Japanese Dolphin Hunt
Foreign protesters attempted to interrupt this year’s dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan:
Anti-whaling protesters led by actress Hayden Panettiere have mounted an extraordinary attack on Japanese fisherman during their annual dolphin slaughter.
The 18-year-old star of the TV blockbuster Heroes joined six protesters on surfboards in a valiant attempt to reach dolphins the fishermen wanted to kill off the east coast of Japan.
But before the Australian and American surfers could reach the dolphins, a fishing boat intervened using the boat’s propellers to block their way.
After about 10 minutes of attempting to stop the fishermen, the protesters gave up and returned to the shore. A video of the event can be seen here:
In the video we can see that the Japanese fishermen were very angry, and some of them were shouting at the news cameras. The video also shows the surfers quickly fleeing the scene of the protest before police arrive, apparently because the police were “on the side” of the fishermen.
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Now all that needs to happen is for some celebrity to be arrested for tresspassing or some minor thing, get deported (hopefully) and be a celeb martyr against eco terrorism.
Think of the publicity, the career boost, the endorcements.
“I survived 10 days in a Japanese jail for defending the defenseless baby dolphins and whales against the cruel and barbaric japan fisherment on my surfboard in my bikini! Wanna see? It really screwed up my social schedule but what the hey, it was for a good cause that I really believe in.”
OMG! a publicity agents fantasy come true.
Uh.. yeah. A bunch of self-absorbed, ‘Jesus complex’ having oddballs and celebs are going to change the world. Pffft. Where were they when the Baiji was going extinct? Oh, thats right across sea complaining about how Japanese fishermen are fishing dolphins in a sustainable fashion.. Now the Baiji is extinct. Good job morons! Stop pushing your Western notions of what is acceptable food and what isn’t.
The Baiji won’t be the only animals going extinct in China. The hunting of that mammal was bad enough, but more importantly the level of pollution in the manufacturing areas (which is an ever growing sector of China) are clearly going to cause much more havoc (on a global scale) than a few fishermen (in Japan) will ever do. Does this mean that Hayden Panettiere and her friends will stand outside of any of the myriads of manufacturing plants in China to protest the gobs of pollution that spews from their factories? Don’t think so.
My thoughts exactly, great post Kappa-kun!
Thank you. Picking on Japan seems to be the easiest thing they can do.
Hmmm, yes doing something is horrible. We can’t be everywhere, so be nowhere? Of course a celebrity makes it even worse. Oh, and I forget that because Japan is one of the few allies so westernized in consumerism that they should be allowed to ignore the whaling bans just as the U.S. ignores greenhouse emissions.
Just because your country does something does not make it right or even acceptable automaticly. I hang my head in shame every day that my home is one of the worst offenders and everyone in the world has to pay the price of our ego and greed. There are many things that taste good, shoot cannibals said humans tasted of pork and I love pork, does that make it right?
fishing? dolphins aren’t fish
Then what would you call it? Catching? Harvesting? Dolphin’ing? Get out of here.
If I threaten to kill dolphins can I have Hayden Panettiere and her friends show up in bikinis as well? Although using a propeller is not nice – I prefer a more hands-on approach….
as usual ill informed famous people make a tit of them selves before knowing all the facts.
No, no, that’s all wrong – in fact they covered up their tits with the bikini tops….
pity…
Famous? .. who was famous in that photo? I know the article had a title of Foreign Celebs but seriously … who even knows these chumps? They`re just looking for a little free publicity to boost their shabby careers.
Where was Hiro Nakamura???
I was planning to do a blog post about the same subject, but you guys have already said all that I was thinking, and more.
I agree with their cause, but Jesus, the Daily Mail sure loves melodrama!
“…Panettiere was lucky to escape the ordeal with her life…”
Attempted murder on the high seas by Japanese savages? It’s only a matter of time before America retaliates…
“The team set out on nothing but surfboards into deep open sea”.
Nothing but surfboards? In the SEA? The horror! Thank god they made it back to the States alive.
Even the commenter who played devil’s advocate (I’m sure he’s a nice guy) was sadly out of touch:
“…to the Japanese, dolphins are just another food source as whales are, so I can understand why they do it although I love dolphins as well. It is easy to be righteous when your belly is full.”
Have any of you out there ever met anyone who has EVER eaten dolphin? I haven’t.
