Comments

Posts

Taiji dolphin hunt halted because of ‘The Cove’?

While checking Google News a few moments ago, I discovered some shocking news: the Taiji dolphin hunt has been halted. According to the headlines, “The Cove,” a documentary that highlighted the cruel and inhumane manner in which Japanese fishermen hunt and kill cute/intelligent dolphins, has been a wild success:

what the fuck is this

The reports are, of course, unfounded. There is absolutely no evidence that the Taiji dolphin hunt has been stopped because of the actions of foreigners who love dolphins. For the past few days the Japanese media has been reporting that bad weather and rough seas have prevented the hunt from going through as planned.

Here’s a clip from NTV news in which that very fact is reported ["団体はクジラの追い込み漁も視察する予定だったが、天候が悪く、漁は行われなかった。"], along with a few seconds of Ric O’Barry telling the media that Taiji should sell fruit instead of dolphins:

Stay tuned to this blog tomorrow: I’ll try to post about a slightly more detailed Japanese news report on the Taiji dolphin hunt controversy.

—

Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

94 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - September 3, 2009 at 10:14 pm

Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Japanese Food Tags: animal rights, dolphins, eco, genocide, lol, Save Japan Dolphins, slaughter, The Cove, whales

http://rrabno.wordpress.com Rrabano

Who are the world to tell other country what not to eat and what to eat. What’s next. Stop eating rice.

Kakiku

It is called “The Tragedy of the Commons”. It describes a dilemma in which multiple individuals acting independently and solely and rationally consulting their own self-interest will ultimately destroy a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone’s long term interest for this to happen.
RobD

What you need to understand is that it’s more than one country. The IWC is full of nations that are against such behaviors. Eating rice doesn’t harm intelligent mammals.
deborah rodvik

Just because it has always been so, does not make it right. Here in America we nearly drove our Buffalo herds into extinction. But we stopped because it was wrong. Taiji can make money off of tourism if they choose. Blood money is bad Karma.
deborah rodvik

What about the mecury they are injesting. All larger sea animals wether fish or cetacean all are loaded with it!

mo

oh the poor fishermen…
seriously, I’m sick of the imperialists telling people from other cultures what to do..
if they take away jobs from the Taiji fishermen, they have to give them another job – those people need to fish to live!!

TheManiac

Jobs?
Waaaaaay more money on dolphin sightseeing tours if spent more time promoting THAT internationally!
TaijiHorror

The horror of Taiji is a world issue. This is not about “imperialists telling people from other cultures what to do”, as you so ridiculously stated. Not only is over 70% of our plent’s surface covered with water, but over 98% of the habital space is water. Of course, this makes our planet absolutely dominated and reliant on our oceans. The highest point on the food chain on our planet are whales (doplhins are technically and scientifically considered small whales). This issue is not about telling other countries what to do, it’s about ensuring the survival and prosperity of these extremely important and wonderful creautures. Humans are more reliant on the ocean than most people think and killing off the most important species in the ocean would have catastophic effects on humans. I’ve been fortunate enough to scuba dive with dolphins once, and if you would ever get the chance to interact with these creatures, you might also understand that it’s also simply and unthinkably inhume behavior. There must never be another whale slaughter in Taiji or any other place on this planet, ever. This issue is global.

LB

WTF is it about ideologues that makes them write in annoying, overbearing prose? Do they think more people will listen if they write using big words and pretentious phraseology?

Hint: we won’t. All this tedious prose makes us want to do is laugh at you, or roll our eyes, or yawn.

Or all three.

helical

I dunno, I think laughing and yawning at the same time makes my diaphragm convulse in unpleasant ways.

jrf

Dolphins are not fish they are air breathers and give birth to their young just like we do.!
deborah rodvik

Dolphins are not fish. These people are selling it as Whale meat. They are not eating the Dolphins themselves.
Kyle

You are completely ignorant. They are killing animals that can not defend themselves in ridiculous numbers. The movie the cove wakes people up to a problem that is right in front of their face and people will react. You are killing these animals for a meat that is toxic to digest! Do you even understand the relevance of that? How would you react if it was your family or friends that were huddled up together and slaughtered? I am sure you would be singing a different tune then. Imperialists? I would say more like protectors of defenceless beings. Wake up to yourself and grow up, they can always get another job. What are they going to do when they kill every dolphin there? You really need to learn about the world.

Nick in Nagoya

looking forward to these idiots getting out of japan

http://www.binary-apotheosis.com/blogs/index.php Rob A

I hope you mean the dolphin hunters, and not the protestors.

nakamura25

Obviously he means the strident, disrespectful hippies. They have no reason to be in Japan any longer.

And besides, they’re still hunting dolphins in the Faroe Islands (Denmark) so if O’Barry is committed to his cause, we’ll see him there tomorrow.

George

I’ve seen this comment a lot, nakamura. Essentially, because they’re not protecting dolphins everywhere, they have no right to do it anywhere? That’s pretty silly. They only have so much manpower, and even if their choice of Japan over Denmark is arbitrary, it is rationally sound to choose one place rather than try to be everywhere.

