Dolphin Lovers!!! please read/sign petition

[gypsygirl]

A few days ago, I watched "The Cove" for the first time, after watching Whale Wars and Blood Dolphins. I was very reluctant to watch anything concerning dolphins because they have been my favorite marine animal since back when I was just a toddler. I was always intrigued and fascinated by their beauty and intelligence. Never ONCE did I think about captivity or the harmful things being done to them if they didn't "make the cut" for captivity (zoo's all over the world, Sea World, ect.). In Japan, a little fishing village called Taiji, there is a senseless and disgusting slaughter of one of the worlds most beloved and beautiful creatures. Why you may ask? Money - that is the long and short of it...money.
The ones who are not selected for captivity, are brutally slaughtered (sometimes in front of their babies) and then butchered, packaged, and sold to stores in Japan. What most of the Japanese don't know, is that dolphin meat has extremely high levels of mercury - toxic levels. Japanese are being fooled by their own government for the sake of money (hmm..sound familiar??).
The man who made the movie "The Cove" used to be the most sought after dolphin trainers in the world. He trained Flipper (all 5 of them) and appeared in the shows series many times. For 10yrs he trained without realizing the harmful effects it had on dolphins to be stuck in tiny tanks, living out their remaining days unable to swim and play the way they were meant to. One day, "Flipper" (her name was really Kathy), passed away in his arms - it was then he decided to jump the fence and become an activist. The movie explains it much better than I ever could, so please, if you love animals of any kind but especially dolphins, PLEASE watch "The Cove". It is VERY disturbing, yet extremely eye opening. It's a tough watch, but this IS reality and it's happening right now..each year from September through March, the hunt, capture, and slaughter resumes.
Below is a link to the petition being sent to the President, Vice President, and Japanese government by the maker of the film himself, Ric O'Barry.
Also, a link to Facebook to become a fan of "The Cove" page to keep informed of any updates throughout this fight to save the Japan Dolphins.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully you'll be able to watch the movie. This is a great cause and needs all the help it can get!!

For petition:
End the Brutal Killing of More Than 20,000 Dolphins Every Year in Japan | Causes on Facebook

Facebook page:
The Cove | Facebook

 

[Steel]

I have to say this much... Any slaughterhouse is disturbing to watch for people who aren't used to seeing it. I don't think it's fair to tell the Japanese that they're wrong and should stop the killing and eating of dolphins when it's part of their culture. We breed millions of cows, chickens, and pigs, a lot of them in equally as bad conditions for slaughter as well. I'd be bothered by people telling me to stop shooting and eating cute little bunny rabbits. Many people around the world would be bothered if Hindi's demanded we stopped eating cows.

 

[gypsygirl]

But, that's just it, the majority of the Japanese don't even know they're eating dolphin meat. Most of them, when questioned, were repulsed by the idea of it. Not to mention the toxic levels of mercury in the meat itself. Not their culture to eat dolphin meat.. the vast majority didn't even know this was happening (the slaughter) until Ric O'Barry brought it to their attention, and, they are outraged by it.
I agree the slaughter of "our" meat is often times disgusting as well. But, we are aware of it and we can choose to eat it or not, and we can choose to protest it because we ARE aware of it. The Japanese are NOT aware of what's going on (or weren't), and not able to make a choice. The meat was being ground up and put in packages labeled as other things.

 

[gypsygirl]

Further, for someone such as Ric O'Barry, who could be sitting in a Caribbean Island somewhere, making MILLIONS of dollars on things like swimming with the dolphins and dolphin shows, he chooses to be an activist to save these Japan dolphins from slaughter. There's a reason for that. Who would choose to be an activist over making millions?? My guess is, not too many! This is not a money-making scheme for him..he uses his own money to fund his journey's overseas. yes, they ask for donations, but doesn't every "save the..." program?? It's a necessity to keep it going.

People are being fooled over there. Dolphins are being slaughtered for toxic meat and the almighty dollar. Others are being captured for zoo's and other places such as Sea World. Captivity is not always a good thing. Watch the movie, you'll be enlightened.

