I’ve been meaning to watch it for months and I finally watched “The Cove” all the way through last night and I was quite taken aback by the issues presented in that documentary. I applaud Ric O’Barry and his team for dedicating their lives to this issue, and it’s something that is consistently buried by Governments and Mainstream Media, especially in Japan. It seems to me that the Japanese Government’s and Regulatory Commission’s stance on the entire issue is unreasonable and ignorant.
There doesn’t appear to be any legitimate reason for whaling and Dolphin hunting in my opinion. However, An interesting point was brought up to me today, in that whales tend to consume a lot of fish, with local fisheries taking a hit on their stock because of these creatures. Over-population of whales would be an issue that needed rectifying, but if I’m not mistaken, these animals are now endangered.
The practice of hunting these animals for their meat and capturing them for captivity and mass entertainment is very sickening to me. It’s arguable that Dolphins have nearly as much self-awareness as humans do, and to inhumanely trap, slaughter, and eat these creatures is not only cruel and unnecessary, it’s plain stupid. The amount of mercury in their bodies is nearly 400 times the safe consumable amount for any human being. It has caused birth defects and brain damage in certain communities that partake in Dolphin meat consumption.
It’s an issue that needs to be brought to the forefront of politics in Japan and across the world, if I were in Taiji I would probably do something stupid and commit physical harm on these fisherman if confronted. Until I can actually make any sort of impact on this situation I will simply pass on the information and hope it also inspires others to take action. More info after the jump:
http://www.thedolphinproject.org/
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/
