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Typhoon Delays Taiji Dolphin Hunt

On September 1st, the town of Taiji in Wakayama prefecture was scheduled to begin its annual dolphin hunt. A group of animal rights activists came to protest, but found that the hunt had been delayed because of the approach of Typhoon Talas:

A bus brought in 23 foreign protesters, led by Ric O’Barry. Because no hunt was in progress, there wasn’t much for them to do other than stand around on the beach and say a prayer for the dolphins.

Because past protests have involved illegal activities such as net-cutting, police will be reinforcing their presence in Taiji during this year’s dolphin hunting season.

Although the typhoon prevented them from filming something that might help them produce some anger about hunting dolphins, Ric O’Barry managed to find a few dolphins in a sea pen, which were apparently would soon be killed by the typhoon:

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32 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - September 3, 2011 at 4:42 pm

Categories: Anti-Japan, Foreigners in Japan Tags:

http://twitter.com/ahm Avery

Previous revelations about the Taiji protesters are summarized here:

http://avery.morrow.name/blog/2011/04/in-which-i-discuss-the-disgusting-behavior-of-the-sea-shepherds-as-if-someone-cared/

Hraesvelgr

This is not new to me, personally, but I am ashamed by this garbage everytime I see it. There are better ways to go about this than acting like grade school bullies.

Charles Bronson

Dolphin burgaz.
Assar hakim

I can’t believe that the Japanese government still allows this disgusting hunt to take place.

Are they completely deaf? Haven’t they heard that the ENTIRE world is against it?

Kushieda

Completely erasing a part of history and tradition isn’t something that’s done so easily even on persuasion. I’m sure you understand.
andy

obviously the ENTIRE world is not against it
Sly

I’m not against it. During my next trip I will try whale and dolphin meat if I can
Anonymous

How culturally insensitive of you.
Day-Bee-Toe

I can’t believe that the Western society still allows this disgusting so-called protest (read: hate crime) to take place.

Are they completely idiot? Haven’t they understood that Japan and Denmark, in which dolphin hunting is taken place, is included in your “ENTIRE world”?

Vrsacchi

The cultures and traditions and adptaram evolved over time, what is happening in Taiji is shameful and disgusting we all human beings …It is not food, not culture, just easy money … mafia … Each dolphin is sold to water parks for $ 150.00,00 …The main buyers of dolphins are China, Philippines, Europe, Canada, Caribbean, USA and Japan …Shameful …

Hraesvelgr

The main buyers of dolphins are… almost the entire world? So, I guess these hypocrites should stop singling out one country then, yes? I’m really not sure what your number is supposed to be, either. Also, dolphins are not human beings and they are food if they’re being eaten, whether you like it or not.
Anonymous

Like some French villages that sell their local wine to the world, Taiji is also a village who lives by their culture and local products and sell or eat them. It’s like that for centuries now and it’s not that easy to stop or slow down a so well-established culture. Just imagine if they stop it suddenly… Then what? What will happen to the village? Fishermen have been doing this for their entire life, they don’t know anything else, what would happen to the economy of the village after that, or even the entire region?

Me too it does not enchant me when i see Dolphins dying, but it makes me even sicker when i see how stupid, selfish and arrogant these people of Sea Sheperds are; along with their methods and attitudes in a foreign country. Talking about spreading the good image on foreigners here… Bunch of retards that deserve a good stay in Japanese jail (or more…).
Anonymous

Amusingly, the more you try to change something, the more they stay the same.
Day-Bee-Toe

Look up your dictionary and find that “evolution” means a change neither to the direction which you deserve nor to a better direction.
Anyway, it is certain Western cultures and traditions haven’t so much “evolved” when it comes to cultural imperialism. As long as there are some people who eat it, it IS food. If selling something to others is evil, the USA, Australia, Canada etc. are all criminal nations — they earn much money by exporting foods to outside, including Japan.
Fish_Taco

If what you are saying is true then wouldn’t it make a million times more sense to go after the people buying the dolphins or the people paying to see the shows? I’d love to see these guys harassing a 6 year old at Sea World, that would be some publicity for ya.

Magnet

One of the reason these people claim they protest is that dolphins are “intelligent”. Attributing intelligence to animals is a tricky subject but most people place chimpanzees, dolphins, elephants, and pigs, at the top. Yet chimpanzees are sill commonly hunted for “bush meat” in Africa, and pigs are bred and slaughtered by the millions all over the world. You don’t see these nut-jobs out in Africa protesting nor do they protest at pork processing plants. Why? No publicity. Yet, they have the time and money to descend on a small Japanese town every year and harass the populace into trying to end a centuries old tradition. Why not head out to Alaska and Greenland and protest the traditional whale hunts there (Whales fall near the top in intelligence too)?
huss

not this again
Øglen

Wish they could have better killing methods. Not against dolphin hunt but just wish there were better ways to kill animals than poking them to death. Where I live in Japan, in the country side. We have lots of wild boars. Farmers and hunters set out traps. Once the wild boars are caught in a cage, hunters do not shoot them because apparently that is bad for the meat so instead they poke them to death using pretty much the same type of tools the fishermen are using killing dolphins. The wild boar does not die easily. They weigh over 100 kilos. They are big animals. After many minutes of pain the animal is killed and the meat sold to restaurants.

butakun

It reminds me of a custom in eastern europe, where my wife is from, people do exactly that on Christmas and boys are made to sit on dead pigs for ceremonial reasons. I adore pigs, think they are adorable, but at the same time I love eating their meat.

