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Dolphin Slaughters
Environmental Groups Condemn Japanese Dolphin Slaughters Dolphin Trainers Support Slaughters Somebody wants to kill Flipper. Fishermen have been slaughtering dolphins and their pilot whale cousins for more than 400 years, most notably in Taiji, but also in Futo and several other Japanese coastal fishing communities. There are cultural differences between their perceptions and those of Americans and other Europeans. Japanese fishermen, in particular, do not see dolphins as intelligent mammals, but as competitors for fish and some are proud of their skills as dolphin hunters. The Japanese also see dolphins and whales as they see fish – on the menu. In 1980, there was a great protest when U.S. videographer Hardy Jones filmed the brutality of Japanese fishermen and dolphin blood splashed onto American TV screens. A boycott was threatened and the protest had repercussions in Japan. Most Americans thought it stopped, but after the issue died down the fishermen became skilled at hiding the practice and most Americans are not aware that it continues. Today, annual dolphin slaughters take place with the support of small village communities and with permits issued from the Japan Fisheries Agency. Recently, three environmental groups, One Voice, Earth Island, and Elsa Nature Conservancy formed a coalition to try to stop it. In the “drive” fisheries, the fishermen find a pod of dolphins, lower stainless steel poles into the water and beat the poles with hammers. Sound travels faster in water, creating a wall of deafening noise, frightening the dolphins into a state of panic. Maneuvering their boats and continuing to hammer the poles, the fishermen drive the dolphins toward shore and trap them in nets in shallow water. Sometimes the fishermen leave them trapped overnight, exhausting the frightened dolphins gasping for air as they ponder their fate. More often, they begin the butchery right away by driving hooks into their bodies and stabbing them with butcher knives until they bleed to death. The dolphins thrash about in pain, emitting loud whistles and cries, watching their companions die, and taking as much as six minutes to die a torturous death themselves while the water turns red with blood.
Recently, fearing an international, as well as a domestic outcry, the fishermen have used extreme measures to hide their deeds. Hostile tactics are used to keep Westerners and Japanese tourists away from a small cove hidden between two mountains where they kill dolphins. "Keep Out!" and "No Trespassing!" signs of warning are attached to metal chains, which are tied to trees along paths leading to the killing cove. Taiji local government passed a law banning visitors from climbing the mountain where the killing can be viewed. Walls of fabric at the top of the mountain and barbed wire tied around the trees where the massacres can be photographed hide the bloodbath and blue tarp erected over the killing cove blocks the view by boat or helicopter. Despite the obstacles, several American and international environmental organizations have been bearing witness. "This is the largest dolphin slaughter in the world, and the cruelest thing that I have ever witnessed in my 40 years of working with dolphins" says Richard O'Barry, former trainer of the TV-star Flipper. O'Barry and his Danish wife Helene, work for One Voice, a French animal protection organization. Along with Earth Island Institute, the American environmental organization that started the call for dolphin-safe tuna, and Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, they documented the dolphin slaughter on site in Taiji. Jones co-founded BlueVoice.org with actor Ted Danson and filmed Futo again in 1999. Blue Voice has also worked with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society of Great Britain on this issue. After an international outcry, the Futo drive fishery stopped for five years. In 2004, Elsa Nature Conservancy charged that marine parks caused a revival of the drive hunts. Using information supplied by Elsa, Humane Society International reported that one hundred dolphins were driven into Futo port, fourteen were captured and sold to marine parks, at least four drowned in the nets, five were butchered inside a tent to hide the carnage from the public, their meat carried away in buckets, and one was tagged with a transmitter to stage a deception of “scientific” research. Then the rest were released.
In Taiji, Ric and Helene O’Barry observed members of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA) participating in the hunt, sparing a few selected dolphins but condemning them to a life of captivity in marine parks. But even those spared are subject to violence and extreme distress. They saw mothers and babies separated by force and dolphins dragged to shore with ropes around their flukes. Beached animals accidentally beat each other up in their frenzy to get back into water. Some got entangled in the nets and drowned. "The public will be shocked to learn that the inhumane and brutal slaughter of dolphins in Japan is supported by the dolphin captivity industry," Helene O’Barry reported. The global demand for swim with dolphins programs is fueling a greater demand for captive dolphins. The dolphins selected for captivity fetch substantially higher prices than those slaughtered for their flesh. Without the premium price paid for captives, the economic viability of the slaughters would be more difficult to maintain. Sakae Hemmi, representing Elsa, stated: “If the captive industry had not demanded dolphins, Futo would not have carried out the drive fishery” in 2004.
Ironically, the Japanese citizens who eat dolphin meat are also victims of the slaughters. Toxins accumulate in predators like dolphins at the top of the food chain. Dolphin meat sold in Japanese stores has been found highly toxic. When a team of scientists tested hundreds of samples of whale and dolphin meat sold in Japanese stores, they found, on average, mercury concentrations five times greater than the allowable level and methyl mercury four times the allowable level. In addition, toxic concentrations of cadmium, PCBs, and DDT are also found in dolphin meat. Yet the Japanese government provides no warning to consumers that eating dolphin meat is a serious health hazard. In the late 1980s U.S. marine parks also participated in purchasing dolphins obtained from the drive hunts. Recently, U.S. marine parks have issued statements condemning the cruelty of drive hunts. However, they have not condemned captures from the drive hunts or requested Asian marine parks to stop acquiring dolphins obtained from the drive hunts. Despite the fishermen’s efforts, the teamwork of groups such as Earth Island, One Voice, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, and Blue Voice have managed some success. A video of the hunt recently aired by the BBC in a documentary entitled "Dolphin Hunters." Humane Society International and other environmental organizations also teamed to support U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who introduced Senate resolution SR 99, condemning the drive hunt and urging countries like Japan to end this brutal practice. What you can do: Dolphin supporters will be invited to a peaceful protest in October. Details will be announced soon on http://www.earthisland.org/saveTaijiDolphins. More information, including video footage and photos is available from Earth Island Institute, phone (415) 788-7324, web http://www.earthisland.org/saveTaijiDolphins and from Blue Voice, http://www.bluevoice.org. SR 99 is available here Statement by Mookeeo Author of "The Dolphins' View" trilogy http://www.thedolphinsview.com dolphintom2002@yahoo.com Contacts: Ric O’Barry, One Voice, http://www.savetaijidolphins.org Hardy Jones, Blue Voice, contact@bluevoice.org. Sakae Hemmi, Elsa Nature Conservancy, PAH03724@nifty.ne.jp Mookeeo invited other environmental organizations to join in stopping dolphin slaughters. The environmental organizations listed below also condemn the dolphin slaughters but have not necessarily endorsed Mookeeo’s statement. The environmental organizations support Senator Lautenberg’s resolution and call upon the Japanese government, including Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan and Mr. Fumio Tahara, Minister of Fisheries to stop issuing permits for dolphin drive hunts.
Contact information for the above groups available from Mookeeo upon request. The American Cetacean Society and WWF were also invited to participate in the statement but declined…beats me why they didn’t want to participate. |
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