I really like Japanese people, because they are always respectful, but I am completely sickened by the killing of the highly intelligent Dolphins. They are mammals, not fish. Yes, we kill animals for food, but they are not very intelligent, exception is the pig. Dolphins are extreemly intelligent, human friendly and trusting. All for a delicacy, not just survival food. The Japanese people eat most everything that moves in the ocean, there are plenty of other things they could eat. There is no excuse for this savage murder of these beautiful animals. Dolphins will practically come up to you, and then that’s when they kill them and their babies. Mankind has been given a brain by God, to think with, but unfortunately they think about money only. We must all try to stop buying Japanese products, and you all know what they are. Hit them in the pocket book, and it’s amazing how fast things can change when money is cut out of the picture.
First of all, I want to say that my first thoughts are for our Troops in Iraq, getting them home safely. But I have really been hurt by these dolphins being killed. I love people, and animals, especially dolphins.
Cows are mammals too. So are pigs.
Just because dolphy-dolph-dolphins rate high in “awwww cwute” factor amongst your culture and your people doesn’t mean that other cultures should be forced to bend to your way of thinking.
I saw a video where this little Hayden twat was prattling on all teary-eyed about how the dolphins looked like “teddy bears”. I mean, give me a break! Teddy bears!? What a gag!
I think her juvenile pampered American ass should be barred from ever coming back to Japan (or any country with a different culture that might offend her delicate sensibilities)!
japanese don’t eat dolphin meats just so u know..
they are imported to Domenican Republic and etc…
Dolphin meats are sold in some area in Japan.
Ahh, soo desu ka…
those protesters(those “lets-make-the-wolrd-a-better-place-and-at-the-same-time-get-some-awesome-publicity-for ourselfes-by-crying-in-front-of-the-camera” hippies) should first look in their own country how animals are killed for the food industry
as long they dont slaughter animals that are endangered species (like some whale species) i dont see a problem with it
maybe they should thins of an other killing method maybe by using electricity
humans aren’t anywhere near extinction, would soylent green be ok too?
I don’t think most species of dolphins are near extinction either. What is your point?
“maybe they should thins of an other killing method maybe by using electricity”
Trained killer whales would be cool. “Sic ‘em, Orca!”
本日のメニューはイルカ刺身
食べてみたい
Immature, rich, sheltered, out-of-touch-with-reality actresses bawl in public and swim around in a vain attempt to halt an industry that doesn’t fit into their cute-and-cuddly idyllic but imaginary world. Big surprise.
This is probably the first time I’ve ever defended tree huggers. But since when can you only protest an issue if you protest every other possible related issue? That’s one of the most inane arguments I’ve ever heard. Well, perhaps second to “but it’s customary.” There are a myriad of customs that have been halted or should be halted, slavery, female castration, stoning, to name a few. Hunting dolphins may or may not be one of them, but debate the issue intelligently instead of revealing your idiocy to the world.
The fact of the matter is that they’ve chosen this particular ‘issue’ carefully. Pointing the finger at Japan on this issue is passe. As I said before where were they when a species was ACTUALLY GOING EXTINCT? Perhaps if they were using basic logic they’d realize that their talents would be far better used explaining the situation of an animal that was going extinct.
No one saying you ‘can only protest an issue if you protest ever other possible related issue’, rather the point is that protesting Japan’s dolphin hunt (of rather small numbers) while the Baiji is being wiped off the map is cowardly. I’d love to see these people do what they were doing in China.
Repeating your point doesn’t alter it. You are marginalizing their protest about the killing of one animal because you presume that they didn’t protest the killing of another animal. Besides this being shoddy logic, it doesn’t address the issue that they’re protesting.
A young pretty actress protesting the hunting of cute animals is trite. But it doesn’t mean it’s without merits. Argue the merits, maybe you believe all animals that aren’t endangered are viable food. Some may agree, other may disagree, but that at least addresses the issue and is a logical counterargument rather than, “but you didn’t protest the killing of ‘insert endangered species here’.”
Shoddy logic? Hmm.. Well, when the point is that its safer for them to protest in Japan than in China, their self-sacrificing, do-good aura simply doesn’t look as brilliant. It does address the issue that they are protesting. The are protesting Japanese dolphin hunting.
