Post by Concerned diver on Nov 3, 2003 20:24:53 GMT
I don't know if any of you guys have seen this, but my stomach churned when I read the UK daily Mail the other day.
Now I have been to Japan and have many Japanese friends, but this totally distressed me. They are brutally murdering hundreds, which will become thousands of dolphins in their yearly season of hunting, which will now run until April.
Basically they confuse the dolphins over a period of time, sometimes up to two days, by banging the water with iron poles. Once the dolphins are confused, distressed and tired enough, they are herded into coves where they are then stabbed in the brain, brought onto the boats and left to die, which can take up to 6 minutes.
I appreciate that many of us (myself included) do eat fish, and these wonderful creatures are being killed for food, but what I do not understand is that as an intelligent, not to mention endangered species, they are still being hunted in this way. I had been under the impression that they are protected under international conventions, which Japan have signed and agreed to.
I haven't included the pictures here, however the sea was red with blood, and the sight of a great pile of slaughtered dolphins strewn across a fishing boat were really horrific.
Whilst there is a site mentioned in the article: www.seashepherd.org there did not seem to be huge mention of this yearly massacre there. If anyone knows of anywhere else where there might be more information, or some way of adding our voices to the outcry, please let us know. I am sure that I am not alone in my shock and outrage at this ongoing practice.
in shock and sadness
Now I have been to Japan and have many Japanese friends, but this totally distressed me. They are brutally murdering hundreds, which will become thousands of dolphins in their yearly season of hunting, which will now run until April.
Basically they confuse the dolphins over a period of time, sometimes up to two days, by banging the water with iron poles. Once the dolphins are confused, distressed and tired enough, they are herded into coves where they are then stabbed in the brain, brought onto the boats and left to die, which can take up to 6 minutes.
I appreciate that many of us (myself included) do eat fish, and these wonderful creatures are being killed for food, but what I do not understand is that as an intelligent, not to mention endangered species, they are still being hunted in this way. I had been under the impression that they are protected under international conventions, which Japan have signed and agreed to.
I haven't included the pictures here, however the sea was red with blood, and the sight of a great pile of slaughtered dolphins strewn across a fishing boat were really horrific.
Whilst there is a site mentioned in the article: www.seashepherd.org there did not seem to be huge mention of this yearly massacre there. If anyone knows of anywhere else where there might be more information, or some way of adding our voices to the outcry, please let us know. I am sure that I am not alone in my shock and outrage at this ongoing practice.
in shock and sadness