In other words, it makes far more sense for one group to focus deeply on one problem, than for one group to spread their resources so thin on many problems that they accomplish nothing.

Whether you agree with the Cove filmmakers’ opinions on dolphin hunting, you have to at least rationally agree that it makes far more sense to do what they’re doing than what you’re suggesting they do. They aren’t hypocrites, just humans with limited resources.
ponta

They have right to protest in any place but it is misguided to protest in such a way to fuel hatred against the particular nationality just as it is not wrong to protest against chicken eating for some reason but it is misguided to protest Black people’s eating chicken.

A Japanese descendant was attacked in NZ and Japanese cemetery was vandalized for Japan’s whale hunting and racist commercial was on air in Australia

And now since this film was shown, hate mails has been sent to Broome people of Japanese descent.

Something is seriously wrong with this extreme activism.
stereo

George, you are wrong.
If a policeman in NY arrests Blacks only, he is a racist.
The Overthinker

That statement is fantastically off base. The only way it could work is this:
Let’s imagine three gangs: blacks, yakuza, mafia, operating out of NY. The FBI wants to clean them up, but has limited manpower. So since there have been disturbing media reports of what the black gang is doing, they go after that first.
nakamura25

George said:

“I’ve seen this comment a lot, nakamura. Essentially, because they’re not protecting dolphins everywhere, they have no right to do it anywhere?”

George, you obviously didn’t read my post. Try reading it again.

The dolphin hunt in Taiji is over. O’Barry can now move on to the next country that allows dolphin hunting. Of course they have limited resources. So they should go after one country at a time. They succeeded in Japan, so they should continue their crusade elsewhere.
George

“The dolphin hunt in Taiji is over. O’Barry can now move on to the next country that allows dolphin hunting. Of course they have limited resources. So they should go after one country at a time. They succeeded in Japan, so they should continue their crusade elsewhere.”

Nakamura, you obviously didn’t read the story surrounding this entire comment thread. Try reading it again. The hunt hasn’t been halted. From the article, just above:

“While checking Google News a few moments ago, I discovered some shocking news: the Taiji dolphin hunt has been halted.
…
The reports are, of course, unfounded. There is absolutely no evidence that the Taiji dolphin hunt has been stopped…”

That said, you’re being completely unrealistic. It takes time and planning to do any sort of activism properly, whether you agree with the activists or not. They should be in Denmark tomorrow? Sorry, rhetoric and logic are incompatible in this case.
ponta pon

George
It takes time and planning all right, but do you happen to know when they are going to show the film, ” Save Europe Dolphins” “Save Australian Kangaroo” ” Save American cows”?
And do you think the journalists from, for instance, Germany, will come along with the directer of the film who are trying to stop the local people to kill the animals?
M

@ponta’s comment earlier about the racist commercial.

I know the video you’re talking about, and just for the record it was circulated on the internet only by one of the various anti-whaling eco-extremeist groups.

The video was never aired on Australian television for obvious reasons. The back-story that the far right propaganda machine has been circulating on Youtube with the video is false.
ponta

@M
Thanks for the imformation.
I am relieved to hear that.
That said, the fact remains that the video was made by anti-whaling eco-extremeist .
And let’s take a look at the following video.

The Chasers War On Everything – Whaling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBTnim2H450
国営放送：オージー捕鯨問題で在豪日本国大使をコケにする
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI5E3lpP0Kg

These are especially targeting the Japanese, not any people who eat animal meat.
I wonder why.
The Overthinker

You can’t take The Chasers seriously – their whole gimmick is taking things to the illogical extreme. They piss off everybody.

Funny video though. I think the “Sumo” meat was over the top, but it was also suprising how many people tried the meats.
http://www.binary-apotheosis.com/blogs/index.php Rob A

“They have right to protest in any place but it is misguided to protest in such a way to fuel hatred against the particular nationality just as it is not wrong to protest against chicken eating for some reason but it is misguided to protest Black people’s eating chicken.”

They are not fueling hatred against Japanese people, just the hunters in Taiji. If you’re against extremists in the middle east, it doesn’t mean you’re against all people in that region. Some people seem to have trouble separating the parts from the whole about any ethnic group.

Also, Chickens are some of the dumbest creatures alive, which are usually bred purely to provide food in some form. Dolphins and Whales have higher reasoning and intelligence than some(apparently most) humans.

Furthermore, saying “it is misguided to protest Black people’s eating chicken.” is far more racist and offensive than anything these protesters have done or said. The ‘Black People eat Fried Chicken’ stereotype is tired and ignorant.

One last thing: punctuation. Look it up.
Adtr

They are not fueling hatred against Japanese people, just the hunters in Taiji. If you’re against extremists in the middle east, it doesn’t mean you’re against all people in that region. Some people seem to have trouble separating the parts from the whole about any ethnic group.

Groups like Sea Shepherd and the makers of The Cove target Japan itself for not outlawing whaling and dolphin hunts. Even if the focus is on whalers and Taiji fishermen, the country as a whole is blamed for not doing enough to stop what is going on.