Just because you don’t like my argument doesn’t mean it is ’shoddy logic’. Sometimes you have to read a little bit between the lines champ. The merits are diminished when they continue to knock down the same old strawman over and over and over, while there is a more dire situation occurring elsewhere.
Is it not fair to criticize America for being in Iraq when they are doing nothing in Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere? Yeah, it is.
You’re still missing his point (along with wes’) shazz, but on the account that English might be your second language, I’ll take your rebuttal with innocence.
They don’t go to China ’cause they’ll get beat downs, and face it, that’s what you’d expect from a country where a good portion is living in 3rd world standards. No one criticized Japan when they were poor and eating dolphin/whale, and the issue with Baiju is quite different when you take in regional circumstances.
Just because they aren’t taking on the rest of the world at the same time doesn’t mean they’re cowardly and shouldn’t protest…that’s like saying you shouldn’t donate to famished Somalian children if you don’t donate to Sierra Leone children. You start somewhere, and perhaps this Hayden girl only found out about the issue recently, so she shouldn’t give up just ’cause one species has gone extinct.
Regardless of their motives, whether it is for feel-good sake or whatnot, in the end I’d say it’s a positive thing for the planet, and considering the massive cruelty involved for the deaths of some of the dolphins, I support’em. So how ’bout you have a cup of stfu and also do something to give back mother nature.
“it’s a positive thing for the planet”
Why? Are these dolphins in danger of extinction? The Daily Mail article gives no hint of that. In fact it’s more than a little one-sided, referring to the “dolphin massacre” (would the Daily Mail refer to the regular “sheep massacre” that provides its reporters with their lamb chops? And aren’t widdle wee lammikins cuter than dolphins anyway?) and says that “Panettiere was lucky to escape the ordeal with her life, [but] all she could think about was the slaughtered dolphins.” Don’t know about Heroes, but that is a truly heroic piece of reporting at least….
Me, I did a lot for Mother Nature lately. For example, I have decided not a buy a new Airbus A380 for my private use, partially as I was worried about the carbon footprint. Also, I didn’t open up a lignite-fired power station, or cut down a couple of thousand acres of Amazon rain forest.
PS: for a laugh, check out James’ comments on the situation last year. The “Let the dolphin killing begin!” post linked above. Some people take far too much at face value….
It seems J-ude misses my point. These Japanese fisherman aren’t ‘harming the environment’. Its nothing like that. Its a case of people telling other people how do things. I understand what BL was saying, but the fact of the matter is that they say that simply because they don’t like my argument. Protesting the Japanese consumption of dolphin is really pointless when elsewhere greater problems are occurring. Of course they will get beat down and harmed if they did that in China. So what is your point? They aren’t truly protesting something that is harming the environment or whatever they are protesting something that they personally think is important. My whole take on it as I have already explained is that while going to a small place in Japan to ‘take it to the bad guys’ is charming, in the larger scheme of things they should have not wasted their time.
They aren’t doing anything positive as you suggest they are. 23,000 dolphins sounds like a huge number but when compared to the rest of the populations of dolphins in this world it is very sustainable. They make mention of ‘baby dolphins’ in this article, but what proof do they have that the fishermen killed babies? Does the Daily Mail assume that it knows more about fishing that fisherman? Wouldn’t fisherman wish to go about their business in a sustainable manner? It seems to me that it is much easier to go to this place and make a show like you are doing something important for your cause when in reality it was rather easy and you had no real threat to yourself.
This is big news all over America right now so I suppose the end desired was achieved. All in all, the sensational footage is ridiculous. This has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with a photo op for this girl and others. As I said before, if they were worried about the environment and the livelihood of a species why aren’t they in China? Don’t dodge the question, it is a legitimate question to ask.
Hayden looks fugly without makeup. Big disappointment!
Fugly?!? You have some very VERY high standards my friend.
I have to agree with the fugly remark, though it is neither here nor there.
Which one is she?
She’s the one on the far right. The TV series she is in, Heroes, is a gigantic hit on NBC in America, so I’m not sure if the person who said she had a “shoddy career” was entirely aware of her show’s popularity.
…Uhhhhh, Hayden. Until you turn Vegan, you have no right interrupting those peoples’ business.
This is incredibly lame.
Let me just ask those who are for these kind of actions a question: Would you support Hindus from India coming to the West telling us not to eat cattle, running into small time beef operations trying to stop people from making their livelihood, meager as it is?
