Award winner and dolphin activist Ric O’Barry condemns EDEKA’s canned tuna as a “bloody disgrace”

Munich, 29 March 2012 – Richard O’Barry from Miami (protagonist in the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Cove”, 2010; German Bambi Award winner in 2011; former Flipper trainer) warns consumers from buying the “dolphin-deadly” canned tuna sold in EDEKA stores: “It is a bloody disgrace that one of the biggest food retailers in Germany participates in the killing of dolphins and makes profit at the dolphins’ expense. From a moral point of view EDEKA is on a level with the Japanese fishermen in Taiji that brutally kill hundreds of dolphins each year.”

According to official figures, about 1,200 dolphins were killed during the dolphin-associated purse seine sets in 2010 to catch tuna which is also sold in EDEKA stores. According to experts the actual number of dolphin mortality is much higher. The intelligent marine mammals slowly drown in the purse seine nets whose tuna catch is offered by EDEKA in Germany as tuna that has been caught “selectively and environmentally compatibly.” “EDEKA wades in the blood of dead dolphins – there is not much difference to the Japanese dolphin hunters,” says biologist Ulrich Karlowski of GRD in Munich.

„EDEKA stubbornly sticks to its course of action in spite of reason. They continue to insist on participating in the killing of dolphins and on selling canned tuna stained with the blood of dolphins to German consumers”, says Karlowski. Consumers can recognize truly dolphin-safe canned tuna by the SAFE label or they can check GRD’s list of approved tuna companies and brands.

Richard O'Barry will be campaigning in Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark from March 29 to April 19 against dolphin captivity facilities and will also be addressing the issue of dolphin-deadly tuna sold by EDEKA.