If you still don't agree, so be it. That's what makes the world go 'round

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

I have to say this much... Any slaughterhouse is disturbing to watch for people who aren't used to seeing it. I don't think it's fair to tell the Japanese that they're wrong and should stop the killing and eating of dolphins when it's part of their culture. We breed millions of cows, chickens, and pigs, a lot of them in equally as bad conditions for slaughter as well. I'd be bothered by people telling me to stop shooting and eating cute little bunny rabbits. Many people around the world would be bothered if Hindi's demanded we stopped eating cows.

I'm just going to say something that I brought up the other night to a friend. You said you don't see what's wrong with it, we breed millions of cows and chickens and pigs and so on. I would have nothing against them killing Dolphins for food if they were to breed them specifically for food. I mean how many wild cows, chickens, or pigs (not boar or something like that, I mean the cute little curly tailed pink ones) do you see? I've never seen any of those animals as wild animals, just farm bred for food.
I think if they bred Dolphins like we breed other animals for food then it'd be alright.

I have not seen this show yet but will have to check it out.

 

[Steel]

So you think its a morally higher ground to breed animals specifically for slaughter (i.e. giving them no chance in hell) then to hunt them in the wild?

 

[gypsygirl]

To Steel:
I don't think this is about the morality of slaughter, but rather hiding it from the general public because the meat is not safe for human consumption.
We can all choose to protest a slaughter house or meat market, and choose not to eat such things because we are aware of what's going on. The Japanese, until recently, were unaware of what was happening and what they were eating.

Do you think it's morally higher ground to hunt them in the wild? Do you not still slaughter a hunted animal for human consumption or to hang on a wall? Do hunters not lay in wait, hiding themselves from the animals so those animals don't really have a chance? They are being lured under false pretenses so they can be killed... I'm not understanding the difference?
Maybe I'm missing your point here, but hunting or breeding still ends the same way...slaughter for human consumption. Right?
Just trying to understand your point..

 

[gypsygirl]

Regardless of our views on morality, the movie is about making the public aware of what they (The Japanese) are eating and not being given a choice to eat. Toxic meat.
Slaughtering an animal laced with toxic levels of mercury makes zero sense. These animals will never be fit for human consumption because of their mercury level.
Parts of the movie are about captivity being detrimental to the animals (any animal), but most of it is about making the public aware of what's going on and why they are doing what they're doing.

 

[Steel]

To Steel:
I don't think this is about the morality of slaughter, but rather hiding it from the general public because the meat is not safe for human consumption.
We can all choose to protest a slaughter house or meat market, and choose not to eat such things because we are aware of what's going on. The Japanese, until recently, were unaware of what was happening and what they were eating.

Do you think it's morally higher ground to hunt them in the wild? Do you not still slaughter a hunted animal for human consumption or to hang on a wall? Do hunters not lay in wait, hiding themselves from the animals so those animals don't really have a chance? They are being lured under false pretenses so they can be killed... I'm not understanding the difference?
Maybe I'm missing your point here, but hunting or breeding still ends the same way...slaughter for human consumption. Right?
Just trying to understand your point..

I should have used the word "ethical" and for me, yes, hunting is more ethical, if only slightly. I don't lure or hunt from a blind, I track. And a lot of them get away. More power to them. I see no problems with luring or hunting from blinds, however, or else other animals would be deemed as unethical hunters; snakes, trapdoor spiders, deep sea angler fish, etc.

As far as the high levels of Hg in the fishmeat, well yes, I agree that their gov't shouldn't be feeding them that. However, though I haven't had the chance to see the film yet, I have a feeling it's going to be very biased. IT seems to me that hunting wild dolphin would be an extremely expensive way for a government to feed its people, especially if you only get 20,000 of them a year. I don't think 55 dolphins a day is quite enough to sustain the population of Japan.

I honestly feel that it boils down to people here getting all upset that others are killing what they see as cute and cuddly pets. Except for the die-hard animals rights terrorists, you wouldn't see nearly as much opposition if they were hunting down things that looked like this in the wild:

 

[Steel]

I'll say this much as well: I think it's much more inhumane to keep animals in zoo's and captivity than to hunt them wild.

