japan starts the dolphin slaughter
By jb78000
@jb78000 (15139)
September 15, 2009 4:28am CST
the hunting season for whales and dolphins has now begun. it's pretty brutal and worth a lot of money (whale and dolphin meat fetches good prices, and some live dolphins are sold to aquariums that pay even more). now do you think, as some locals have pointed out, the fact that killing whales and dolphins is an old tradition a valid reason for doing this and do you think other countries have the right to condemn this practice when other animals are treated very badly the world over?
link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/14/dolphin-slaughter-hunting-japan-taiji
4 responses
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
15 Sep 09
I don't think that there is any valid reason for a rich country like Japan to be hunting wild creatures for meat. Whales especially are are risk because of excessive and uncontrolled hunting in the past and many species of dolphin are likely to go the same way without international control. Nor do i think that just because some animals are treated badly that this is any sort of reason to excuse the poor treatment other animals.
1 person likes this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
15 Sep 09
Hi Judith, well first of all I don't have an opinion on whales so will limit mine to dolphins. I think they are really lovely things to see in the sea and we do have some local ones which the fishermen would never dream of catching, there are some things which should just be left as they are and the fishermen themselves have even been known to lie their lines down and just sit back and enjoy the midnight dolphin show.
On the other hand I do think it is wrong to condemn another nation for what has always been a traditional practice, such as killing a particular thing for food for that culture to eat. I was hijacked by a rabid vegetarian yesterday and told all people who eat meat are stupid just for uttering the possibilty of a snail for dinner, so yes I do believe we shouldn't interfere with cultural things.
So on that basis enough should be fished for which satisy the cultural habit only of eating them, but no exports allowed, and no catching to put in amusement parks.
@jb78000 (15139)
•
15 Sep 09
was the rabid vegetarian me? i tend to agree about not interfering with cultural things but it seems that most, if not all, of this catch is actually caught with profit margins in mind rather than low level local consumption. as far as amusement parks go i think this is just about the worst thing you can do to a whale or dolphin and how many countries that are condemming japan have these?
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
15 Sep 09
Judith I rather think you'd have more sense than to bring your veggie point of view into any discussion which has a bit of meat in it, I actually really dislike those agenda takeover types. If they've got an issue start a serious discussion. And I have to ask as I'm seeing this more and more on here and don't like it, when did an all round food eater type, including meat, suddenly become a 'non vegeterian food eater'. Am I right in thinking this is a little bit too much political correctness?
So we agree on a serious issue, the ones who criticise an old established cultural habit are the ones kidnapping the dolphins from their natural environment to put them in over large swimming pools for profit. And anyone whose ancestors weren't brought up eating dolphin burgers should cease forthwith.
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
15 Sep 09
I see this on television the other day, I can't remember which show it was but it was a news type program. Now, I understand that people eat these types of animals but the way they heard these into a small area and then just stab them is awful. It's sad, I'm for hunting as long as you give the animal a chance and you eat what you kill.
