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JAPANESE FISHERMEN VOWED yesterday to continue their dolphin hunt, despite a pledge by zoos and aquariums not to buy animals caught with the controversial method.
“We will never stop it,” Yoshifumi Kai of the fisherman’s cooperative in the western Japanese town of Taiji, where the hunt takes place, told reporters.
The press conference came a week after Japan’s zoos and aquariums voted to stop using dolphins caught by the so-called “drive hunt” method, as demanded by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
Some dolphins are captured alive and sold to aquariums, fetching about 1 million yen (€7,624) each.
The vote was prompted by WAZA’s suspension of the Japanese chapter (JAZA) last month over the issue.
WAZA regards drive hunt fishing — where pods of cetaceans are herded into a bay by a wall of sound before being butchered — as “cruel”, a charge local fishermen reject.
“It’s unclear which part of the drive hunt WAZA considers cruel,” Kai said.
We used to harpoon dolphins but that’s several decades ago. Now we sever the spinal cord in a moment and there is not much blood.
Shuichi Matsumoto, head of another local fisherman’s group, said they “have not broken any rules,” adding the group wants to continue the tradition and pass it on to future generations.
Taiji came to worldwide attention after the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove” showed pods of the animals forced into a bay and slaughtered with knives, in a mass killing that turned the water red with blood.
Animal rights activists continue to protest in the town, despite hostility from locals who say they are victims of anti-Japanese bias.
Many of the dolphins are butchered for food, but campaigners claim there is insufficient demand for their relatively unpopular meat to make the hunt economically worthwhile.
They charge that the high prices live animals fetch when sold to aquariums and dolphin shows is the only thing that sustains the hunt.
Despite the overwhelming vote last week by JAZA to abandon the Taiji hunt, five aquariums are reportedly considering leaving the organisation so they can continue to source dolphins from the town.
However, the vote has left aquariums with the problem of how to continue to stock their facilities — only 12 to 13 percent of dolphins at Japanese aquariums are captive-bred, compared with 70 percent in the United States, according to JAZA.
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After watching the Cove, your eyes will be opened to this cruel barbaric practice, these ‘fisher men’ actually torture the live animals in front of their young. The poor Dolphins must be praying for another tsunami.
Humans truly are a strange species
We now severe the spinal cord so there’s not too much blood. Yeah cause that was the problem.
I could only watch ‘the cove’ once, – too heart-breaking.
These people are truly evil.
This practice will rapidly die out if they are not making money out of it!
as at a protest outside the Japanese embassy few years ago about this issue we made our feelings known what the civilized world thinks. Closer to home Like to add the faroe islands also have a tradition the grind where they herd pods of whales into a bay by boats wade out waist deep and stab the whale in a bloody psychotic frenzy hundreds of times till the poor creature looses so much blood it dies. The faroese call it a tradition Would post a photo but too distressing/ best way I can put is is think of dublin bay instead of the sea being blue its red. Suppose I should not be surprised by Denmark who own the faroes animal beastiality is not against the law
This is cruel and distasteful, but those who condemn it and are not vegetarians are among the biggest hypocrites I can think of offhand.
Yeah, yeah, with the red thumbs; God love the poor dolphins but don’t mind tucking into lamb, veal and countless other animals that are raised to be fattened and slaughtered.
It has more to do with the method the use to kill them. If we were rounding sheep up in the corner of a feild and bashing their heads in with rocks it would’nt be tolerated.
Look at how we keep and slaughter chicken, Paul. The Japanese method of slaughter is brutal and horrific but we’re hardly one to talk given how fowl are treated.
You know salmonellosis, the food-borne disease from the salmonella organism? Many cases of this come from how poultry are kept, housed and slaughtered, living and dying in faeces, laying eggs that get cracked and subsequently infected with salmonella due to faecal contact. This goes on in Ireland, the UK, and across the EU. Don’t even get me started on what goes on across the Atlantic in the USA because it’s ten times worse.
So, yeah, we’re not exactly in a good position to be casting blame from our high horses, now are we?
And the rest of the world is going to keep on killing Cows, much to the horror of the Hindu population, Koreans and the Philippines are going to keep on feasting on Dogs, the Chinese are going to eat almost any living creature !!! that’s life In other parts of the world.
Never trust the Japanese , a Japanese man once sold a Labrador to me blind friend turned out to be baby cow , kept bumping in to the things but was cheap to feed
This is what your supporting every time you visit seaworld or swim with a captive dolphin.
Think, think think, how can you fight back against this. Never ever buy a Japanese car. The buy nearly nothing from us and Yet we flock to buy their cars????? I have managed to live my life with buying only European cars and have never had big garage bills.
Are they forcing these dolphins to work in the car manufacturing industry ? Terrible.
Was at a protest outside the Japanese embassy few years ago about this issue we made our feelings known what the civilized world thinks. Closer to home Like to add the faroe islands also have a tradition the grind where they herd pods of whales into a bay by boats wade out waist deep and stab the whale in a bloody psychotic frenzy hundreds of times till the poor creature looses so much blood it dies. The faroese call it a tradition Would post a photo but too distressing/ best way I can put is is think of dublin bay instead of the sea being blue its red. Suppose I should not be surprised by Denmark who own the faroes animal beastiality is not against the law.
There only fish
As provocative as you are trying to be “right wing” you are showing your ignorance twice in a very short sentence.
Congratulations, right wing. That’s the dumbest thing anybody has ever posted on this site. Almost everything about it is laughably incorrect.
Dolphins aren’t fish you eejit
If it swims like a fish and looks like a fish it must be a fish. igit
They’re you dummy. And they’re not fish dummy. Now finish you cornflakes and go to school.