It is easy for anger over “Why Japan isn’t stopping the Dolphin genocide” to become anger at anything or anyone Japanese. This is especially so for the kind of people easily swept up by the emotional arguments activists focus on.

Also, Chickens are some of the dumbest creatures alive, which are usually bred purely to provide food in some form.

Some animal rights activists make the same kind of arguments about chicken intelligence that you make about dolphin intelligence.

http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/intelligence/

Somebody else brought up the “mirror test” on one of these threads as proof of dolphin intelligence. Just checking Wikipedia, I notice that tiny-brained birds like Magpies have also passed the same test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_test#Animals_that_pass_the_mirror_test

Dolphins and Whales have higher reasoning and intelligence than some(apparently most) humans.

There we have it. Rob A breaks out the ideology that Sea Shepherd and its hardcore followers really believe: whales and dolphins are superior to humans.

Humans are trash that infect this earth. Self-loathing over the caused by humans translates into the deification of whales and dolphins. Followers of this “eco” religion project their own ideals about harmony into the heads of dolphins and whales. Surely these creatures are flopping around in the water all day because they are more intelligent and enlightened than vile humans!
ponta

They are not fueling hatred against Japanese people, just the hunters in Taiji. If you’re against extremists in the middle east, it doesn’t mean you’re against all people in that region. Some people seem to have trouble separating the parts from the whole about any ethnic group

When many people have trouble separating the animal hunters in the world from the Japanese and the hatred has been fueled against Japanese as a result of the activism, despite the activist’s intention, there is something seriously wrong with the the animal right activists and the way journalists report them.

Furthermore, saying “it is misguided to protest Black people’s eating chicken.” is far more racist and offensive than anything these protesters have done or said. The ‘Black People eat Fried Chicken’ stereotype is tired and ignorant.

The ‘Black People eat Fried Chicken’ is not stereotype in Japan, and I don’t think it is in any other Asian countries.
It is a local stereotype and it is perhaps a result of evil propaganda in your local culture. And it seems the activism about the whale/dolphin are perpetuating the new evil stereotype about the particular ethnic group and the activists don’t give a shit.
M

Ponta, I’m not trying to undermine your position. I recognize that crazy, eco-extremists sometimes do use racism and shock tactics in desperation. I dislike them as much as you do.

However, I do think they are a lot more marginal than it would seem, it’s just the amount of commotion that the extremists cause that makes them seem so numerous/intimidating.

I wouldn’t take any offense to the Chaser though. They’re a fake-news, comedy group that parodies the media/world issues in general by using bad-taste/offensiveness to shock audiences. There are no limits to what they make fun of and I don’t think that video was made out of any real contempt for Japan. It’s similar to what you would expect from The Onion or South Park.
ponta

M
Thanks.

For Japanese, those crazy, eco-extremists stand out because they are targeting Japan and the Japanese in irrational ways, and when some animal right activists make it look as if they were targeting Japan and the Japanese, there will be unnecessary reactions from Japanese.
They can attack the brutal ways the animals in general are killed for food, but if they make film such as “save Japan dolphin”, “save Alaska whale “save Australia cows”, it is inevitable some kind of antagonism will follow.

Expanding circle is not a bad idea but when they expand it unfairly and unequally, it smacks of old racism.

The activists should educate people and the western journalists should report it without sounding hypocritical.

As the Chaser, maybe I shouldn’t take it seriously but the question remains why they targeted Japan and Japanese only.

http://www.binary-apotheosis.com/blogs/index.php Rob A

Good riddance.

Whether because of bad seas or the protest, I’m glad it’s stopped. These animals are not food animals, they are intelligent social creatures. If they had the intelligence of a cow or chicken I’d be on board with the hunt, but they’re way above that. They have pretty advanced problem-solving abilities and even defend each other against higher-order predators.

Besides that, the Taiji hunters are using brutal and inexcusable tactics to hunt them. I’d love to see the dolphin hunters chased and rounded up in a field by men with nets and harpoons driving behind them at 20mph. Give them an idea of what they’re doing.

Mike

That’s a brilliant argument! “I don’t agree with something because I think it’s brutal, therefore, I think the ones I don’t agree with should be brutalized.”

Also, could you kindly post your “Rob A.-approved Food Animal List” so I can make sure I’m not in violation of it…or is that online somewhere? I’d hate to run afoul of it and have you and your elite strike-team of Eco-Avengers chasing me around with nets and harpoons.

Level3

True, Mike.

But never forget. It’s the people on the left who are far more likely to get violent when it comes to trying to force their politics on others. It’s the ones on the left who are driven by hatred (they call it “passion”) and intolerance of dissent (against THEM, that is)

After all, they think Communism is a cool idea, an idea which at it’s core is just “Kill all the rich people and keep their stuff.” and is directly responsible for 130,000,000 deaths in just 100 years. Yet, they think Che is cool, and the hammer and sickle makes a nice T-shirt.

There’s nothing more violent than a young, hip “pacifist”. Nothing more deadly than a bunch of young, hip leftists getting political.