Syuji Ota

Any person who considers it a delicacy to eat an endangered animal (like Blue Fin Tuna or Fin Whale) can not be trusted to manage any wild resource, regardless if it’s Japan, the Aleute, Icelanders, or Norwegians. Not only that, but eating dolphins is akin to cannibalism. Anyone who’s studied dolphin intelligence will tell you that they’re far more intelligent and socially complex than fish (and no, they are NOT fish). Dolphins are so much like humans – it’s obvious if you pay attention!!

If you’re so proud of eating dolphins, why don’t you go eat humans too, you disgusting psychopaths! There’s just no excuse for the level of ignorance required to kill and (especially) eat dolphins. What the hell is wrong with you?!

Fish_Taco

Actually I think a person who would like to eat endangered animals is the perfect person to manage them as a resource. It seems like they would have some serious interest in making sure they survive. I might not trust someone who only wanted to make a profit from it, but the people who like to eat them sounds like a perfect match.
Kushieda
Hraesvelgr

Are you saying it’s akin to cannibalism because they’re mammals or because they’re more intelligent than fish? If it’s because of the former, we eat other mammals all the time, such as sheep (lamb), cattle and pigs (which are also highly social and intelligent); if it’s because of the latter, we’re supposed to be the most intelligent and socially complex species on the planet, but we kill each other all the time and there is still cannibalism in modern times.
Day-Bee-Toe

Any person who considers it a delicacy to eat an endangered animal (like Blue Fin Tuna or Fin Whale) can not be trusted

It may be true, but dolphins are not endangered around Japan.

Not only that, but eating dolphins is akin to cannibalism. Anyone who’s
studied dolphin intelligence will tell you that they’re far more
intelligent and socially complex than fish (and no, they are NOT fish).

Cows and pigs are not fish either and also intelligent. Until the 19th century, beef and pork were not common for food in Japan and Westerners eat much more beef and pork than the Japanese do even today. Thus, you are saying that your fellow people are more akin to cannibalism.

If you’re so proud of eating dolphins, why don’t you go eat humans too, you disgusting psychopaths!

If you’re so proud of your arrogant and selfish “protest”, why don’t you go build extermination camps for Japanese, you disgusting racists!

Heil Watson!
HaiPhong

applying human qualities to non-humans is treading down a slippery slope. tool making/use, social “networks,” & communication are found in all animals, including the lowly ant. can we consider such creatures “intelligent”? there are also some who think that humans, being the “highest” or “best” evolved species (and should thus not harm dolphins etc) are misunderstanding the concept of evolution. value judgments have no place in evolution. the tapeworm is “highly” evolved and thrives quite well in an acidic, hostile environment which would kill any human. yet who loves the tapeworm, the spreader of misery among humans? creatures (incl. humans) have successfully adapted to their environment in order to survive and pass their genes to the next generation. Nature is entirely neutral and cares not whether one species survives
over another.

one’s dog may look “friendly” or “understanding,” but one is merely projecting human qualities onto something that may not be conscious of what it is doing–it may not even “care”. humans have “theory of mind,” “i think you think that…” non-human primates have limited capacity for this and other animals do not have this capacity; for better or worse.

Day-Bee-Toe

I can’t agree more. The usage of the word “evolution” by dolphin cult believers undoubtedly implies social Darwinism. It even sometimes reminds me of Nazi’s race (pseudo-)theory.

tokaiboy

here we go again
Vrsacchi

People who approve of this should be happy if their families were destroyed and their children sold to the circus and makes Taiji dolphins …What’s happening in Taiji is disgusting and shame us all human beings …Monsters !

Day-Bee-Toe

Okay, then your families are equivalent to dolphins. It follows that you are also equal to dolphins. Hence, you are subhuman. Q.E.D.
japanobserver

I am guessing that I will see your family swimming around the aquarium amrite? I will definitely pay to see that. just tell me which Sea World you and your family will be jumping and flipping around, through hoops and all.

Day-Bee-Toe

Paul Watson, the world’s worst hate speaker who said the tsunami was Neptune’s divine punishment, this time called the typhoon, which killed dozens of innocent people, as “divine wind.”

http://www.seashepherd.org/commentary-and-editorials/2011/09/02/divine-wind-buys-time-for-dolphins-in-taiji-483

Heil Watson! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!

HaiPhong

there is no justice: while +40 japanese died, some of whom may not even have supported whale hunting (but for the most part neutral), with property and homes damaged, none of the foreign troublemakers got even a scratch, and they get to go back their safe, dry homes.

Typhoon Delays Taiji Dolphin Hunt

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