Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Research Paper
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Taiji Dolphin Slaughter
While Japan claims hunting whales and dolphins is their culture, most people will believe what goes on there is very barbaric. What happens in this small town is very inhumane and our whale and dolphin populations are in extreme danger because of this hunt.
The town of Taiji is located on the main island of Honsu, Japan. Taiji has a small population of only around 3,200 people. It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and faces the
Pacific Ocean. The infamous “Cove” where the killing takes place has rocky land on all three sides. The water is shallow with many rock spurs and islets, which create a funnel right into the cove. (McCurry)
It has always been known to Japan as it’s “whaling town.” This countries’ history dates …show more content…
back to the 1600’s when townspeople set up a large whaling company. It seems to have taken another century before the “nettechnique” was invented to capture whales safely and more efficiently. The people of Taiji say they depended on what the sea could offer them and whaling was a great source of food. So once the netwhaling was invented, this was huge for the industry in Taiji. However, history also shows that the dolphin hunts did not really start until 1969. It was originally started to catch pilot whales for the Taiji Whale Museum and it was discovered how much profit hunting dolphins could bring in. (Whiting) Therefore there is no reason for them to defend against it being a tradition or part of their culture as it just started recently.
The capture and slaughter of dolphins is done by about 26 local fishermen. They kill the dolphins with permits given to them by their government (FactsCove Guardians). Then there are other teams of local people who are considered to be “killers” and others to be the socalled
“trainers”. Most of the fishermen are involved with other types of fishing but that would only
8293300 2
bring in about $24,000 U.S. dollars to live on and they claim that isn’t enough.(FactsCove
Guardians) Taiji’s
Mayor, Kazutaka Sangen, said dolphins remain an important resource for the town. “There are no other industries here. We can’t harvest rice or vegetables and there’s very little fresh water,” said Sangen, 62. “If we couldn’t hunt dolphins and whales, this town would have died out a long time ago.”
st
The dolphin hunt takes place anywhere from as early as September 1
March. On the
morning of, before sunrise, the groups of the 26 fishermen get into their boats and head out into the ocean in search of dolphin pods. A few ways they search for dolphins is the known migratory pattern or groups of birds in the sky that eat up the dolphin’s scraps. The types of dolphins the
Taiji fishermen look for
Striped dolphins
,
Bottlenose dolphins, Pan tropical spotted dolphins,
Risso’s dolphins, Pilot whales, Roughtoothed dolphins, Pseudo orcas, Pacific Whitesided dolphins, Baird 's beaked whales, and Dall 's porpoise. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)
Once a pod is spotted, all of the hunting boats get into a formation, which is an even spaced line and each boat lowers a metal pole into the water. Each pole is flared out on the end and when banged against the boat, it amplifies the sound underwater, completely confusing the dolphin’s sense of direction. It has been said this sound is awful to the people helplessly watching on the shore and it echoes throughout the cove. The fishermen continue to drive dolphins into the cove and once there, the area is netted off and for the dolphins there is no escape. (Dolphin Captivity)
The selection process for a pod can take days depending on the number of dolphins. It is a very exhausting process for the dolphins. They are terrified, hungry and worn out. Once the dolphins are pushed into the shallow parts of the cove, it is roped off into sections. Trainers and
8293300 3
killers will jump into the water to begin selecting which dolphins are best for captivity and the fate for the remaining dolphins is not good. Many will be killed and very few are ever released back into the wild. If any dolphins were let go, they probably would not survive without the protection on their pod. If a dolphin is picked for possible captivity, it is dragged onto the beach for further inspection. They have never been out of the water before and have never experienced what gravity can do to their bodies. When it swims in the ocean, water pressure is equally distributed to it’s whole body, so when a dolphin is dragged onto the beach, pressure is put on their internal organs. If chosen, these dolphins will be put on stretchers awaiting transport to their new home. The remaining are babies who have been torn from their parents or ones who may have marks on them and not worthy to put in a tank. The remaining ones have tried to escape, getting tangled in nets or have watched their whole family being torn apart, not understanding what is happening to them. What dolphins are left, are herded under tarps so the press can’t see the horror. (Dolphin Captivity) A metal spike, repeatedly stabbed to sever the dolphin’s spinal cord. Taiji fishermen say this process is extremely quick and has been perfected over time only lasting three seconds. Taiji mayor Kazutaka Sangen says “the method of hunting has been changing, becoming less crude.” (Varley) In the award winning movie “The Cove”, this killing process was filmed and it actually took over seven minutes for the dolphin to bleed, suffocate and die.
