all the time. We should get out of here before they call the police.
