News Environmental campaigners file suit to stop dolphin hunting

[thomas]

Ten years after The Cove was released, environmental activists from LIA (Life Investigation Agency) have filed a lawsuit to halt the drive hunting of dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. They demand that the governor of Wakayama revoke a three-year drive hunting permit arguing that the hunt was cruel and unnecessary. The case was brought in by activist Ren Yabuki of LIA and an anonymous resident of Taiji. They argue that the hunting method violates Japan's animal welfare act, which stipulates that animals shall not be abused or killed unnecessarily and that - when they must be killed - their pain must be minimized.

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www.japantimes.co.jp

In drive hunting, fishermen force dolphins into a cove by beating on boats to disorient them. The panicked animals often get tangled in nets, suffocate and drown. Activists say some dolphins smash into rocks and die of injuries, while others are killed by fishermen who thrust a long metal rod repeatedly into the part of the body just behind the blowhole to damage the spinal cord.

Activists file suit to stop dolphin hunting in Japan

Environmental campaigners have filed an unprecedented lawsuit in a bid to halt the so-called "drive hunting" of dolphins in Japan, arguing the practice is cruel and illegal.

phys.org

I'm quite certain that the judge will see himself compelled to dismiss the case on some technicality to avoid ruling on whether drive hunting is cruel or not and on whether it is "necessary to kill dolphins" as a potential food source.

Below an interview with Ren Yabuki:

Japanese Activists File Lawsuit Against Taiji | Dolphin Project

Recently Dolphin Project had the opportunity to talk with Ren Yabuki of Life Investigation Agency (LIA). LIA focuses on animal advocacy within Japan.

www.dolphinproject.com

Q: Can you offer details about LIA's lawsuit? What do you hope to accomplish?
A: LIA's lawsuit's goal is to end dolphin hunting.
Q: I understand a Taiji resident is now joining you in the lawsuit. How did this come about?
A: Opposing dolphin hunting in Taiji is as hard as one might expect. I met someone who stood alone in the darkness, trying to oppose dolphin hunting all on their own. Since meeting this individual, 'he' has joined our lawsuit and become a dear friend to me as well. I have the utmost respect for this person and 'he' is one of the most courageous people I know.
Q: Do you think this will bring news attention (both from within Japan and worldwide) to the Taiji hunts, and the captivity issue in general?
A: As this case is the first of its kind in Japan, I can't confirm how the media will report it or not. My hope is journalists will accurately report on the matter with an unbiased opinion. If they can do that then the Japanese people can have a chance to review all the facts for themselves. If journalists do not accurately report the facts then the information will be distorted. Animals that were once living freely in nature are then caught and forcibly made to be an attraction in aquariums and zoos. Imagine if we did that to other humans – your family or friends for example – stole them and confined them in cages for the rest of their lives. To be trapped until death is a cruel and inhumane thing to do. I want people to understand that these animals have a heart; they have feelings. Just because we may not speak the same language or be the same species doesn't mean we can destroy that.

Does "tradition" really justify animal cruelty? And why is this an issue close to the heart of extreme right-wingers? I hope they realise that dolphin meat is riddled with mercury before serving it to their families.

 

[thomas]

Good news! And for once it's not those pesky foreign activists who got the ball rolling:

A court in Wakayama Prefecture began hearing arguments Friday over whether dolphin hunting violates animal cruelty laws. The plaintiffs are asking the district court to stop the permits from being issued.

Court asked to stop dolphin hunts in Wakayama town

A court in Wakayama Prefecture began hearing arguments Friday over whether dolphin hunting violates animal cruelty laws. The plaintiffs are asking the district court to stop the permits from being issued. Wakayama Gov Yoshinobu Nisaka issues the permits for the village of Taiji, where the hunts...

japantoday.com

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www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[Lothor]

And why is this an issue close to the heart of extreme right-wingers?

A nice quote from Jeff Kingston's (2004) book 'Japan's Quiet Transformation" about whaling, which I think equally applies to the dolphin slaughter:

"Whaling is a made-to-order touchstone for nationalists..."We are a whale-eating nation so don't presume to impose your preferences on us." It is telling that, although a majority of IWC member nations oppose commercial whaling, it is the USA that stands out as the main culprit and punching bag in the Japanese media Bashing the USA over its stance on whaling provides an opportunity to vent well-justified frustations with an overbearing and insensitive ally that pursues bilateral relations as if Japan were still under its occupation. Of all the issues on which the USA and Japan disagree, the relatively minor question of whaling has proved to be one of the most persistently and emotionally divisive ones."

Anyway, best of luck to those pursuing the lawsuit!

 

[TGI-ECT]

You know, folks, I am not so sure I clearly understand why certain types of creatures on this planet are given a higher status than others. You know, them Steak Gusto bovine types might like to be looked upon with as much respect as the dolphins, no? How about chickens? Why are folks not all up in arms about us munching on them chicken types?

Well, I mean, if you are using the point of a cruelty to something-or-other as the basis of your reasoning to stop it.

If you are basing your reasoning on numbers and maybe too few of a certain group, that is different.

But if you are not going to eat one type of creature, maybe you should stop eating all of them. Can get mighty complicated, can't it? I mean, being a human type, right?

 

[thomas]

I agree with you 100%: I condemn cruelty committed against bovines and poultry as much as the catching methods outlined in the posts above. And while we could argue whether it is necessary to devour meat it is completely unnecessary to slaughter and eat marine mammals some of which are endangered.