If you ask me this is a subtle form of culture colonialism. I can understand why they feel the way they do, but in all honesty to try a change someone’s way of life in this manner is not only continuing a ‘blame Japan’ trend when it comes to these matters, its also pushing away the same people you are trying to ‘change’. It makes zero sense to follow this kind of line. Culturally people are different, do we all have to adopt each other’s ways of eating? I say no. Just because I think eating dogs and cats is a very sad thing to do, does not mean that I will tell peoples who see that as acceptable to stop doing it.
Are these Japanese fishermen breaking any laws? I don’t believe so. Are any existing laws pertaining to whaling and dolphin ‘fishing’ culturally biased? Yes. However, that is obviously beyond the scope of some dopey celeb and her pampered friends.
Feeel free to read my comment on the bottom, (if there is a culture in which people eat each other, would you not object? and still blame culture colonialism? Cattles are not very intelligent animal, and we crossbreed them to be consumed for many centuries. Let say that Japan were to domesticate dolphins for many centuries from now, and make them dumber; then I would say have a blast eating them; for now they should be as forbidden as eating human flesh.
“after about 10 minutes they gave up and left” lol
何してんねんｗｗｗｄｑｎｗｗｗｗ
[Huurrrr.... I didn't read the discussion policy of this site before posting my comment and thought that childish name-calling was a cool way to debate things. My comment has been deleted by the admin.]
“By the way you morons”
Nice to know that the tone of the debate here is so civilised….
“most of the countries that eat beef are open about their practices whereas the Japanese government know that what they are doing is wrong which is why they try to cover up and veil it under ’scientific research”
You gotta be kidding, right? The real reason they do this is because they signed the IWC protocols which, by the way, were never about Saving The Whales as such, but about making sure that stocks didn’t run out too fast – in other words, the IWC was set up to manage whale stocks for whaling, not to protect them as endangered species. However the moratorium has taken on the mantle of saving a species through publicity campaigns etc. The IWC specifically left a small amount of whaling legally open through this scientific research. If Japan was serious about whaling, then it is perfectly free to leave the IWC and catch what it wants. There is absolutely nothing comparable with raising and slaughtering beef – no ICC (International Cattle Commission) to try and keep stocks high, and the only people that get upset about it are those nutjobs at PETA.
I don’t defend this as a cultural practice, I defend it as a legal one. But if the dolphins were killed in the most humane ways possible, would that then be acceptable?
“Someone should hack those fishermen into little pieces.”
Is this a death threat? Are you actually calling for their deaths in a violent way?
Call me cynical, but I found this on the NYT regarding the TV series “Heroes”: “Set across the present-day United States (and this season, digressively, also in 17th-century Japan) Heroes concerns itself with a growing assemblage of supernaturally empowered men, women and children who…”
So the new season is partially set in Japan, and – coincidentally – one of its stars just happens to do something in Japan to get in the news. Of course it’s a coincidence – how dare anyone suggest anything else? No Hollywood production would ever stoop so low….
I’m not sure producers of the show want this sort of thing to happen, especially since they have been conducting promotional work in Japan in the hopes that Heroes could become popular in the Japanese DVD rental market. Most Japanese people probably aren’t fans of dolphin meat, but Hayden and her surfer friends probably wouldn’t get a lot of respect for their possibly illegal harassment of the fishermen.
Here’s some videos of Japanese press building up hype about Heroes:
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=2421
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=2624
Everyone who turns a blind eye to what’s really happening behind the scenes is an idiot. To make excuses for what is “accepted” is the epitomy of stupid. There are many wrongs committed across the globe and this girl chose one she came across to defend. You however who sit at home like the brave keyboard warriors you are will not be missed when you are wronged and your neighbors will turn a blind eye when you are taken away, because it is “accepted” and “tradition”. She chose an issue and performed and action of protest. You chose an issue (any other one) and your action of protest is to criticize someone else’s methods. Idiot.
It’s accepted tradition to kidnap people out of their homes?
All I have to say is that this animal is
a very intelligent & sensitive creature.
It takes a dolphin 11 months to have it’s baby.
This is not like a rodent who multiplies by
the week or month. Being so intelligent they
will feel fear, pain, & loss. I suppose one
day when the animals are gone due to food consumption
& products we will be hunting each other and finding
every reason in the world why it is okay to do so.
