The 1st of September means spring time, long nights, flowers and the return of warmth but for the bottle nosed dolphins who inhabit the waters of Taiji it Japan it means the beginning of the annual hunting season.
The plight of these dolphins has been famously highlighted by the award winning documentary The Cove. While the film was very popular around the world little appears to have changed for these dolphins. An article I read today stated that no dolphins had been caught yet and that Sea Sheppard Conservation Society are ‘monitoring’ the situation.
The article quoted Michael Dalton of Sea Shepherd who made a statement from Taiji. ``The dolphins need defenders at the cove today and tomorrow. If you came to Japan to save dolphins, the place to be is Taiji and the time to be here is now.''
I hope with all my heart that Sea Sheppard take action against this hunt before any dolphin blood is spilt.
My thoughts then turned to New Zealand when I read a statement from the Japanese government arguing that killing the dolphins (and whales) is no different from raising cows or pigs for slaughter. And I have to say I whole heartedly agree.
But rather than this being a justification for the slaughter I see it as a challenge to those in the west who find the slaughter of dolphins and whales abhorrent but are happy to chow down on a cow, fish, chicken or pig without a second thought as if their life is some how less valuable than that of a whale or dolphin.
Whether they are the dolphins in Taiji or the new spring lambs filling the paddocks in Aotearoa, animals are not ours to torture and kill for the sake of taste or profit. Please choose a plant based diet and show your support to those working to save our animal friends.
The plight of these dolphins has been famously highlighted by the award winning documentary The Cove. While the film was very popular around the world little appears to have changed for these dolphins. An article I read today stated that no dolphins had been caught yet and that Sea Sheppard Conservation Society are ‘monitoring’ the situation.
The article quoted Michael Dalton of Sea Shepherd who made a statement from Taiji. ``The dolphins need defenders at the cove today and tomorrow. If you came to Japan to save dolphins, the place to be is Taiji and the time to be here is now.''
I hope with all my heart that Sea Sheppard take action against this hunt before any dolphin blood is spilt.
My thoughts then turned to New Zealand when I read a statement from the Japanese government arguing that killing the dolphins (and whales) is no different from raising cows or pigs for slaughter. And I have to say I whole heartedly agree.
But rather than this being a justification for the slaughter I see it as a challenge to those in the west who find the slaughter of dolphins and whales abhorrent but are happy to chow down on a cow, fish, chicken or pig without a second thought as if their life is some how less valuable than that of a whale or dolphin.
Whether they are the dolphins in Taiji or the new spring lambs filling the paddocks in Aotearoa, animals are not ours to torture and kill for the sake of taste or profit. Please choose a plant based diet and show your support to those working to save our animal friends.