These dolphins have now watched their whole entire family torn apart, taken away and now brutally murdered. The dolphins are thrown alive or dead onto the fishermen’s boat and taken to the slaughterhouses.(FactsCove Guardians)
As humans we cause a lot of pollutants in the air, which eventually ends up in the ocean.
Dolphins eat the fish and mercury from the pollutants is absorbed into the dolphin’s body.
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Mercury is the second most toxic poison in the world. In the United States the limit for methyl mercury in commercial marine and freshwater fish is 1.0 parts per million (ppm
) according to the
FDA. They recommend that pregnant women, young children and nursing mothers avoid large amounts of mercury in their diet from eating fish. (Take Action Frequently Asked Questions)
In fetuses, this poison can cause brain and spinal damage. In adults mercury poison can cause the following: Impairment of speech, hearing and walking, muscle weakness, skin rashes, memory loss, lack of coordination, mental disturbance and
even
(Whale and Dolphin Conservation) death. “Mercury is passed from a person’s gut into the bloodstream and into all organs. It is attracted to lipids which our brain has the highest content. It basically will destroy proteins and enzymes essential to cell function “says Boyd Haley, a biochemist at the University of Kentucky.
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Testing was done on dolphins to find out their levels of mercury in their bodies. The study showed levels from 10 to 100 parts per million. That is an extremely high level of poisoning.
Japan’s allowed level of mercury is only 0.4 parts per million. So why on earth would people kill very intelligent dolphins that have an extremely high level of mercury poisoning that can cause death? Well it seems the only warning from the Japan government is to pregnant women. The toxicity levels in dolphins are pretty much kept quiet to the people in Taiji. (Whale and Dolphin
Conservation) Dolphin meat also seems to get the Japanese people more money than the local seafood so it’s sold throughout Japan in supermarkets. Some is labeled as actual dolphin meat and some is labeled as whale meat. This is sent to other Asian countries mislabeled as whale meat and sometimes hidden in canned tuna. So we want to know what motivates these Taiji fishermen to hunt dolphins. Well profit is definitely the answer to this question. Millions of dollars profit that is. A trained dolphin sold to other countries like China and Russia can bring up to $48,000, while an untrained dolphin brings in only $10,000. If any trained dolphins are sold to Japanese aquariums, they can be sold for $20,000$30,000. Killing a dolphin for meat only brings in a few hundred dollars. According to information that was collected from the
20122013 dolphin hunting season, the Taiji Fishery Union made over 2 million dollars from capturing 247 dolphins. Because of the amount of money these dolphins can bring in, there are tons of waterparks, swim with dolphin programs and aquariums not only in Asia but all over the world and it’s been proven that Taiji is the leader in the capture and selling of these dolphins. In
October of 2013, there was an article in the news about Japan’s future plan to open a waterpark where visitors can swim with dolphins, then choose which one to eat. (Take Action Frequently
Asked Questions) There are currently 34 aquariums in Japan that have captive dolphins that do
8293300 6
tricks for profit. A wild dolphin can swim up to 100 miles a day playing an interacting with their pod. The sad truth about a captive dolphin is that they will live their life in a tank that is less than
1/10,000 of 1% space and working 12 hours a day for frozen, dead food. Statistics show that only
53% that actually survive the grueling captive will die within the first 3 months. Many of the dolphins die from the captive process, transport process, depression and separation from their pod, chlorine poisoning and stressrelated illnesses.