Except zombies.

helical

Don’t worry, I’m sure shotguns work just as effectively as a liberal-repellent as it does being a zombie-repellent.
Brenna

In my comparative government and politics class we were able to form a diagram that compares the liberal and conservative behaviors.

Think of a heart. In the cleavage of the heart is the middle-ground, moderate. The left hump composes of liberals. The right hump composes of conservatives. On the left bottom grove inwards you can see the liberals become radicals. On the right bottom groove inwards you see conservatives become reactionaries. But they both meet at the bottom point, in which their radical behavior is almost inseparable.

J

What are food animals???? I have pretty much eaten anything that moves and is not an insect. Whale, dog, horse, etc… (strangely never had dolphin, unless it came in a can of tuna). I don’t really think it makes all that much of a difference whether they are sociable and intelligent or not (I find horses and dogs much more intelligent and sociable then dolphins). Plenty of animals are sociable or intelligent. Doesn’t stop us from eating them, just depends on the culture. Just because your culture doesnt find it attractive doesnt mean others can’t.

Cows were probably reasonably intellegent back in the day, we just bred stupidity into them. I do not want any animals driven towards extinction but I don’t mind a little culling here and there and last time I checked dolphins were not running on the endangered list like whales.

As for brutality, obviously you have never seen where your chicken, pork, and beef come from. I use to work in a slaughter house when I was younger and I can tell you. They do not put the animals down “peacefully”. Getting them cut up is all they care about.

R

The dolphins can figure out what’s going to happen to them. They see their mothers and fathers bleeding to death and asking for unavaliable help. They see it comming, and that to me is the sadest thing I have ever thought of in my life. They are stabbed to death if lucky. Most bleed to death. How do you not feel obligated to help them? how do you not feel anger twords the fishermen (dolphin killers) for doing this? I can’t even imagine being killed like this. Or even tortured in that mannor. The dolphin hunt in Taiji is not officially over, and we need to stay there to make sure the dolphin killing doesn’t continue.

jc

R.o’B. giving interviews to foreign reporters he brought along = embedded journalism.

Considering the amount and utter scale of human contempt against nature espoused by their kin, I’m amused to see them give more attention to animals than humans – dumping carbon into the skies will just kill us in the end and they’re doing nothing about it.

Taiji hunters using cruel methods to hunt is a disgrace. So is a gaijin going to another country and loudly opposing what they have done for decades i.e. that idiot from Canada who argued with a right-wing politico in front of lots of right-wing people. The most effective protests always have to be homegrown. Why would you listen to a bunch of non-resident aliens giving voodoo “advice” over what you should not be doing?

IJP

I couldn’t agree more. As usual, it’s a case of both sides being wrong in different ways.
George

“Why would you listen to a bunch of non-resident aliens giving voodoo “advice” over what you should not be doing?”

Because maybe they’re right? Just because someone is culturally insensitive doesn’t mean they aren’t correct. I don’t know if you’re Japanese or not, but you’re certainly pushing forward the worst kind of xenophobic attitudes people stereotype Japan with.

Either the dolphin hunt is ethical or it’s unethical. The fact that the person making the argument is foreigner or local hasn’t got a thing to do with whether it’s a proper argument.

The Overthinker

“Either the dolphin hunt is ethical or it’s unethical.”

This is the big problem. WHO gets to decide?

George

“This is the big problem. WHO gets to decide?”

The one who has the best moral argument. And that doesn’t have anything to do with whether one’s a foreigner or not.
The Overthinker

You have missed the point. Who decides which is the best moral argument?

stereo

“Either the dolphin hunt is ethical or it’s unethical.”

Oh my. I know similar questions.
“Either Jesus is god’s child or he is not.”
“Either Muhammad is the last prophet or he is not.”
Arguing these questions to decide who is right and who is wrong lead to bloody things in the history. People learned from it and established the freedom of religion.

Now, is it ethical to hunt and eat dolphins? Who knows? Most Japanese do not eat dolphins. But they support dolphin hunters in Taiji, because it is about the freedom of choice of food. It is just like people from various faiths help each other to protect the freedom of religion if one religious group is attacked.

I strongly support the freedom of choice of food. I am not a dolphin eater or a vegetarian, but I respect the rights of dolphin eaters and vegetarians. And I am pretty sure that those animal rights activists do not have the right to dictate what to eat and what not to eat.

http://www.squidoo.com/saigo-takamori Eric

Hmmm, that’s maybe a good comparison. Freedom of religion is fine, but when people get intolerant with it, religion can be very destructive, like when American Evangelicals kill doctors who perform abortions because they consider them murderers.

The Taiji dolphin hunts may offend some people’s sensibilities, but they don’t actually adversely affect them because they in no way endanger the survival of the species.

A Japanese behavior that has already had a big impact on foreign countries is the huge increase seen in the consumption of bluefin tuna with the rise in affluence in Japan–starting back in the late 70s consumption of sushi exploded in Japan. This fact has been especially detrimental to bluefin tuna populations around the world.

