Utterly horrific. please help this stop.

[shiato storm]

This was in the newspaper yesterday and again in todays Daily Mail - I don't read it but it was left on the seat of the train as I was coming home, as I think you will agree it is slightly distrurbing and also upsetting to see what is taking place in Japan at the moment...

it is absolutely appalling. firstly the slaughteing of any animal I find slightly disturbing but the fact that there is unprevented murdering of such beautiful creatures going on is utterly senselss. Now, I'm not you're mad environmentalist who likes to go and live up a tree to protest about a new by-pass, nor am i a vegetarian hell-bent on turning the world to eating nuts and berrys BUT how can anyone in their right minds allow what's going on here to continue??
why does everyone turn a blind eye??
its simply monsterous.

what they do is in a town called Taiji the fishermen watch for shoals of dolphins in open water then surround them driving them into a bay and then pull nets across the bay's entrance to prevent them escaping. people jump in the water and loop ropes onto the mammal's tails and drag them onto the boats where their throats are cut and they bleed to death as they are being butchered for their meat. Even worse than this is the frenzy going on in the dolphin group as they rush around maddly trying to escape - injuring themselves in the process. not to mention the potential stress these close family groups suffer in the process (dolphins swim in family groups rarely splitting up, they can therefore be quite large).
the water turns red with the blood of dying dolphins.
whaling commissions have no legal powers over these aweful activities and typically the Japanese government is turning a blind eye...Japanese scientists are forbidden to release data on dolphin populations (or many other wildlife types they actively hunt and kill) to international scientific groups being highly protective of their coastal waters. if International scientists did find out the hard facts of this reality the almost certainly a ban would be called...

So, I think we - collectively - need to make a stand and do something. you can't say dolphins aren't wonderful and intelligent creatures. I shall be writing to the Japanese Embassy in light of what I have seen in the papers. sod their f*ing fishermen, Japan is cr*p when it comes to environmental awareness on living animals. another example I shall state is their disregard for the lives of MILLIONS of sharks to make - what is essentially a pretty disgusting food - Shark Fin soup. to make this they take one shark, slice the fins off, WHILST ITS ALIVE, and throw live finless body back into water. a lingering death comes to that shark...

the Japanese Embassy address is:
101-104 Piccadilly
London W1J 7JT
United Kingdom

address it to the Counsulate General and you should get noticed. For your information the Ambassador at the moment is called Masaki Orita

cheers
Ss

[TeePee]

Or try the Japanese Ambassador's residence:

23 Kensington Palace Gardens
London W8

He's actually a very nice man, so be polite!

[shiato storm]

ooh, I might just do that. I am very disturbed about this slightly 'hushed' activity and I would like to make the voice of - what I hope is thousands, no millions - people heard and ultimatley bring this to an end.

[Punky]

well, i do agree it is quite sick as dolphins are very intelligent creatures. but it is a tradition for the Japanese people involved, and we can't just go wading in to stop them living and acting how they chose just because we don't agree. its like a load of Hindus in India petitioning us to stop eating beef cos they find cows sacred.

[Anders]

That is an interesting point Punky, but surely we should object to whatever we find abhorrent? Otherwise by that logic we would not object to acts such as murder or rape on the basis that another culture finds it acceptable.

Conversely I always try to be consistent in my actions and beliefs. I love eating meat. So where do I draw the line between those animals/mammals that I accept to be killed and those that I do not want killed.

I do not have a logical argument either way unfortunately. My own feelings are that I object to this slaughter because I like Dolphins. I also think there must be a more benevolent way to do it. Well, if there is actually such as thing as a benevolent way to kill of course.

[Stringent]

I read that article and was also horrified at what they were doing.

Thing is Japan is a member of some organisation that forbids such activities to go on. Hypocrytes. Mind you that could be said about a lot of countires!

[shiato storm]

well to underline your points punky and that it has always been a 'tradition' I feel is one of the weakest yet most quoted arguements in matters such as these. In my view cultures develope, change and evolve as time goes by - we no longer talk that same way we did just 200yrs ago, our environment has changed due to industry and technology is making us more aware of our surroundings. to say something is 'tradition' - fair enough, I'll accept that yes a culture partakes in activities on a timely basis for the last few hundred years or so (e.g. Halloween) but these activities do have a detrimental effect on the environment. Cultures MUST be able to accept changes and continue to develope with their surroundings - technology has made the world 'smaller' and now everyone can see what everyone else is doing. On the whole all countries are pretty good when it comes to environmental awareness and education as well as seeing that certain animals just aren't the sort you go around killing, especially showing that you are killing them in such numbers, I read that the fishermen take turns to closely guard the region letting no outsiders anywhere near the area for fear of being discovered.

Yes the mind-set of the region of the world I live in (and possibly the majority of the western world) see it as barbaric but their culture does not...why? because they have been doing it for ages but times have changed, the senseless and barbaric act of killing whales and dolpins is not required. surely as a global issue the japanese should be advised/pressured/ordered into stopping this act. In form with international relations Japan can't afford to be seen as a stuborn partner, envirnmentalists are already on at them for killing whales and sharks - and now this is taking the p*ss. I don't mind japanese stuffing what ever into their mouths but Dolphins?
how can we bring an issue such as this to light without treding on the 'don't eat meat' type of arguement?? as I whole heartedly enjoy a good steak.


