Saving the World, One Cause At a Time

 

I cannot remember the last time I ever watched Entertainment Tonight. It is not a program I like because for the most part it seems to be full of celebrity gossip that no one should actually care about. Last night, however, I turned on the TV and did not change the channel because, what do you know, ET was actually reporting something of substance: the slaughter of dolphins in Japan; a tragedy that has been happening for centuries.

I am sure you have heard of the “Urban myth” that every time you open a can of tuna fish, you might be chowing down on dolphin instead. Apparently, it is not so much mythology after all. According to www.savejapandolphins.com, the number one reason the slaughter continues is that most people have no idea this is happening, in Japan and the world at-large. “The fishermen don’t want the public to know about their dirty, little secret, so they spend a lot of time hiding their activities. They know that if Japan and the world learn the truth about this barbaric practice, world opinion will immediately put it to an end.”

The site describes just how these fishermen go about their brutal task: “After driving pods of dolphins into shallow coves, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. Thrashing about, the dolphins take as long as six minutes to die. The water turns red with their blood and the air fills with their screams.” This takes place 6 out of 12 months each year.

There are several organizations fighting for this important cause currently, including Animal Welfare Institute (www.awionline.org), In Defense of Animals (www.idausa.org), Earth Island Institute (www.earthisland.org/immp/), and Elsa Nature Conservancy (www.elsaenc.net/index_e.htm). Unfortunately, more support is needed and, indeed, more education must be made available so more people know about this unfortunate practice in order to make it stop.

One of the first moves is to make the Japanese people understand what is going on so they can take a stand and refuse to purchase the meat, sold as whale meat and considered a delicacy in the country. It seems as though these people have been misinformed about dolphin slaying, under the impression that the killings are necessary because the mammals eat too many fish. Save Japan Dolphins Campaign reports that this is “a scientifically false argument”. There is also the combined problem that dolphin meat is poisoning the Japanese with high rates of mercury and the Japanese government has not warned anyone about the health crisis. The Campaign urges activists to write to the Mayor of Ito at hisyo@city.ito.shizuoka.jp, or Ito-city at kenko@city.ito.shizuoka.jp to voice concerns. You may also send a message directly to the Japanese Prime Minister through the website.

But there is also another hidden cause at the root of the issue, and it pains me to report that the United States has a hand in it: “The tragic secret behind the slaughter is that the US and International dolphin captivity industry is fueling the massacre. They are organizing and funding the hunts in order to buy “show-quality” dolphins from the Japanese fishermen to use in dolphin shows, “Swim-with-the-Dolphins” programs and aquariums.” As someone who has swam with dolphins myself as a child, this disturbs me to no end. How can our government possibly condone and, to be sure, even fund such an operation? Instead of savingthese dolphins from so-called dolphinariums, these industries are maintaining the butcher drives by putting a profit into the pockets of the fisherman at the forefront of the massacres. Unless the United States and other international aquariums and the like stop doing business with these Japanese fishermen, the problem is not going to go away.

On the campaign website there are many different ways you can take action to stop these slaughters of one of the earth’s most intelligent lifeforms. Send a pre-typed message to the International Marine Animal Trainers Association to urge them to stop all business with Japanese dolphin killers, or to the Japanese government. If you have some dollars to spare, you can also donate to the campaign.

Luckily this concern is finally getting press through the help of international activists, musicians and actors who have gone to Japan to witness the atrocities. Heroesstar, Hayden Panettiere – better known as Claire on the NBC series – was one participant, in tears over what she witnessed.

We need more people following this issue, more activists to take this upon themselves in order to spread the word. The more people who are aware that this tragedy exists, the more likely it can be stopped – sooner than later.

~ by peacewriter313 on November 2, 2007.