MEDIA RELEASE 15/07/07
GATHERING TO COMMEMORATE BABY WHALE STRANDING, CABARITA, 17th July
Howie Cooke from Surfers for Cetaceans and Dean Jefferys of Byron Whale Action Group have called a gathering at North Cabarita Beach to honour the memory of a baby female humpback whale who stranded there one year ago and was with-held 20 hours from the sea by NPWS and then killed with lethal injections.
Members of the public are invited to meet at the Whale Tipi on the site of the stranding, midday, Tuesday July 17 at the north end of Cabarita Beach (Gravels) to commemorate the baby whale and voice any concerns about how the whale was treated.
Howie Cooke says " A year on from this tragedy and there has still been no open enquiry or call for public submissions to address a multitude of unanswered questions being asked by people, many of whom witnessed this mismanaged 'rescue'. Until due process and revision of procedures is given to this particular stranding and management priorities by NPWS remain in question, the safety, rights and protection of cetaceans along our coastline are in jeopardy.
Because NPWS appears to have taken so called scientific advice from the captive dolphin industry, in this case Seaworld, removing the whale indefinitely onto dry land to secure a blood sample was prioritised over the right of the beleaguered whale to simply be returned to the sea. NPWS and Seaworld not only violated the priorities and rights of the baby humpback whale and her family; they violated the NPWS policy on stranding and its fundamental principle of rescue and repatriation.
Whether it means one baby whale needlessly degraded and killed or 50 humpbacks under lethal threat from Japan in the name of 'science', research over right to freedom can never be justified."
On the following day Wednesday 18th a second gathering will occur at Little Wategoes at midday to remember the calf who was buried a year ago to the day at Cape Byron. The ceremony will also honour the Cabarita calf's mother, her family and the humpback whale migration.
