Ruth Chavez dreamed of working with animals ever since she can remember.
This year, a more violent dream opened her eyes to a reality, sending her on a mission to end the annual mass dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. A couple weeks before Earth Day, Chavez dreamed about a pool of slaughtered pilot whales.
Not a month after the dream, she watched “The Cove,” a documentary that exposes the annual dolphin killing in Taiji, Japan.
“Once you see it, you’ll never think the same way,” she said. “I think about it constantly.”
Since then, Chavez said she devoted her efforts to promote awareness about the Taiji slaughter. In addition to posting fliers and offering private viewings of “The Cove,” Chavez has gathered signatures for a petition started by the Earth Island Institute. The petition is intended to get President Obama involved.
Institute members will head to Japan this fall to support Ric O’Barry, the former Flipper trainer turned dolphin activist, and Chavez hopes to join them.
“I’m scared to death to go,” she said. “But I told the people at the Institute I’m going to go if I have to buy my own ticket. … I’m looking to do my part in stopping this.”
She said people often question her efforts, telling her that nobody in Albuquerque cares about dolphins in Japan. She said she is turned away by people when distributing fliers on the street.
“Some people are like, ‘What are you selling? I know you’re trying to sell something,’” she said. “But I’m not. I just want people to be aware of this.”
The bigger goal, Chavez said, is to get captive dolphins freed across the nation. As noted in the documentary, Chavez said people are misled by dolphins’ characteristic smiles.
“It looks like they’re smiling and happy, but they’re really miserable,” she said. “It’s like a prison, like being stuck in a bathtub all day. Dolphins are used to traveling 40-50 miles a day.”
Even indifference to the topic doesn’t stop Chavez.
Despite the negative feedback, she said is determined to join the resistance.
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“I feel like God put me here for a reason,” Chavez said. “Everyone’s here for a reason, and I think this is my purpose. I need to do this.”
For more information contact Chavez at Ruthyc10@gmail.com