Dolphin’s brains have been recognized as the second most intelligent to humans. They have a sense of self awareness, can recognize their family members, have basic emotions, can solve problems, work together in teams, communicate with each other and can even recognize themselves in mirrors. They are also very playful, social beings. Hopefully the research will continue on these intelligent creatures of the sea to make us humans more aware. (Varley)
Operation Infinite Patience was founded on December 31,2011 by Captain Paul Watson
from the Sea Shepherd. . They are called Cove Guardians and this group of volunteers stays in
Taiji, Japan from the beginning of the dolphinhunting season to the end of the season. They are there to photograph, document and report everything that happens to the dolphins. They are in
Taiji to celebrate when no dolphins are harmed that day, or to document what happens to the unfortunate dolphins that do get caught, or to track where the meat goes or to follow any captive dolphins to see where they are taken. This group is helping to be the dolphin’s voice. By being there to document these horrible happenings, not only are the Japanese citizens becoming aware, but the whole word is. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and new sites are covering the stories. Even celebrities are getting involved. (FactsCove Guardians) The Cove Guardians are not allowed to get in the water and cut the fishing lines to help release dolphins. They are not
8293300 7
even allowed to step beyond lines painted by the local police or they will be immediately arrested. But that is why it is called Operation Infinite Patience because this wonderful group of people have to have patience each and everyday and endure the good and the bad and to help make the world aware of what secret Taiji is trying to hide. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)
People can help to stop the slaughter and captivity of dolphins by becoming
educated. There are several movies called “The Cove and Blackfish” that tells the stories about dolphins and whales slaughtered in coves or taken from the wild. People can apply to be a Cove
Guardian in Taiji, Japan but it is a volunteer basis and all expenses have to be paid by each individual person. Please do not buy any tickets to visit aquariums, dolphin shows or swimming with dolphin programs because this is profit to the fisherman and aiding the captivity of dolphins. Also your word can be spread through social media and emailing U.S. Senates or
Japanese Embassy’s to express your concerns. (Take Action Frequently Asked Questions)
Dolphins and other sea life need our help. Our oceans are in danger and we may even see
the devastation in our lifetimes or our children’s lifetimes. Overfishing is happening faster than they have time to repopulate and this is having devastating results on our oceans. Thousands of dolphins are killed each year and pretty soon there won’t be any left. These extremely intelligent creatures are hunted down, herded, taken from their homes, separated from their families, some die a horrible death and others are taken to live a life in a bathtub size pool doing tricks for frozen food. We need to all do what we can to save these beautiful creatures. (Take Action
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Frequently Asked Questions)
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Works Cited
"Dolphin Captivity."
Sea Shepherd
. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, 2013. Web. 02 Apr.
2014.
"FactsCove Guardians."
Cove Guardians
. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, 2013. Web. 01
Apr. 2014.
McCurry, Justin. "
Japan 's Dolphin Slaughter: Cruelty or Custom?
" Japan Dolphin Slaughter.
GlobalPost, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
"Take Action: Frequently Asked Questions."
Save Japan Dolphins
. Earth Island Institute, 2014.
Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
<http://savejapandolphins.org/takeaction/frequentlyaskedquestions>.
Varley, Len.
Salt Water Tears An Eyewitness Account of the Dolphin Drive Hunt Slaughters of
Taiji, Japan
. Bloomington IN: Balboa, 2011. Print.
"Whale and Dolphin Conservation."
Dolphin Hunts
. WDC, 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
Whiting, Candace C. "Taiji Dolphin Drives."
Candace Calloway Whiting
. Earth Island Institute,
20 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Taiji Dolphin Slaughter
While Japan claims hunting whales and dolphins is their culture, most people will believe what goes on there is very barbaric. What happens in this small town is very inhumane and our whale and dolphin populations are in extreme danger because of this hunt.
The town of Taiji is located on the main island of Honsu, Japan. Taiji has a small population of only around 3,200 people. It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and faces the
Pacific Ocean. The infamous “Cove” where the killing takes place has rocky land on all three sides. The water is shallow with many rock spurs and islets, which create a funnel right into the cove. (McCurry)
It has always been known to Japan as it’s “whaling town.” This countries’ history dates …show more content…
back to the 1600’s when townspeople set up a large whaling company. It seems to have taken another century before the “nettechnique” was invented to capture whales safely and more efficiently. The people of Taiji say they depended on what the sea could offer them and whaling was a great source of food. So once the netwhaling was invented, this was huge for the industry in Taiji. However, history also shows that the dolphin hunts did not really start until 1969. It was originally started to catch pilot whales for the Taiji Whale Museum and it was discovered how much profit hunting dolphins could bring in. (Whiting) Therefore there is no reason for them to defend against it being a tradition or part of their culture as it just started recently.
The capture and slaughter of dolphins is done by about 26 local fishermen. They kill the dolphins with permits given to them by their government (FactsCove Guardians). Then there are other teams of local people who are considered to be “killers” and others to be the socalled
“trainers”. Most of the fishermen are involved with other types of fishing but that would only
8293300 2
bring in about $24,000 U.S. dollars to live on and they claim that isn’t enough.(FactsCove
Guardians) Taiji’s
Mayor, Kazutaka Sangen, said dolphins remain an important resource for the town. “There are no other industries here. We can’t harvest rice or vegetables and there’s very little fresh water,” said Sangen, 62. “If we couldn’t hunt dolphins and whales, this town would have died out a long time ago.”
