(This post is a part of a series of documentaries I’ll be reviewing. To follow:To follow: Inside Job, Collapse, and Food, Inc.)

How many reasons do we need before we question ourselves about the ethicality of devouring a particular species? What makes a lucky few — dogs, cats, monkeys — off-limit to our blades and bellies, while others bare the brunt of suffering for the worst of human indulgences?

Not very many, it seems. The Cove makes the case for dolphins. You know, the ones you’ve seen and adored in waterparks and in-flight tourism videos. They smile, bob up and down, cross noses with man, and appear to show a special kind of bonding not as visible from their friends and cousins in the aquatic family. Apparently, we’ve had it all wrong — dolphins are man’s best friend, not that other do-creature.

Okay, so cutesiness aside, there are a few things you should know about dolphins.

For one, they’re very sensitive of sound and noise. So when we see them having the time of their lives at waterparks — among screaming herds of children and the like — that is apparently a put-on brought about by some crafty work in the training department. On the inside, it turns out, they’re dying. And most in waterparks actually do, only to be replaced by others when needed.

And while we’re on the topic of death, there is another sad fact that bares repeating: Dolphins, unlike us, are conscious breathers. This means they have to actively decide when to breathe, which also means that when their surroundings get tough, some tend to give way and commit what can only be termed as suicide. This is fascinating. We know they’re more intelligent than most other fellow species, but what does it mean to find out that they’re capable of making a utilitarian decision of choosing death over life?

Now you know what we’re dealing with, so let’s get to the gist of it. The Cove is as much about dolphins as it is about Ric O’Barry — the man behind dolphins. As the main trainer behind the hit 60s’ TV show Flipper, O’Barry was the man partly responsible for popularising the creature in our culture. Following the show, he brought and trained dolphins into Seaworlds and Aquariums all over.  But now, he’s out to undo his own doing by releasing every dolphin he finds in such captivity and under the bad will of bad humans.

In this case, most of these humans reside in Taiji, Japan, where the majority of mass dolphin killings occur in the world. As many as 20,000 dolphins are slaughtered each year here, supposedly for consumption by a sub-Japanese culture of dolphin eaters (the majority of people in Japan, however, are not part of this culture and are unaware that it even exists.)

O’Barry makes several trips down to Taiji in an attempt to capture these bad humans at what they do best. He and other activists want to show the world what they’re up to, while they in turn want to capture O’Barry and his guys retorting physically to have them arrested on legal grounds. It’s a mutual “you-video-me-video-you” situation, only made more hilarious by one such videographer O’Barry and his men call “Private Property,” for the mere reason that it’s the only thing he has ever been caught saying on camera.

Tired of returning bare-handed with real footage, O’Barry hatches up a plan with his fellow activists to setup secret shooting spots around one such area.  The footage that results is gruesome. Blood-ridden fills of sea, dolphins giving up on their last few breaths — you know, things that make far from happy Friday-night viewing. But it’s important. And in trying to raise awareness, O’Barry succeeds (worth mentioning: The Cove won a 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary.)

However, thinking about this more deeply, one can’t help but raise the matter of possible hypocrisy. We are made to believe dolphins don’t deserve to be killed and consumed. But if this is what you believe, what about any other animal — say, a cow? How different would it be if a Hindu activist made a documentary on the mass-killings and treatment of cows out in the west, or if an Islamic believer attempted to raise awareness of the slaughtering of pigs?

I feel uncomfortable making the distinction between dolphins and other animals. And yet, this is what O’Barry and his crew want us, his audience, to believe — that they’re somewhat more special and deserve more attention than the rest. “Hey, Americans! After you finish snacking on your Double Monster McSlammed, see how bad it is to eat dolphins!”.

Personally, I can’t say much. I’m a reluctant non-vegetarian — only so because of my upbringing and habits. I’ve decreased my consumption of meat this year, but not as much as I’d like. Someday, when I am content with my access to good, cheap, and healthy food, I will make it my life’s goal to switch over to the bright side, but I am vary of half-committing until that happens.

But watching The Cove and realising that the distinctly human qualities of love, affection, and bonding exist outside of us is enlightening. If humanity is really all we look for to make a friend out of something, we needn’t look too far.