Dolphin hunt goes on in Japan town despite protests
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TOKYO | Tue Oct 12, 2010 10:47am BST
(Reuters Life!) - Fishermen at the Japanese town made famous by the controversial Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" shrugged off protests by animal rights activists on Tuesday to carry out their grisly annual dolphin hunt.TOKYO
Japanese broadcaster TBS said the first hunt of the season in the town of Taiji took place on Tuesday, without mentioning how many dolphins were involved.
But Sea Shepherd, one of several animal rights groups that have been monitoring fishermen in Taiji since the season began in September, said in a report dated October 11 on its website that they witnessed the second killing of dolphins this season on Tuesday.
They said 14 dolphins were killed, while another six -- mothers and calves -- were spared, at least temporarily.
"Mama dolphin, baby dolphin. No," chanted several Western activists shown by TBS standing near the ocean.
TBS also showed one activist, identified on the Sea Shepherd website as Steve Thompson of the Taiji Dolphin Action Group, raising his voice to fishermen about to leave for the hunt at 5 in the morning.
"Today. No fishing. There is baby dolphin, pregnant dolphin. If you take them, that is wrong," said Thompson in broken Japanese before being led away by police, who TBS said were there to prevent the protests from turning violent.
Taiji shot to global infamy after the release of The Cove, which was directed by former National Geographic photographer Louis Psihoyos and follows eco-activists who struggle with Japanese police and fishermen to gain access to the secluded cove where the hunt takes place.
The movie has met with fierce opposition in Japan from groups who say it is "anti-Japanese" and an affront to traditional culture. Its Japanese opening in July was greeted with shouting protests from flag-waving demonstrators and a scuffle.
Japan has long maintained that killing and eating whale is a cherished culinary tradition, and conducts annual hunts under the name of research whaling.
It says that killing dolphins is not banned under any international treaty and that the animals are not endangered, adding that dolphins need to be culled to protect fishing grounds.
(Editing by Elaine Lies and Steve Addison)
Comments
Oct 12, 2010 8:10pm BSTJackyl Report As AbusiveIt’s time for international treaties to be extended to include small cetaceans as well as large and for Japan’s exploitation of the ’scientific research’ loop hole to be reviewed! Dolphins are not seen as ‘endangered’ YET but new research findings are beginning indicate an exponential rise in new diseases spreading through cetacean populations. Together with the international outcry against dolphin hunts – which until now has only been receiving publicity via the internet!! – the continued slaughter of dolphins in Taiji the Faroe and Soloman Islands needs to be addressed!! The public’s awareness of these issues has grown significantly since the release of The Cove (at an international level) and this is being completely overlooked by the press!
Oct 12, 2010 9:58pm BSTdivvybird Report As AbusiveCulture? Tradition? My arse! Its arrogance and greed and the worst possible traits of being human.
Please, fishermen of Taiji, show some respect for these beautiful creatures. If its money you crave you would make much more from taking people on your boats to watch them rather than taking their lives.
I am not anti Japanese, just anti cruelty and I would visit Taiji as a tourist if the slaughter stopped.
Oct 12, 2010 10:01pm BSTladyxsuebee Report As AbusiveDolphins are intelligent mammals that are being driven, held and killed in a barbaric and inhumane manner in Taiji, Japan. They kill mothers that still are with their young, pregnant dolphins, etc. to fuel the captive dolphin trade, and sell the dolphin meat marked as whale. Dolphins are VERY intelligent mammals, play with forethought, recognize theirselves in mirrors, They have saved drowning humans and protected them from shark attacks, they stay and nurse their young. They communicate with sound to each other. People who have interacted with them (whether in captivity or the wild)know they are beings with personality, sense, and intelligence. “there is a connection between man and dolphin that is somehow innate in both our species” that is a quote from a PHD graduate who swam with wild dolphins. They give off amazing energy and do not deserve to be driven to a cruel death. The babies that were just killed had to listen to the sounds of their families being murdered before being released. They are not simply Fish, this needs to end NOW!!!!!
Oct 12, 2010 10:09pm BSTopinion23 Report As AbusiveMy apologies if this comes through twice.
Is the community open to alternative income? It would be important NOW that the Japanese government subsidize these communities while they commit to not killing more whales and dolphins. They have shown restraint this past month and it must have an immediate impact on the community financially.
This is not an excuse for them but a reality that needs to be addressed so that the killing stops!
It is not cultural, that is a myth. As a food source, they are poisoned with mercury. If the data is correct, the communities that consume cetaceans have a 50% greater mortality rate for males.
Oct 12, 2010 10:21pm BSTMarianneK Report As AbusiveThey say you are only as sick as your secrets. What is the pathology behind this sick and cruel “tradition”. There is no honour nor dignity in the slaughter of helpless animals. This drive has no economic contribution, nor any value of education. It is a spiteful carrying on, by a small segment of ignorant people. Please continue to cover this atrocity, and to let the eyes and ears of the world see that it is senseless!
Oct 12, 2010 11:07pm BSTKonstantina Report As AbusiveOur knowledge of dolphins is beyond our ability to truly understand because we live in two different world. We can not really measure and understand their intelligence but what little we know make us aware of the their understanding of their environment, the importance of their bond to their pod, how incrediblly social they are and that they most definitely feel pain and fear. What happened in Taiji today and has happened for so many years is a loss for the dolphins for marine life and for humanity. Ripping dolphins families apart and killing a creature senslessly shows that we humans have a long way to go before we truly become humane.
Oct 12, 2010 2:41am BST4thedolphins Report As AbusiveKilling just for the sake of killing. I say this because Sea Shepherd did offer to pay for the dolphins to spare their lives, yet the Japanese fishermen refused, stating that it was “dirty money”. Now an entire family has been torn apart. Parents murdered in front of their babies, the juvenilles released to live on their own without the guidance of the elders, their complex family broken in less than a few hours time. I don’t suppose the Japanese fishermen would like it if the same thing happened to their families, do you?
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Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Dolphin hunt goes on in Japan town despite protests | Reuters
via uk.reuters.com