st
The dolphin hunt takes place anywhere from as early as September 1
March. On the
morning of, before sunrise, the groups of the 26 fishermen get into their boats and head out into the ocean in search of dolphin pods. A few ways they search for dolphins is the known migratory pattern or groups of birds in the sky that eat up the dolphin’s scraps. The types of dolphins the
Taiji fishermen look for
Striped dolphins
,
Bottlenose dolphins, Pan tropical spotted dolphins,
Risso’s dolphins, Pilot whales, Roughtoothed dolphins, Pseudo orcas, Pacific Whitesided dolphins, Baird 's beaked whales, and Dall 's porpoise. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)
Once a pod is spotted, all of the hunting boats get into a formation, which is an even spaced line and each boat lowers a metal pole into the water. Each pole is flared out on the end and when banged against the boat, it amplifies the sound underwater, completely confusing the dolphin’s sense of direction. It has been said this sound is awful to the people helplessly watching on the shore and it echoes throughout the cove. The fishermen continue to drive dolphins into the cove and once there, the area is netted off and for the dolphins there is no escape. (Dolphin Captivity)
The selection process for a pod can take days depending on the number of dolphins. It is a very exhausting process for the dolphins. They are terrified, hungry and worn out. Once the dolphins are pushed into the shallow parts of the cove, it is roped off into sections. Trainers and
8293300 3
killers will jump into the water to begin selecting which dolphins are best for captivity and the fate for the remaining dolphins is not good. Many will be killed and very few are ever released back into the wild. If any dolphins were let go, they probably would not survive without the protection on their pod. If a dolphin is picked for possible captivity, it is dragged onto the beach for further inspection. They have never been out of the water before and have never experienced what gravity can do to their bodies. When it swims in the ocean, water pressure is equally distributed to it’s whole body, so when a dolphin is dragged onto the beach, pressure is put on their internal organs. If chosen, these dolphins will be put on stretchers awaiting transport to their new home. The remaining are babies who have been torn from their parents or ones who may have marks on them and not worthy to put in a tank. The remaining ones have tried to escape, getting tangled in nets or have watched their whole family being torn apart, not understanding what is happening to them. What dolphins are left, are herded under tarps so the press can’t see the horror. (Dolphin Captivity) A metal spike, repeatedly stabbed to sever the dolphin’s spinal cord. Taiji fishermen say this process is extremely quick and has been perfected over time only lasting three seconds. Taiji mayor Kazutaka Sangen says “the method of hunting has been changing, becoming less crude.” (Varley) In the award winning movie “The Cove”, this killing process was filmed and it actually took over seven minutes for the dolphin to bleed, suffocate and die.
These dolphins have now watched their whole entire family torn apart, taken away and now brutally murdered. The dolphins are thrown alive or dead onto the fishermen’s boat and taken to the slaughterhouses.(FactsCove Guardians)
As humans we cause a lot of pollutants in the air, which eventually ends up in the ocean.
Dolphins eat the fish and mercury from the pollutants is absorbed into the dolphin’s body.
8293300 4
Mercury is the second most toxic poison in the world. In the United States the limit for methyl mercury in commercial marine and freshwater fish is 1.0 parts per million (ppm
) according to the
FDA. They recommend that pregnant women, young children and nursing mothers avoid large amounts of mercury in their diet from eating fish. (Take Action Frequently Asked Questions)
In fetuses, this poison can cause brain and spinal damage. In adults mercury poison can cause the following: Impairment of speech, hearing and walking, muscle weakness, skin rashes, memory loss, lack of coordination, mental disturbance and
even
(Whale and Dolphin Conservation) death. “Mercury is passed from a person’s gut into the bloodstream and into all organs. It is attracted to lipids which our brain has the highest content. It basically will destroy proteins and enzymes essential to cell function “says Boyd Haley, a biochemist at the University of Kentucky.
8293300 5
Testing was done on dolphins to find out their levels of mercury in their bodies. The study showed levels from 10 to 100 parts per million. That is an extremely high level of poisoning.
Japan’s allowed level of mercury is only 0.4 parts per million. So why on earth would people kill very intelligent dolphins that have an extremely high level of mercury poisoning that can cause death? Well it seems the only warning from the Japan government is to pregnant women. The toxicity levels in dolphins are pretty much kept quiet to the people in Taiji. (Whale and Dolphin
Conservation) Dolphin meat also seems to get the Japanese people more money than the local seafood so it’s sold throughout Japan in supermarkets. Some is labeled as actual dolphin meat and some is labeled as whale meat. This is sent to other Asian countries mislabeled as whale meat and sometimes hidden in canned tuna. So we want to know what motivates these Taiji fishermen to hunt dolphins. Well profit is definitely the answer to this question. Millions of dollars profit that is. A trained dolphin sold to other countries like China and Russia can bring up to $48,000, while an untrained dolphin brings in only $10,000. If any trained dolphins are sold to Japanese aquariums, they can be sold for $20,000$30,000. Killing a dolphin for meat only brings in a few hundred dollars. According to information that was collected from the
20122013 dolphin hunting season, the Taiji Fishery Union made over 2 million dollars from capturing 247 dolphins. Because of the amount of money these dolphins can bring in, there are tons of waterparks, swim with dolphin programs and aquariums not only in Asia but all over the world and it’s been proven that Taiji is the leader in the capture and selling of these dolphins. In
October of 2013, there was an article in the news about Japan’s future plan to open a waterpark where visitors can swim with dolphins, then choose which one to eat. (Take Action Frequently
Asked Questions) There are currently 34 aquariums in Japan that have captive dolphins that do
8293300 6
tricks for profit. A wild dolphin can swim up to 100 miles a day playing an interacting with their pod. The sad truth about a captive dolphin is that they will live their life in a tank that is less than
1/10,000 of 1% space and working 12 hours a day for frozen, dead food. Statistics show that only
53% that actually survive the grueling captive will die within the first 3 months. Many of the dolphins die from the captive process, transport process, depression and separation from their pod, chlorine poisoning and stressrelated illnesses.