But tuna aren’t especially cute, so nobody gets het-up over the fact that they are being consumed unsustainably–except the Japanese mass media who a few years ago were blaming foreigners for eating up too much tuna and making it expensive for Japanese.
George

“I strongly support the freedom of choice of food.”

Yes, I too remember when Kant and Hume wrote their great works on the freedom…of choice…of food.

It was wonderful when the U.S. Founders also engaged in the great freedom of choice of food debates, and enshrined it into our constitution, which was then used as a model for the Japanese constitution. These great thinkers understood that people can morally eat anything they want, because the choice of food exists outside of moral law, because…well…I say it does. I mean, they said it does.

Humans, of course, are the tastiest. I mean, some people don’t seem to understand, but luckily I have the freedom of choice of food on my side.
The Overthinker

Your freedom of choice only extends as far as it is legally allowed. Eating humans is not legal. Eating dolphins is.
R

This makes me sad. Did you see the movie the Cove, or even pay attention? It’s not cultural, because no one even knows about it! you would think that if it was a part of their culture that every one (not only the Japan government) would know about it! Even if they do have a choice they are getting poisoned, the murcury levels are off the charts and lethal. We NEED to realize that dolphins can’t be slaughtered in such huge numbers, totaling 20,000 a YEAR thats 200,000 in 10 years. How many dolphins do we have left? hmm? Many of the meat isn’t even needed. Please realize that they are very intelligent and can realize whats going to happen to them. They see their mothers and fathers bleeding to death, they can’t escape and are tortured. I understand that you will make an argument against me in that americans eat cows and chickens, but please realize that we breed them, we dont get them from the wild, and we arnt ruining the ocean life. Please don’t be oblivious.

Trufax

I wouldn’t like to see an animal as dumb as a cow suffering a death as slow and painful as the Taiji fisherman inflict on dolphins.
Anonymous

Deport the gaijins.
dobokun

Well Japan needs to agree with the international community more often. Just like their annual whale hunt in international waters exploiting a loophole, Japan should try to cooperate with international bodies on issues that affect them more often. A smaller scale hunt might not be so bad though, as with the whales.

nakamura25

Ric O’Barry is hardly an “international body.”

We’re talking about 26 dolphin hunters in domestic waters. This is an extremely tiny minority, and not an issue Japan as a nation should be concerned about.

mo

What is “the international community” ?
You mean the America and Australia?
You really should know there are countries other than Japan hunting whales.
Iago

There’s an oft quoted idiom: “Timing has much to do with the outcome of a Rain Dance.” Perhaps that applies here, too.
HamachiMan

I imagine that those so fervently embracing this Taiji cause are as fervent in stopping the brutal conditions animals in the U.S. are subject to so that meat can be put on the dinner table. And the seal hunt. And the slaughter of dogs and other animals in inhumane conditions in other parts of the world. And so on and so forth.

But probably not, it’s always easiest to pick on Japan, the world’s most convenient and easy villains.

Enuii

Seriously? Japan as the most easy and convenient villains!?!? There are FAR easier and much more convenient villains than the Japanese. ;p

For real, though, let us look at the driving force behind this uproar. The man who started it all worked on a show where he built up a rapport with the dolphin(s). His POV is from his social location as one from within the entertainment industry. The Japanese fishermen are engaging in a cultural practice that is acceptable from their social location and are from a TOWN in Japan and are not representative of Japan as a whole. And shouldn’t the real issue be that bad people are selling poisoned meat to their own countrymen??? Just a thought…

futureal

The problem, and the reason that “the West” is accused of hypocrisy on this topic is that there’s nothing unethical about the dolphin hunt that isn’t also unethical about killing cows or pigs. And that happens on a much larger scale.

I’d assume most of the filmmakers are vegetarians, but the folks like the above poster who eat meat, just from their culturally-determined list of appropriate “food animals” and think people who choose from a different list are either backwards or barbaric, are simply being ethnocentric and chauvinist on this matter.

fh

The problem is that those types of people are so convinced by their own sense of self-appointed duty that it far outweighs any ethnocentric or chaevanistic behavior that may accompany their quest.

I think the real hypocrisy (or maybe it’s irony) is that these filmmakers only promote their message among people who will agree with them in order to garner support (ie: money), and then use that support simply to generate hype (faux credibility) — and in the end typically very little is actually accomplished despite all the fuss they create.

Troy

The issue isn’t about choice of foods at all. It is about how these animals are killed. I am Australian and Australia is often criticised for killing kangaroos for meat. I have no problem with eating kangaroos per se but I have a lot of problems with animals being killed inhumanely. I also have a problem with choosing a “meat” species at the species level with population sizes. Domesticated animals are generally not at risk of being severely depleted at the population level. So, for a myriad of reasons, people keep diverting attention from cruel killing of dolphins by saying that we kill animals all the time. That is a very poor argument.

