Annual Dolphin Slaughter Underway In Japan

by Becky A. Dayhuff and Patricia Collier

The killings began October 6 in Taiji when 60 dolphins were taken on the beach. The deaths have continued and on October 23, members of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and dolphin rehabilitator Ric O'Barry documented the capture of 30 melon-head whales, 13 of which were driven to shore and killed.

Melon-head whales are small, with a pointed, melon-shaped head and slender body and often associate with dolphins.

In November, Taiji fishermen erected barriers around the killing ground in an attempt to block the view of the film crews. Even so, the filmmakers were able to document the capture and killing of 12 additional dolphins.

Blue Voice, another environmental group which has filmed past killings, reports area fishermen are trying to force the environmentalists out of town. Local shops will not sell food to the group and it's difficult for them to find lodging.

Some of the fishermen have even urinated in front of the female members of the environmental group. Recently, several members of the group have been attacked by the fishermen and Blue Voice says they will press charges.

Sea Shepherd has a crew on a daily 24-hour watch of the Taiji harbor to prevent further departures of the Japanese dolphin fleet. Sea Shepherd says they have called for reinforcements to help continue their efforts.

In 1979, environmental filmmakers arrived too late to document the killing of dolphins on Iki Island off the southwest coast of Japan. They believed from the evidence of the blood soaked beaches that hundreds of animals had been killed.

The following year, the crews arrived in time to document the dolphin killings. Films made that year by Hardy Jones of Blue Voice and Howard Hall were quickly dispatched, stirring a global protest which stopped the killing of dolphins in Japan until 1987 when it was resumed on a limited basis.

In 1993, the dolphin roundup began again on a massive scale, encouraged by aquariums looking for specimens to enhance their collections. Blue Voice again documented the roundup, and as a result, the importation of captured wild dolphins into the U.S. was permanently banned.

Because of an increase in the popularity of marine aquariums in Asia, 1999 saw a resurgence in the large scale round up of wild dolphins for sale by the fishermen of Taiji to marine parks in Japan. Dolphins not chosen by the aquariums were slaughtered.

With the decline in the availability of whale meat, the fishermen of Japan are now turning to dolphin as a substitute. Recent studies by scientists from the University of Hokkaido, Harvard, and Earth Trust found that canned whale meat is actually 30 percent dolphin meat, which has been shown to be high in concentrations of heavy metals, DDT, PCBs, and mercury.

Various contaminant studies have shown dolphin meat contains mercury concentrations from 10 to 500 times more per serving than the recommended human consumption levels.

According to the Dolphin and Whale Action Network (IKAN) located in Tokyo, a total of 668,393 dolphins were captured in Japan between 1963 and 1999. IKAN states the Japanese government issued permits in 2000 for the taking of 21,775 dolphins via harpoon and drive fishery.

In drive fishery, the method used at Taiji, the dolphins are surrounded by nets and pushed to shore. They are often left entangled in nets on the beach for days until they are finally killed by spears or loaded still alive onto trucks for butchering elsewhere.

Individuals interested in supporting Sea Shepherd's efforts to end the slaughter of these marine animals can call their donation hotline toll free at 1-800-4-WHALES (within USA), and can also write to Japanese officials, to protest the slaughter of the dolphins and whales. The contact information for the officials is on the Sea Shepherd Web site (www.seashepherd.org).

Concerned individuals may also wish to complete the online action alert which appears on the Web site of the group In Defense of Animals (www.idausa.org).

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.