I am sensitive to this, as much as I am sensitive
to the whole entire plight of the animal kingdom.
AND as well as that of the people in the world who
suffer. It’s called compassion. And I do believe
that those that buy the dolphin meet should be
exposed so that the public can go after them. You
take away the demand you then take away the need for the supply. We need to be aware of the products we buy.
Thank You.
“finding every reason in the world why it is okay to do so.”
I believe it’s generally considered rather tasty. A flavour like pork, but very tender due to the relative lack of exercise. The chief difficulty I see in adding Homo sapiens to the burger menus is killing them before they get nervous and their bodies flood with adrenalin, making the meat tough. Also, will KFC be accused of racism if it continues to label its products as “white meat” and “dark meat”?
“This is not like a rodent who multiplies by
the week or month”
So you would advocate that we all start eating rats?
i heard they are just killing the dolphins so they dont eat fish. is this wrong?
are they processing the meat to sell?
much as it afronts my sensibilities, if they are eating the meat, as a non-vegetarian i have to shut up. living a free life in the ocean, up until a horrible death is a whole lot better than being stuck in an overcrowded, stressful steel cage, stuffed full of antibiotics and mauled by my fellow aggravated prisoners and then suffering a horrible death. maybe we should think twice before we enjoy yakiniku and opt for the dolphin instead as a more humane option.
yikes, not many people on this forum can understand english very well unfortunately. however, Here’s a question worth asking: If the fishermen were given job alternatives, what would be the point of keeping such a barbaric practice alive? I mean, if the dolphin meat doesnt really feed a real percentage of any population, why kill the dolphins? The blubber is a delicacy, just like shark fins are a delicacy, both are examples of human kind at its most horrendously ignorant…actually, lets just say stupid. Japan and China are the worlds worst serial overfishers. Your boats sweep the sea clean, and you commercially whale (1000/yr) under the guise of “scientific research”. China as a country is so amazingly ignorant and backward that to imagine it changing is laughable. However, Japan could change its ways and become world leader is oceanic conservation. or you could make more needless sarcastic comments regarding stars trying to change something they see as…Barbaric.
Eating dolphins is just SOo Barbaric in modern age of 2007, since dolphins are pretty intelligent mammals. Japan (and even China) should just outright develop the custom of cannibalism and homnivorous; then it would just save the world the cost of capital punishment and lack of resources!
I see it rather tragic that the villagers of Taigi, Japan are allowed to divert migratory dolphins into a cove killing most of the 22,000-30,000, and selling a few select dolphin for “dolphin parks”. What is just as tragic that the owners of thesse “fisheries” sell the dolphin meat to be consumed by Japanese, despite its mercury content. I believe what these fisherman are most afraid of is an informed Japanese polulace, who are able to watch the brutalitiy on ‘You Tube’ and the cruelty by which this dolphin meat comes to their dinner table.
I believe the best way to extinguish this brutality is thru economic pressure, threatening major Japanese corporations such as Sony, Honda, and Toyota of a boycot of their products. I beleive that the Japanese in the tail end of a recession, would not take this lightly. International pressure, perhaps thru the United Nations is another possible avenue.
The fisherman of Taigi feel a deep sense of entitlement(a truly sad human characteristic), perhaps because their fathers, and their father’s father, had done this. And, there is no other need for it’s justification than ‘entitlement’. I believe the more pressure there is outside of Japanese society to end this, the greater fervor and necessity their actions will have.
私はTaigiの村民、日本が22,000-30,000のほとんど入江の殺害に移住性のイルカを転換することは許される、選り抜きイルカ少数の「イルカのための販売は」駐車すること悲劇的なそれを幾分見。 thesse 「漁業」の所有者は日本語が消費するイルカ肉を販売することちょうどある何が悲劇的ように有害な水銀の内容にもかかわらず。 私は漁師が最も恐れているである知識のある日本の住民これらの`のbrutalitiy見られる管」ものをを信じ、このイルカ肉が食卓に来る残酷。
彼らの父および彼らの父の父が、これをしたのでTaigiの感じの漁師資格賦与(偽りなく悲しい人間特性)の深い感覚、多分。 そして、それのための他の必要性がある`の資格賦与より正当化が」ない。
私はより大きい情熱終える日本の社会行為が持っている必要ことを圧力がこれをより多くのの外にあり、信じるの。
save the dolphins – kill more dolphinhunters