Dolphin slaughter in Japan
I have just been sent a link to a video clip by one of my good friends and a fellow diver. It is a video about the killing of dolphins which goes on in Japan, and is narrated by actor Joaquin Phoenix. Please take the time to watch it, but also read my comments below before passing final judgement. I can’t seem to get the video to embed in this page, so I’ll have to give you a link for now. Bear in mind, this clip is not for the faint-hearted.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin
Now I have a couple of issues with this clip. Firstly, Phoenix states that this is happening in “small towns across Japan”. I know for a fact that this is not true, and as far as I know this practice is limited to a very small area. I’m also not 100% sure that the dolphins are falsely sold as whales. I think this video might have been made in association with PETA, and most people know about their rather extreme actions and sometimes wild claims.
I have questioned a few people before about why there are no dolphins around Okinawa, and I have always received the same response. Apparently they were here around 30-40 years ago and were heavily fished in the north of Okinawa (near a city called Nago). The dolphins got smart of this (they’re very smart creatures) and just stopped coming to the waters around Okinawa. Incidentally, I have just showed this video clip to 2 of my students and a Japanese teacher, and they were all horrified by it. People in Okinawa do seem more environmentally aware than in other parts of Japan, and they are always talking about Okinawa’s beautiful ocean and marine life. Let’s hope they will look after it as they grow older.
People might criticize Phoenix and ask why he’s promoting awareness against dolphin slaughter for food (which are classed as cute animals), but doing nothing against the animals like cows, pigs, sheep etc that we eat every day. Well, he is! Phoenix is a big supporter of PETA and has actually narrated a documentary on killing of animals we rarely think of.
Just something to think about as you go about your day.
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