“Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams is now taking action to stop the injustices committed against wildlife. She wants everyone to stop buying tickets to marine shows and calling for commercial aquariums to set their dolphins free. She says it’s the best way to stop the capture and killings of dolphins in Japan.
“These animals travel the ocean. That’s what they explore daily. No tank will be big enough. No tank will ever be deep enough, ever be exciting enough,” she said Friday in a Skype call from the small Japanese town of Taiji, whose dolphin hunt was documented in the 2009 Oscar-winning film “The Cove.”
Williams, 19, is the latest celebrity joining the cause to save dolphins. Others include Brian May of Queen, Sting and Daryl Hannah.In explaining why she has taken up this cause in particular, Maisie says the issue of dolphin captivity struck a chord with her and she felt a need to do something to bring about change. Williams adds that she believes people should stand up for their beliefs and, with more and more people speaking out against injustice, she hopes the world will soon be a better place.
Williams, who is the global ambassador for O’Barry’s Dolphin Project campaign, said that only a handful of Taiji fishermen are benefiting from the practice and many Japanese don’t even know about Taiji.
“It’s not an attack on Japan at all, or on Taiji, or the people of Taiji,” she said. “I want to say, honestly, hand on heart, that this is not an attack on anyone in specific.”
“The Cove,” directed by Louis Psihoyos, which was not widely shown in Japan, went online Friday for free viewing limited to Japan and in a Japanese language version, after the filmmakers rebought distribution rights.