Also, the issues with Japanese people are probably arising because of the national ignorance of the issue so it is very heartening to see japanese media finally covering the issue. hopefully Japanese people themselves will become the strongest advocated for saving hte Taijin dolphins.

ponta pon

Also, the issues with Japanese people are probably arising because of the national ignorance of the issue

So are Australian people killing Kangaroo and cows inhumanly and eating them and exporting beef knowing that they are killed inhumanely?
LB

“I have a lot of problems with animals being killed inhumanely”

Just what, pray tell, is a “humane” way to kill something? There may be “less inhumane” ways to kill an animal, but I have yet to see a “humane” way, aside possibly from putting an animal to sleep, but I would not want to eat the meat of anything that was killed after being massively OD’d on chemicals.
TofuUnion

> The issue isn’t about choice of foods at all. It is about how these animals are killed.

Haa ? It’s about rude behavior of those foreigners. How do you feel if Japanese come to Australia to protest against eating kangaroos ?

The Overthinker

There are a lot of Australians who would welcome them.
Brenna

The Japanese should have every right to protest about the way kangaroos are killed in Australia. It’s not like the kangaroo is Australia’s animal and only belongs to them and they’re the only ones who have control over it. The kangaroo is one of the thousands of species of the world, and if there is a serious abuse occurring, the international community should say something. Likewise, dolphins aren’t the animal of Japan – Japan doesn’t own them. You sound a bit too proud, like one of the other fellers calling the international concern “imperialism”. Please.

ponta

Yeah, that sounds sound interesting.

Taiji people visit Australia and sneak into the slaughterhouse and shoot the film by a hidden camera and show how brutally aussie cows are butchered and make the film, “Love letter to Australia”

who

What does killing an animal humanely do? Does it affect the taste or something? You can treat an animal as humanely as you want, but people are going to chew it up, shit it out, and flush it down the toilet anyway. So much for compassion and dignity for animals.

The Overthinker

“What does killing an animal humanely do? Does it affect the taste or something?”

Yes. Adrenalin makes the meat tougher, so you don’t want to panic the animal or make it feel fear.

HamachiMan

The answer is simple, if Japanese activists or whatnot dared go to Australia (or any other country for that matter) to protest or highlight inhumane treatment of animals, the locals will immediately cry foul and blast the Japanese by saying ‘you guys have no right to criticize anything, look at the dolphins, this is our country mind your own business, etc. etc.’ Basically, they’d engage in the same behavior they purport to criticize here.

Hypocrisy knows no racial, ethnic, or national bounds.

Simon

Hamachiman – Spot on. I’m Australian and I know it would go just like you said.

We need to be removing planks from our own eyes before going after specks, etc.

Roberto

If it is culture and tradition because the Japanese are hiding and block access to and the filming ?

On Japanese TV every tiny detail of Japanese life is shown… but not this kind of documentary. Why not?

It’s very clear that this activity is CRIMINAL, trafficking and killing dolphins for WATER PARK.

That’s MAFIA, the same MAFIA that kills whales for “scientific” purposes in the Antartic Sanctuary, “scientific” or SUPERMARKET ?

Dolphins & whales are being killed at rates faster than they can reproduce & slaughtered in illegal ways that. The nature takes 10 years to produce a dolphin, the Japanese government is ignoring International Law.

Japan – hang your head in shame!

HamachiMan

What are you talking about Roberto, have you not been reading the Japan Probe site? There’s several discussion points about Japanese programming covering the Taiji controversy. That does not seem like anyone’s trying to hide anything here.

And why should all of Japan hand their head in shame? This is only a small portion of Japanese that kill dolphins. Worry about the problems in your own country first my friend.
The Overthinker

“the Japanese government is ignoring International Law.”

Which law?
http://www.squidoo.com/saigo-takamori Eric

You’re joking right? I get it–you’re doing a parody of the angry and unreasonable gaijin, right?
Stereo

It is by no means illegal to kill dolphins.

TheManiac

Yo Japan Probe!
Good reporting.
Really glad to hear that.
How bout more updates on that?
siewmai

the fact is, this argument about who’s right and who’s wrong will go on for generations to come, one culture against the other, because there is a distinct lack of education and understanding of each other’s culture.

If only we can be humble, take the best of each other’s culture and learn from it, and not be so self-righteous about everything.

Such thinking might be idealistic though..but i think cultures need to evolve for the better and keep the good, improve on the not so good, and get rid of the downright unnecessary.
http://animalrightsbook.ning.com/ DeViOuS

yet more egotistic humans. God forbid we ever come into contact with an alien species, we’ll slaughter them and eat them with our two veg as well! It never stops to amaze me how self centered people can be and its never more evident than in some of the comments on here! Some say an alien species has already been to earth and communicated with the ancients then left again, I say we ate them! Yet we claim to be the intelligent ones HAHAHA!!!!!
Idealist

For me, this is not really a matter of whose culture is right or wrong. Its not about racism and telling other countries what they should be doing.

This is more about living ‘with’ earth rather than ‘on’ earth. think about this, there is a big difference when it comes to killing cows and killing dolphins. Killing cows give humans food to eat. Killing dolphins give humans food that could kill them. There is no basic reason to kill dolphins. It won’t help us survive nor provide food on our table. Its basically just murdering animals than have nothing to do with us.