 

[xrayspex77]

I have to say this much... Any slaughterhouse is disturbing to watch for people who aren't used to seeing it. I don't think it's fair to tell the Japanese that they're wrong and should stop the killing and eating of dolphins when it's part of their culture. We breed millions of cows, chickens, and pigs, a lot of them in equally as bad conditions for slaughter as well. I'd be bothered by people telling me to stop shooting and eating cute little bunny rabbits. Many people around the world would be bothered if Hindi's demanded we stopped eating cows.

I just watched "The Cove" a day or so ago, and from watching it, what I understand is that eating dolphins is not a part of their culture (in the film they even went around Japan in other cities asking people on the streets about dolphin meat, and all of them were clueless, and thought it should be stopped, and none of them considered dolphin meat as a food source), it is just what these people that lives in this small town in Japan is telling these activists, reporters, tourists that comes to their town (they just tell them that because they know most people are ignorant to their culture and will believe what they are told). Dolphin meat contains VERY toxic levels of mercury and will cause health problems to the person consuming it and also to newborns, and can be fatal in some cases. Please watch "The Cove", it's an amazing documentary.

So what's happening is, they are not "hunting" them for food at all, they're capturing to sell off to other countries (swim with dolphins etc...amusement parks etc...), and the remaining that are deemed not "worthy" of being a show dolphin, they kill and instead of wasting, they think hey why not sell the meat, just more money for them.

 

[Drozd]

I've seen the cove...

and while yes it may be hard to watch....I honestly do not have any problem with it....
it is a historical and cultural part of that village...much the same way that the inuit are still allowed to hunt whales..
they do put up barriers to try to prevent the general public from having to watch it...
they do consider dolphins and whales to be "big game"
these particular dolphins are not endangered or protected...
I don't think that there should be a "cuteness factor" placed on food sources that determine what is or is not ok to eat...
much like the uproar over the seal industry a while ago (which was later proven to be staged by greenpeace) I think that there are alot of parts of "the Cove" that have been sensationalized or staged by the film makers...
I think there's a whole lot of animal rights people and eco-terrorists that blow alot of things out of proportion and have figured how to tug at heart strings just so....
I'm all for responsible wildlife management be it in the world's oceans or forests...
both whale and dolphin meat fetch a high price....I find it absurd to believe that these people are unknowingly being fed it for the sake of money...

As far as whale wars goes... the only problem I have is that the hunt goes down in a wildlife sanctuary.... and more so than that that the international whaleing commission doesn nothing about that fact....but as far as the actual hunting itself... as long as a sustainable population is being left....hunt away

but I do think that these hunts...should be done traditionally....using traditional tools and weapons....if tradition is going to be invoked for the right to hunt in the first place

 

[gypsygirl]

I'll say this much as well: I think it's much more inhumane to keep animals in zoo's and captivity than to hunt them wild.

If you watched the movie, you would see that the "cream of the crop" dolphins are plucked from the groups that are herded into the cove, and sold to zoo's, amusement parks, ect., at $150,000 each, to live out their remaining days in captivity. There's more than one issue at hand here with the Japan Dolphins, and captivity is one of those issues.

 

[gypsygirl]

I've seen the cove...

and while yes it may be hard to watch....I honestly do not have any problem with it....
it is a historical and cultural part of that village...much the same way that the inuit are still allowed to hunt whales..
they do put up barriers to try to prevent the general public from having to watch it...
they do consider dolphins and whales to be "big game"
these particular dolphins are not endangered or protected...
I don't think that there should be a "cuteness factor" placed on food sources that determine what is or is not ok to eat...
much like the uproar over the seal industry a while ago (which was later proven to be staged by greenpeace) I think that there are alot of parts of "the Cove" that have been sensationalized or staged by the film makers...
I think there's a whole lot of animal rights people and eco-terrorists that blow alot of things out of proportion and have figured how to tug at heart strings just so....
I'm all for responsible wildlife management be it in the world's oceans or forests...
both whale and dolphin meat fetch a high price....I find it absurd to believe that these people are unknowingly being fed it for the sake of money...