I didn't mention the eco system that exists and the niche the dolphins occupy - take them out of the equation and the balance is lost, fish numbers will be altered (probably already have) and it has a knock on affect all the way down the chain (recall food-chain webs from school? yup, them...)
remove the top predator and the one below is no longer hunted, so for example a tuna. tuna numbers EXPLODE suddenly (relative terms here) but because they increase too fast the food the tuna eats e.g. shrimps runs out rapidly ... lots of tuna die of starvation. the shrimp population is knocked out and recovers slowly, the tunas don't have enough food so start going after something else that another type of fish eats - e.g. the shark eating clown fish (its just an example, they don't realy) - if the tuna turn to clown fish the same problem occurs because now both sharks and tuna eat them - they get killed off and now sharks and tuna have to go looking for something else...
...and so on and so forth.

this world is made up of intricate webs that weave in and out of eachother ultimately all connected one way or another...Man is destroying the system. I think the best explanation is the one Agent Smith made in the Matrix believe it or not - a very accurate and ominous message:

"Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague."

ok so we don't live in a computer generated world but you get the point - all we seem to be capable of is f*ing up the place. its only now that we are starting to do things about it all in some areas...

[TeePee]

It is tradition in many middle eastern countries to stone women to death for adultery. Should we respect their tradition? Or should we destroy their way of life by invading their countries?

[pyro]

This is just sick, plain sick, I love these creatures, I don't find a reason for killing them. Whales have also being hanted down by the Japs, but this is too much, common, dolphins?! It makes me really sad, really, really sad. I love those animals and I admire them for their ability in apnea.


It is sick!

[shiato storm]

I'm composing a letter tomorrow (sunday) that I want to word in such a way that accepts the differences in cultures but underlines the need to 'fit in' with the rest of the world's views to become acceptable.
after all thats what its about - social acceptability. and these acts cleraly are not.
any help appreciated

[shiato storm]

p.s. I don't want to get into some major political debate over how lots of cultures behave; Teepee's comment on women - that's a Human Rights issue and nothing to do with what I'm talking about at the moment - but yes, I see your point Teepee.

[Prodigy]

Personally I think there are a lot worse things going on.

Vivisection for one.

Slitting the throats of the dolphins is a lot more humane than you'd think - apparently it's quite a relaxing way to go.

Think about the way millions of millions of fish die - they are trawled up from so deep down that their eyes explode when they get to the surface - they then suffocate and die.

I do agree that it's horrible but I don't agree with people's reasoning - who cares if the dolphins are beautiful and intelligent? It should be down to the suffering that the creatures endure and there are so many countless acts of barbaric animal torture in the world it just beggars belief. Mostly goes on in poor countries - things like bear baiting etc.

I'm actually a keen animal lover but I' wouldn't say this is one of the worst things I've heard about.

Showing the sea red with blood and using words such as "murder" (you can't murder an animal) and "innocent" is just a play on people's emotions.

[Prodigy]

Just to add - you do know that millions of animals in this country are bled to death? Pigs, sheep and chickens I think (afaik). Yes, they are electrocuted first but I doubt it makes much difference. Also the meat for Jews or whatever comes from animals that are bled like this but without being electrocuted.

Cows get a bolt through the brain I think so that's probably more humane.

[Peanut]

Originally posted by Punky
well, i do agree it is quite sick as dolphins are very intelligent creatures. but it is a tradition for the Japanese people involved, and we can't just go wading in to stop them living and acting how they chose just because we don't agree. its like a load of Hindus in India petitioning us to stop eating beef cos they find cows sacred.

I think the big difference is that this is hunting, not farming. If they were maintaining dolphin populations in some sort of farming sytem, breeding them specifically for slaughter and maintaining numbers it would be more acceptable. But they're not, they're just preying on the wild populations and expecting the natural breeding cycle to compensate for their actions, disregarding the undoubtedly grievous harm its probably doing to the local ecosystem.

[shiato storm]

couldn't have put it better peanut.
it's more the fact that there is no sustained 'stock' as it were for this sort of catching...prodigy mentioned cow,chickens and what have you but these are bred specifically for milk/eggs and meat.
this on the other hand is not taken from a controlled population therefore the implied damage on the ecosystem could be of a magnitude we just don't know...
as I already mentioned - I eat meat - I have to otherwise I can't do the type of exercise I do (i'm not a dietician so don't tell me I can stop eating meat and eat the small fungus from between a ckicken's toe as a replacement). the act of killing, say, cattle I can live with - they were born to become burgers and steaks etc and thats just the way it is.
now, dolpins in japan - ok so they are killed to become burgers, meat and lipstick and beauty products (by the way most of the oils in these things came from whales ) they see it the same as us and cattle - why should it be any different? valid arguement.
but the failure to maintain 'stock' is eventually drive them to extinction.

p.s. Fish's eyes do not pop when you bring them to the surface. for something to pop on surfacing it would have to contain air - eyes do not. I know this. I dive and have an MSc studying these sorts of things (really very interesting actually, played with ballons in a 30m deep tank and watched them explode if they were full of air) - yes the fish won't like it but they won't explode

[Prodigy]

Okay I see what you're saying about the stock of dolpins.

But just to add - when deep sea trawlers take fish up from really deep down their eyes definately do pop out - it was on this program and fishermen were explaining it. I don't think they explode but they definately pop out because of the pressure change.