If the Japanese are just out there to kill dolphins because of traditions based on human reasoning rather than instinctual then, by god, we humans have gotten so low! If we let them kill the dolphins for a human urge, will this even help us survive in the end? Answer is: it does not.

GIVE ME A GOOD REASON WHY WE SHOULD KILL DOLPHINS BECAUSE I JUST DON’T GET IT.

ponta

Give vegetarians a good reason why we should kill animals because they just don’t get it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo wally

How could u be so cold-bloody to eat the most beautiful creature in the ocean .I got it,u are still the savage.

Ajapa

Being a cold-blooded creature saves a lot of calories to be consumed. It saves lives of many creatures as a result. Eggplants are beautiful. Stupid!

TaijiHorror

The horror of Taiji (and anywhere else that dolphins or whales are being slaughtered…including Denmark) is a world issue. This is not about “imperialists telling people from other cultures what to do”. Not only is over 70% of our planet’s surface covered with water, but over 98% of the habitable space is water. Of course, this makes our planet absolutely dominated and reliant on our oceans. The highest point on the marine food chain is whales (dolphins are technically and scientifically considered small whales). This issue is not about telling other countries what to do; it’s about ensuring the survival and prosperity of these extremely important and wonderful creatures. Humans are more reliant on the ocean than most people think and killing off the most important species in the ocean would have catastrophic effects on humans. I’ve been fortunate enough to scuba dive with dolphins before, and if you would ever get the chance to interact with these creatures, you might also understand that it’s simply and unthinkably inhume behavior. There must never be another dolphin slaughter in Taiji or any other place on this planet, ever. This issue is global. Anyone with some intelligence can quickly understand the interdependence of the most dominant creatures of the sea and the most dominant creatures on land. Yes, our survival depends on the earth and the earth is primarily water. Killing off the highest portion of the food chain would disrupt the marine ecosystem in ways that would directly impact human beings. This isn’t an opinion, nor is it complex science. We must share this world in order to exist, ourselves. Taiji, Denmark…wherever dolphins or whales are being killed…it must end.

Danny

I think that the point that Dolphins show the ability to be self aware is missed in a lot of the arguments. Especially Pon’s and other people who use the argument of “why not save the cows in America.” The beginning portion of “The Cove” is to show why dolphins are chosen to be saved and not cows. They are smart they are self-aware, they make connections to human kind in the wild through their own wills. Compare it to when I human stops to help another to fix his tire, or like if a person keeps another from getting killed. They are not like other animals. Dolphins present to have more intelligence than other animals. And with the issue of how there are other places where dolphin hunting takes place. “Right now I am focusing on the one little body of water where that slaughter takes place. If we fix stop that. If we can’t stop that. Forget about the bigger issues, there is no hope.” The end quote to the movie. Its just the fact that Taiji is where he set his aim. Not the fact that there aren’t other places where the hunts go one but the fact that it should start there because its a place where a majority of the kills take place. Plus Rick O’bien said he would know about any trouble against dolphins and whales around the world (said in the movie).
Brenna

Why are people choosing to accept either the killing of cows, pigs, chickens in America or the killings of dolphins in Japan as acceptable? It doesn’t matter which animal is smarter (although there’s no contest there) – neither practices are acceptable. Yes, the meat industry in America is awful and something should be done to improve it. And if someone (American or non-American) wants to make a movie about it, I welcome it. But in general Americans are aware of the meat industry and the cruel ways the animals are raised and then slaughtered. And the animals are killed specifically for meat and are not endangered – they’re raised.

In Japan, the killing of dolphins is widely UNKNOWN, and the few who know about it “don’t want to talk about it” because they don’t like the foreign hype or they think foreigners don’t get their “tradition”. Choosing to avoid public eye only admits that the issue is real and doesn’t help to resolve it. This shouldn’t be Japan vs. the rest of the world. This is a real problem, and countries should be working together to resolve it. But it’s worrisome when Japan thinks there is no problem. And tradition should NEVER be used as an excuse for something. Slavery was tradition for so long in America. Was it wrong for it to have been abolished?

ponta

” in general Americans are aware of the meat industry and the cruel ways the animals are raised and then slaughtered.”

Knowing how evils to slaughter them, are they still slaughtering?

” And the animals are killed specifically for meat and are not endangered – they’re raised.”"

Dolphins are not endangered and they are not raised in inhumane ways while many cows and pigs are raised in inhumane conditions.

Sure tradition should not be used as excuse for something.

It is just that some people sense the smell of racism when one nation’s practice appear to be exclusively targeted .

I have no objection to the way the film like Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals, including cows, pigs and whale, for profit.
LB

In Japan, the killing of dolphins is widely UNKNOWN,
Wrong.

and the few who know about it “don’t want to talk about it” because they don’t like the foreign hype or they think foreigners don’t get their “tradition”.
It is not a “few” who know about it for one thing. And even if those who know about it aren’t talking about it, it is not for the reasons you give it is because the issue is not seen as an “issue”. How many Americans sit around and talk about the beef slaughterhouses? Not many. Why? because it is a non-issue to all but a few.