As far as whale wars goes... the only problem I have is that the hunt goes down in a wildlife sanctuary.... and more so than that that the international whaleing commission doesn nothing about that fact....but as far as the actual hunting itself... as long as a sustainable population is being left....hunt away

but I do think that these hunts...should be done traditionally....using traditional tools and weapons....if tradition is going to be invoked for the right to hunt in the first place

Where in the movie does it say this is a proven and practiced part of tradition and culture? If the movie said that, I missed it. Actually, the Japanese people were asked and none of them agreed with this.
If they are "in the right" then why hide it from the public? Why go to all that trouble to hide it if they are so rightfully slaughtering and butchering mercury laced dolphins for human consumption?

You may find it absurd to think people are being fed dolphin meat for the sake of money alone..but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. Money is a huge motivator and it makes the world go 'round. Our government among others in the world, will choose making money over our health any day of the week.

 

[gypsygirl]

I just watched "The Cove" a day or so ago, and from watching it, what I understand is that eating dolphins is not a part of their culture (in the film they even went around Japan in other cities asking people on the streets about dolphin meat, and all of them were clueless, and thought it should be stopped, and none of them considered dolphin meat as a food source), it is just what these people that lives in this small town in Japan is telling these activists, reporters, tourists that comes to their town (they just tell them that because they know most people are ignorant to their culture and will believe what they are told). Dolphin meat contains VERY toxic levels of mercury and will cause health problems to the person consuming it and also to newborns, and can be fatal in some cases. Please watch "The Cove", it's an amazing documentary.

So what's happening is, they are not "hunting" them for food at all, they're capturing to sell off to other countries (swim with dolphins etc...amusement parks etc...), and the remaining that are deemed not "worthy" of being a show dolphin, they kill and instead of wasting, they think hey why not sell the meat, just more money for them.

Thank you xrayspex. I agree it's an amazing documentary and one that people should watch with an open mind. Making comments prior to seeing it is much like commenting on these boards without doing research - not suggested. (not you Drozd)
IF this was part of their culture and IF the meat wasn't toxic to humans, and IF they were being forthcoming about feeding this tainted meat to their society, then I probably wouldn't have an issue with what they are doing. Culture is culture - they may not agree with us killing rabbits or deer for human consumption but it's our culture. Dolphin slaughtering and butchering IS NOT part of THEIR culture. If it is, then I'd love to see that noted somewhere, anywhere. Not just by the fishermen who are butchering these animals, but by someone other than the men who are making money off of it.

I love that we all have the ability to disagree respectfully, and I thank each of you for offering your input to this discussion. If you have seen the movie and still don't agree, that's understandable. We can't all agree on everything and if we did, this world would definitely be one boring place to live!

 

[Drozd]

Where in the movie does it say this is a proven and practiced part of tradition and culture? If the movie said that, I missed it. Actually, the Japanese people were asked and none of them agreed with this.
If they are "in the right" then why hide it from the public? Why go to all that trouble to hide it if they are so rightfully slaughtering and butchering mercury laced dolphins for human consumption?

You may find it absurd to think people are being fed dolphin meat for the sake of money alone..but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. Money is a huge motivator and it makes the world go 'round. Our government among others in the world, will choose making money over our health any day of the week.

it didn't say that it was a part of the tradition and culture in the movie.....and I'd expect that it wouldn't be because well the movie was filmed by an activist....
you always have to dig deeper...and there's always 2 sides to the story right?

About Taiji:

As of 2007, the town has an estimated population of 3,444 and a density of 577.85 persons per km². The total area is 5.96 km². Taiji is the smallest local government by area in Wakayama Prefecture because, unlike others, it has not experienced a merger since 1889 when the village of Moriura merged into Taiji. Taiji has been well-known as a whaling town and is considered as the birth place of Japan's traditional whaling method. Taiji's annual dolphin hunting attracts international criticism from many sectors.
History
Taiji was primarily known as a whaling town. Japanese traditional whaling techniques were dramatically developed here in the 17th century, and the commercial hunting of dolphins remains a major source of income for its residents to this day.[2] Wada Chūbei organized the group hunting system and introduced new handheld harpoon in 1606. Wada Kakuemon, later known as Taiji Kakuemon, invented the whaling net technique called Amitori hō to increase the safety and efficiency of whaling. This method lasted more than 200 years.