Dolphins are mammals, as are porpoises, sealions and whales. All of those have fins, swim in the ocean and are not fish.
Look l had a small gold one in a bowl l know what l am talking about.
Your working knowledge of the care of domestic goldfish doesn’t really translate to ocean mammals and fauna.
You are true moron and only piece of bones and meat
Mammals actually and very intelligent ones at that…probably more brain’s than yourself
Next Saturday week, June 6th there will be information available to anybody interested in finding out more about Taiji and the cruel industry that drives this dolphin captivity…. On June 6th, in almost 70 large cities around the World, compassionate people will gather and hand out information leaflets etc to those who may wish to visit SeaWorld or “Swim with dolphin” businesses. In Dublin, this information will be available from volunteers at the Spire, O’ Connell street, from 1pm to 3pm June 6th… Please come along and say hi. You will have the opportunity to speak with people who have been to Taiji, to people who have visited Dolphinariums worldwide to question the managers regarding their reasons for keeping these dolphins captive and indeed whether or not they have sourced their dolphins from Taiji. Quote “We used to harpoon dolphins but that’s several decades ago. Now we sever the spinal cord in a moment and there is not much blood”…. Having travelled from Ireland last year and spent a week at the Cove of Taiji, (As depicted in the Oscar winning Documentary “The Cove”… see Youtube “The Cove full Movie”), I can assure you the absolutely unnecessary death of these intelligent cetaceans is both cruel and drawn out. I watched one female dolphin, having initially had her young taken from it in a violent manner, no doubt destined for a SeaWorld/Swim with Dolphin type prison, have a metal spike forced into her back directly behind her eyes, 40 minutes later she was still alive and struggling to breathe, all the time her fluke (Tail) held by a rope to the rocks at the Cove. So the claim by the “Fishermen” of Taiji that the spinal cord is severed in a moment is fiction. Remember that by the time the dolphins are forced on the rocks of the Cove, they have already endured up to four hours of a very frightening and disorientating experience of been “Driven” ahead of approximately 15 boats all the while being subjected to the banging of the poles attached to those boats which affects their ability to navigate. Clung together, the family of dolphins rarely escape. As for the second claim that there “Is not much blood”… the reason there is not much blood, is simply due to the “Fishermen” hammering a wooden cork, (Similar to that found in a wine bottle, but much larger), into the hole caused by the metal spike which has been used to apparently sever the spinal cord… This wooden cork stems the huge flow of blood from the dolphin as having the waters of the Cove in Taiji filled with blood doesn’t look good to the ever present volunteers from animal rights groups who stand at the Cove photographing and documenting the cruelty. This occurs each and every year from Sept 1st to March. Remember to never buy a ticket to any water park which keeps dolphins captive, whether they go under the guise of SeaWorld/ Miami SeaQuarium, or indeed a swim with dolphin business which will no doubt spew the lies that the dolphins at their animal prison are “Rescued”…. They are not rescued, they are imprisoned. Only in the past month RTE stopped broadcasting the TV series “Blue Zoo” on RTE2 which documented Irish teenagers learning to be dolphin “Trainers” at a dolphinarium in Australia. Only after the truth and cruel reality of these businesses was pointed out to RTE by “Freedom for Dolphins Ireland”, did they choose to withdraw the broadcasts. If you are unaware, dolphins at these type of businesses are trained through “Food deprivation”, only fed when they respond to trainer’s demands. Animal cruelty that Irish teenagers should not be getting involved in I’m sure you’ll agree. See Facebook “Freedom For Dolphins Ireland” “2015 Empty the Tanks worldwide” and “Empty the Tanks Ireland 2015″ for more information. Other sources of information: YouTube “PSA My friend is” —–” Ric O’ Barry and Ben Stiller on Larry King Live”, —- Netflix : ” BlackFish”, —-Books, ” Behind the dolphin Smile” by Mr Richard O’ Barry,(Former dolphin trainer for the TV program “Flipper) —- “Beyond the Surface” by Mr John Hargrove (ex SeaWorld trainer). Thank You.
People have to make a living I dont see anyone up at the local sheep farmers protesting at the killing of lambs
What difference does it make? It’s part of their culture going back centuries. Hunting has always been part of a sustainable existence in nearly every culture. So a few dolphins are killed on the other side of the world….how is that going to effect people here? You’re not being force fed dolphin meat.
I suspect that a lot of this outrage is fuelled by the fact that dolphins are perceived as being cute or a popular and welcome attraction. Would there be as much outrage and anger if an annual skunk hunt occurred whereby thousands of skunks were herded into a barn and slaughtered? I seriously doubt it. Or what will we do to stop primitive tribes hunting jungle animals in Africa with spears? Open a McDonalds to feed the natives instead?
Too right. Look at how chickens are kept; living on top of each other, shitting all over each other until they’re slaughtered. The hypocrisy is blinding; imagine you were a Japanese fisherman being condemned for practicing your own culture by Westerners who aren’t even vegetarian and have questionable practices in relation to animal cruelty themselves?
The hypocrisy and double standard is unbelievable.
Tasty fish
I say we get our own boat and start hunting japanese fishermen.
There is no shortage of Dolphins in this world. I must of seen thousands
We need to send the dolphins weapons to defend themselves. That worked in Syria. Right?
Japanese pigs!
If their swimming in waters around Japan ,their probably dying a slow painful death from radioactive poisoning . http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-a-nuclear-war-without-a-war-the-unspoken-crisis-of-worldwide-nuclear-radiation/28870
Barbaric
Fish
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