To read an article at the Physorg.com website entitled, "Dolphin cognitive abilities raise ethical questions, says Emory neuroscientist" please click on the following link:
http://www.physorg.com/news185729677.html
Within this article you will find the following statement: "Dolphins are sophisticated, self-aware, highly intelligent beings with individual personalities, autonomy and an inner life. They are vulnerable to tremendous suffering and psychological trauma,".
"The growing industry of capturing and confining dolphins to perform in marine parks or to swim with tourists at resorts needs to be reconsidered, she says."
As human we have no right to subject dolphins or any other form of life to this type of suffering and trauma. Shows involving dolphins,created for human enjoyment should not be allowed to continue, nor should dolphins be allowed to be kept captive. At the present time in the waters off of the coast of Taiji Japan, the Japanese are engaging in the slaughter of dolphins and dolphin families.
"The dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan, takes place every year from September to April. According to the Japanese Fisheries Research Agency, 1,623 dolphins were caught in Wakayama Prefecture in 2007 for human consumption or resale to dolphinariums, and most of these were caught at Taiji.The annual dolphin hunting provides income for local residents, but has received international criticism for both the cruelty of the dolphin killing and the high mercury levels of the dolphin meat." (source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiji_dolphin_drive_hunt ).
These disgusting Japanese think they have the "right" to kill these dolphins each year. I say, what right do you have? These dolphins deserve the right to live in their family units just as we humans do. The World needs to launch a massive boycott against the Japanese for the sake of this dolphin society! Please stop buying Japanese products. If we hit the Japanese in their pocketbooks, maybe they will think twice about engaging in the intentional and deliberate murder of another species of life. These Japanese are no better than any other human who would kill another person or life form."Most of the dolphins corralled into the cove during the hunts are killed and processed for meat, but some specimens are sold live to aquariums. Japan allows the killing of about 20,000 dolphins a year and claims the hunts are an important part of the nation's culture and tradition." (source:
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/20198/despite%20swelling%20opposition%20dolphin%20hunt%20begins%20in%20taiji%20japan/
I know for a fact that the meat from these dolphins cannot be consumed because it is so full of toxic chemicals as a result of the behavior of the Japanese population! Cultural considerations and "tradition" can be altered by these Japanese.How ironic it is that in World War 2 captured Allied prisoners were viewed as inferior by the Japanese due to the fact that these prisoners chose to surrender rather than die in battle. Now we see which race of people in our World are truly inferior: it is the Japanese, because of their selfish slaughter of these dolphins, whales and other species of animals. What kind of a culture would emphasize the slaughter of another life form like the Japanese culture does? Only an inferior one! Dolphins and Whales have been found to be two of the most intelligent life forms on this planet, and all the Japanese who are killing these animals are doing is setting the entire world against Japan! Why do these Japanese even go as far as to cover up the killing area of these dolphins with tarps so that the media cannot watch and film this awful mass murder? According to the website,
http://www.japanfocus.org/-David-McNeill/2306
activist Ric O’Barry claims, .... that he was told in private by town officials that tradition is not the real reason for the hunts. “It’s pest-control; they’re over-fishing and want to kill the competition for the fish. That’s unacceptable. These animals don’t have Japanese passports, they belong to the world. They’re just trying to get around this town and these 26 guys.” He calls the town ‘schizophrenic.’ “It’s as pretty as a 1950s postcard and the people are so friendly, but this secret genocide takes place every year.” Here is a link to a video which shows what goes on each year in Taiji
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g8_3MS9x50