The town was dealt a massive blow in 1878 when an accident during a hunt claimed more than 100 lives, which resulted in the collapse of the group hunting system. Taiji's whaling industry became buoyant again after the Russo-Japanese War as it became a base for modern whaling. When the Antarctic whaling started, Taiji provided crews for the whaling fleet. In 1988, Taiji suspended their commercial whaling as a result of an IWC ruling.

The town continues the hunting of small whales as well as dolphins which is not regulated by the IWC.

Taiji Whale Museum opened in 1969. It exhibits more than 1,000 items in relation to whales and whaling including skeletal preparations of several whale species.

Festivals
Taiji's summer festival is called the Taiji Isana Festival that is held annually on August 14. Isana is an old Japanese word for whales. Its autumn festival is called the Taiji Kujira Festival (kujira means whales in Japanese) that is annually held on the first Sunday of November. Both the festivals are heavily whale-themed and the attractions include the Kujira Odori (lit. whale dance) and the Kujira Daiko (lit. whale drumming). The Kujira Odori is a traditional dance that whalers used to perform to celebrate a good catch. This dance is unique in that the dancers only use their upper body as they dance sitting on whaling boats. It is identified as intangible cultural heritage by Wakayama Prefecture. The Kujira Daiko is also traditional and it describes a battle between a big whale and small whaling boats by drumming.

So yeah it's part of a long whaling culture and tradition there.... heck, even a high number of the population even reflects that in their names (names with origins in the practice of whaling)
While it may seem barbaric to US....it IS part of their traditions and culture...just as it is with the inuit and eskimos

As for the meat.... it was highly priced for quite a while... it was started to be given in school lunches and such because the government wanted to get rid of some of it's surplus

Due to its low food self-sufficiency rate, around 40%, Japan relies on stockpiling to secure a stable food supply. As of 2009, Japan's 1.2 million ton seafood stockpile included nearly 5000 tons of whale meat. Japan has started to serve whale meat in school lunches as part of a government initiative to reduce the amounts. However, there has been criticism of serving whale meat to school children due to allegations of toxic methyl mercury levels. Consequently, Taiji's bid to expand their school lunch programs to include dolphin and whale meat brought about much controversy. An estimated 150 kg (330 lbs) of dolphin meat was served in Taiji school lunches in 2006. In 2009, dolphin meat was taken off school menus because of the contamination. The levels of mercury and methyl mercury taken from samples of dolphin and whale meat sold at supermarkets most likely to be providing the schools' lunch programs was 10 times that advised by the Japanese Health Ministry. The mercury levels were so high that the Okuwa Co. supermarket chain in Japan permanently removed dolphin meat from its shelves.

that's a probelm when basing all information on a film by an activist fillemd in 2007.... alot can change....no dolphin meat on school menus anymore and at least one supermarket chain that refuses to carry it... but now we're messing with tradition, culture and their food self-suffiency....

And as for the hard to watch killings:

The killing of the animals used to be done by slitting their throats, but the Japanese government banned this method and now dolphins may officially only be killed by driving a metal pin into the neck of the dolphin, which causes them to die within seconds.

Again things change....the method used now so closely resembles a captive bolt gun used in the killing of slaughterhouse livestock (oh wait the captive bolt gun just renders them unconcious so they can be exsanguinated...as opposed to this that kills them in seconds)

and you do know that it's not the only place where drive hunting of dolphins and whales takes place right?.... it was outlawed in Peru yet still continues there....

I'll give you the whole government will choose money over health.....but you gotta give me that animal activists and documentary film makers will skew the truth and facts for sensationalism and emotional responses..... greenpeace did it with their infamous seal hunt video (they hired untrained hunters to go club baby seals to get their footage)....and it's happening with the animal rights groups and eco-terrorists with this issue as well

As with any polarizing issue...I'd encourage anyone to dig deeper and research both sides.....research Taiji, drive hunting, the film itself, whale hunting and it's history (after all all we hear about is the japanese), and the IWC