Dolphin’s brains have been recognized as the second most intelligent to humans. They have a sense of self awareness, can recognize their family members, have basic emotions, can solve problems, work together in teams, communicate with each other and can even recognize themselves in mirrors. They are also very playful, social beings. Hopefully the research will continue on these intelligent creatures of the sea to make us humans more aware. (Varley)
Operation Infinite Patience was founded on December 31,2011 by Captain Paul Watson
from the Sea Shepherd. . They are called Cove Guardians and this group of volunteers stays in
Taiji, Japan from the beginning of the dolphinhunting season to the end of the season. They are there to photograph, document and report everything that happens to the dolphins. They are in
Taiji to celebrate when no dolphins are harmed that day, or to document what happens to the unfortunate dolphins that do get caught, or to track where the meat goes or to follow any captive dolphins to see where they are taken. This group is helping to be the dolphin’s voice. By being there to document these horrible happenings, not only are the Japanese citizens becoming aware, but the whole word is. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and new sites are covering the stories. Even celebrities are getting involved. (FactsCove Guardians) The Cove Guardians are not allowed to get in the water and cut the fishing lines to help release dolphins. They are not
8293300 7
even allowed to step beyond lines painted by the local police or they will be immediately arrested. But that is why it is called Operation Infinite Patience because this wonderful group of people have to have patience each and everyday and endure the good and the bad and to help make the world aware of what secret Taiji is trying to hide. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation)
People can help to stop the slaughter and captivity of dolphins by becoming
educated. There are several movies called “The Cove and Blackfish” that tells the stories about dolphins and whales slaughtered in coves or taken from the wild. People can apply to be a Cove
Guardian in Taiji, Japan but it is a volunteer basis and all expenses have to be paid by each individual person. Please do not buy any tickets to visit aquariums, dolphin shows or swimming with dolphin programs because this is profit to the fisherman and aiding the captivity of dolphins. Also your word can be spread through social media and emailing U.S. Senates or
Japanese Embassy’s to express your concerns. (Take Action Frequently Asked Questions)
Dolphins and other sea life need our help. Our oceans are in danger and we may even see
the devastation in our lifetimes or our children’s lifetimes. Overfishing is happening faster than they have time to repopulate and this is having devastating results on our oceans. Thousands of dolphins are killed each year and pretty soon there won’t be any left. These extremely intelligent creatures are hunted down, herded, taken from their homes, separated from their families, some die a horrible death and others are taken to live a life in a bathtub size pool doing tricks for frozen food. We need to all do what we can to save these beautiful creatures. (Take Action
8293300 8
Frequently Asked Questions)
8293300 9
Works Cited
"Dolphin Captivity."
Sea Shepherd
. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, 2013. Web. 02 Apr.
2014.
"FactsCove Guardians."
Cove Guardians
. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, 2013. Web. 01
Apr. 2014.
McCurry, Justin. "
Japan 's Dolphin Slaughter: Cruelty or Custom?
" Japan Dolphin Slaughter.
GlobalPost, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
"Take Action: Frequently Asked Questions."
Save Japan Dolphins
. Earth Island Institute, 2014.
Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
<http://savejapandolphins.org/takeaction/frequentlyaskedquestions>.
Varley, Len.
Salt Water Tears An Eyewitness Account of the Dolphin Drive Hunt Slaughters of
Taiji, Japan
. Bloomington IN: Balboa, 2011. Print.
"Whale and Dolphin Conservation."
Dolphin Hunts
. WDC, 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
Whiting, Candace C. "Taiji Dolphin Drives."
Candace Calloway Whiting
. Earth Island Institute,
20 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.