But it’s worrisome when Japan thinks there is no problem.
There is no problem with killing dolphins per se. The dolphins being hunted are not endangered, threatened, or anything else. They are every bit a marine resource as sardines or mackerel.

And tradition should NEVER be used as an excuse for something.
Never say “never”, especially not in all caps. It just shows that you are an absolutist who cannot be talked to, nothing more, nothing less.

Slavery was tradition for so long in America.
Aaaaaaaand we’re off! Topic, that is. And conflating ideas that don’t even belong on the same page. Here:

“Many people traditionally eat the salad before the main course. That is wrong! Salad should be eaten last! This tradition of eating it first must be abolished. Slavery was a tradition, and it was abolished! So there!”

See how stupid that is (rhetorical question, I already know you probably won’t get it…)?

Brenna

Ponta, I’m not getting after the Japanese people as a whole. I’m getting after those that seem to minimize the dolphin slaughter, or the discreet selling of it and putting it into school lunches even though it is incredibly toxic. And again, I’m not saying the US is perfect in any way. I would completely disagree with that statement. The US meat industry has a hell of a lot of problems and more should be done about it. I welcome international advice and support to help abolish some of the cruel practices. I agree with Tajjihorror, these are world issues. I’m not offended when someone talks about our meat industry and I’m not going to bash someone for bring it up. Freedom of speech baby.

LB, you’re an ahole. Tone it down.

First of all I’m not absolutist. When it comes to politics, I believe tradition shouldn’t be used as an excuse because tradition does not equate to logic or rationality.

And a hell of a lot of Americans talk about the “beef issue” for your information. All Americans are aware of it, but some have a stronger interest in the issue than others. But no one is ignorant about it, which doesn’t seem to be the case in Japan.

I see what you’re saying, but how the hell can you even compare slavery to eating salad? When you eat salad during a meal is a matter of preference and there is nothing just or injust about it. Slavery, on the other hand, is a human rights abuse. There is NOTHING just or acceptable about it, whether it was a tradition or not.

SORRY MY USE OF CAPS PISSES YOU OFF SO MUCH :p

ponta

.” I’m getting after those that seem to minimize the dolphin slaughter, or the discreet selling of it and putting it into school lunches even though it is incredibly toxic”

I don’t care if you are after those who slaughter pigs, cows, Kangaroo, camels, whales, dolphin etc.as long as you are playing it fair.

Scientists acknowledge that dolphin meat is contaminated with mercury, but deny it’s dangerous unless consumed in huge quantities.
Have you ever heard of people who were damaged by eating dolphin meat?

Are you the same kind of activists who allege hormone residues in beef and milk might be harmful to human health and the environment?

Some people are
Brenna

Well, to be honest I didn’t even know people ate dolphins.

I think there’s the possibility that the hormones in meat and other animal products could be dangerous or unhealthy, but I don’t concern myself with that. Most scientists don’t admit it to be such a big problem. I’m not a vegetarian or vegan or anything.

Steve

Simply put there are so many things to eat on this earth….why eat dolphin! And the comment about Rice is really stupid….maybe he’s a rice picker and afraid of lossing his job
Steve

The biggest threat and most dangerous thing on this Earth in the Human being….we cause more damage then good to this earth and the life thats on it.
Kayla

No, its not about telling a country what not to eat.
This is about how they just kill these innocent creatures for no reason.
They pluck out the good ones, that they can send to other countries and they herd the left over dolphins into the secret cove (the movie The Cove) and kill them. The way they kill them, trap them, run them over with their boats, is a terrible thing.
The movie The Cove was about getting the word out, that killing the “left over” dolphins for no reason, is wrong. It needs to stop.
Why not let them go?
No, they want the money.
If you can watch those waters turn bright red with innocent blood then you dont have a heart and are ignorant beyond repair.
Peter – Darwin, Australia

I beleive this type of cruelty is ingrained in the Japanese psyche. Look at their dispicable behavour towards POW’s and the peoples they subjugated before and during WW2. This is just another chapter in a long list of shame in Japanese history.

Taiji dolphin hunt halted because of ‘The Cove’?

Recent Comments

Further Reading

Japanese Documentary About Sea Shepherd’s Protest Activities in Taiji (English Subtitles)

Babies Born on March 11th Receive Special Present

Washington Times Freelancer Slams Former Employer, Fails to Ethically Disclose Relationship?

Christopher Johnson Attempts to Silence Criticism of His “Gaijin Gulag” Article (Legal Threats!!!)

Tabloid Reports About Yu Darvish’s Love Life: Kirara Asuka & Miho Koga?

Does K-Pop Group KARA Have Ties to North Korea?

Tokyo Gate Bridge

Sara Errani Admits She Avoided Tennis Tournament in Tokyo: Feared Radiation

Chinese Workers Who Survived March 11th Tsunami Return to Tohoku

Why’s Zippei So Quiet? TV Dog Had Vocal Cords Removed

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Japan Blogs

Korea Blogs

Linkroll

Other Asia Blogs