Future generations will also judge us by how we have been treating our non-human companions we share this planet with. I do not believe it's all that complicated. It just needs a bit of adaptation and rethinking.

Here's an article I usually share with steak lovers:

Eat less meat to avoid dangerous global warming, scientists say

Research led by Oxford Martin School finds widespread adoption of vegetarian diet would cut food-related emissions by 63% and make people healthier too

www.theguardian.com

And no, I wish I was a vegetarian.

 

[thomas]

There is no word on the outcome of the lawsuit mentioned earlier in this thread but obviously it hasn't stopped the dolphin hunt. Worse, now the NPA and the Coast Guard protect the fleet of dolphin slaughterers allowing them to continue to cruelly butcher the animals for mercury-contaminated meat no one cares to eat.

Makes total sense.

Whaling town Taiji begins dolphin hunt

The hunting season for dolphins using a controversial "drive-hunting" method began Sunday in the whaling town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, without any major protest from animal-rights groups. While local police officers were on high alert for anti-whaling campaigns, 12 boats left the town's...

japantoday.com

Japan whaling town Taiji begins annual dolphin hunt - The Mainichi

TAIJI, Japan (Kyodo) -- The hunting season for dolphins using a controversial

mainichi.jp

 

[bentenmusume]

You know, folks, I am not so sure I clearly understand why certain types of creatures on this planet are given a higher status than others.

Well, I mean, if you are using the point of a cruelty to something-or-other as the basis of your reasoning to stop it.

If you are basing your reasoning on numbers and maybe too few of a certain group, that is different.

But if you are not going to eat one type of creature, maybe you should stop eating all of them. Can get mighty complicated, can't it? I mean, being a human type, right?

I just would like to say that I agree with this entirely. I have always felt it is very, very, hypocritical for foreign animal rights groups to castigate the Japanese as barbarians, inhumane, etc. for eating whale and dolphin, while happily consuming factory-farmed fast food chicken, beef, pork, and what-have-you.

I don't believe that "culture" and "tradition" are be-all and end-all excuses, but I mean, when you get down to it, aren't those the basically the same reasons that Western cultures don't think twice about eating cows, pigs, and chickens? All of whom are certainly intelligent (to an certain extent) living creatures who can feel suffering and pain?

Though I probably consume far less meat than the average individual, and actively avoid any fast food or chain establishments 99% of the time, I am not a complete vegetarian or vegan, which I realize makes me something of a hypocrite in even speaking about this at all.

At the same time, I think it's at least important to recognize for people like myself to recognize that we _are_ hypocrites, and not to get self-righteous about what animals other cultures consume, all the while propagating a different but all-too-similar and equally (if not more) damaging type of animal cruelty ourselves.

 

[thomas]

I just would like to say that I agree with this entirely. I have always felt it is very, very, hypocritical for foreign animal rights groups to castigate the Japanese as barbarians, inhumane, etc. for eating whale and dolphin, while happily consuming factory-farmed fast food chicken, beef, pork, and what-have-you.

I am not sure if your criticism is aimed at my post, but I have never castigated "the Japanese" or "Japan" as a nation. And neither would any serious conservationist. Most Japanese don't have the slightest interest in consuming whale or dolphin meat and, sadly, not the slightest idea about the dolphin hunting and whaling industry in their country.

What I do criticise - even at the risk of being called a hypocrite as I also eat moderate amounts of meat - is the cruelty employed when killing whales or dolphins: harpoons with explosive charges that wound the animals and inflict unnecessary suffering, not to mention the savage driven hunt for dolphins (described in the OP). There is no international witch hunt against Japan: Norway and Iceland face the same rap from animal protectionists. What Japan is singled out for, however, is the annual butchery in Taiji. The documentary about the hunt cannot leave anyone with a grain of compassion untouched.

 

[bentenmusume]

My apologies if my post came off that way. It wasn't meant to be criticism of your post at all, especially in light of your follow-up statement agreeing with the same post from TGI-ECT that I was expressing my support for.

It was more a general statement about a sentiment that I've heard before, be it from representatives of organizations like Sea Shepherd, or just from average Westerners I've met (I'm not sure if they'd be considered "serious conservationists") who refuse to eat (or get offended by even seeing) whale on the menu at an izakaya, but will happily and unquestioningly consume factory-farmed fast food chicken or pork or other meat products in which animals have been killed by equally inhumane methods.

As someone who does love animals and does not want to see them suffer, I'm not going to go out of my way to defend the hunt in Taiji. That said, I've watched documentaries on factory farming as well that made me cry as well, and it's just always kind of rubbed me the wrong way when Americans (note: I am originally from the US) and other Westerners get on their high horse about how Japan as a country is backwards and cruel for allowing these things to happen to "intelligent" species like whales and dolphins, despite the fact that barbaric levels of cruelty against other species are perpetrated on a large scale in their home countries, often with the food they themselves eat.

Again, not saying that is what you're doing here; it's just a sentiment I've observed: that somehow cruelty against whales/dolphins is infinite orders of magnitude further beyond the pale than, say, factory farming, just because of the degree of intelligence of the animals involved and the fact that it's not "necessary" to eat them (which, one could argue, is true for any and all animals). It's something I have a hard time accepting.