Link Between Dolphin Slaughter and Whaling

By Hardy Jones

When I was in Iki, Japan three years ago the former head of the fishermen’s union told me something important. Iki had not been granted any further quotas to hunt dolphins because the Japan Fisheries Agency (JFA) felt Iki had gained too much notoriety from the footage Howard Hall and I took of the 1980 slaughter.

He said the JFA feared the dolphin slaughters and whaling would be linked in peoples’ minds and that whaling was vastly more important to Japan than the dolphin hunt.

Now I don’t know how this squares with the worldwide ignominy Taiji has suffered from films over the last few years, most recently The Cove and prior to that When Dolphins Cry, a film I did for National Geographic. But I believe the linkage exists.

It is important to see the connection between the two issues. The killing of whales at sea, while it has been filmed by Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace, does not compare in graphic intensity with the ghastly slaughter of dolphins that can be videotaped from the shores of Hatagagiri Bay at Taiji.

The two hunts – for dolphins and whales – meld in the mind. They are rightly seen as a common policy of the nation of Japan. In addition there is the fact that dolphin meat is often sold as whale meat.

Ultimately there is the image of a modern industrial nation countenancing the hideously cruel and primitive killing of animals of high intelligence – animals that are beloved around the world.

Finally there is the perfidy of the Japanese government denying the findings of its own scientists – that dolphin meat and whale meat contain high levels of contaminants that threaten human health.

For those of us who write about these issues keep the linkage in mind. Japan would sacrifice the dolphin hunt to save whaling. And the blood of the dolphins is the blood of the whales in the mind of all who care about both.

Why Taiji, Japan Fishermen Kill Dolphins

By Hardy Jones

Taiji, Japan, Nov 8, 2007


We all search for reasons why the fishermen at Taiji continue to hunt dolphins despite massive international protest and revulsion, and despite the fact that the name of Japan is besmirched by allowing such atrocities.

There are several reasons. One is that the dolphin fishermen make good money doing this, especially from selling the live dolphins they capture. The second is that the Japan Fisheries Agency never retreats, never surrenders any resource. This is the same agency that has said they will allow the Japanese Antarctic Whaling Fleet to hunt Humpback Whales this December. They thumb their nose at the world (actually it’s the middle finger they use).

The third is that those who carry out or give permission for these heinous slaughters simply lack empathy for dolphins. They do not project themselves into the skin and minds of the animals they grab from the sea, confine in nets and then slaughter in front of their families without the slightest care for their pain. Perhaps it is a simple lack of imagination.

Or perhaps their financial self-interest simply governs where they will allow themselves to experience empathy.

If they would suddenly realize that dolphins are sentient, loving, socially close, highly intelligent animals, who probably experience the world pretty much as they do, they would have to quit their dolphin killing business. They would lose money and they would have to admit to themselves the unspeakable pain they have caused. They would have to admit that they are mass murderers.

Taiji Dolphin Slaughter Draws World-wide Condemnation

By Hardy Jones

Taiji, Japan Nov. 6, 2007

SEE VIDEO OF SLAUGHTER OF RISSOS DOLPHINS AT BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. Warning, it is highly graphic.

“This place is now a battlefield,” is how a police inspector assessed the current situation here in Taiji, Japan.

To my mind this is a huge exaggeration but shows the mind set of the people who live in this beautiful, remote and extremely quiet coastal village where local fishermen routinely capture and kill thousands of dolphins.

The dolphin hunters have been stunned by the appearance of wave after wave of filmmakers, environmentally concerned surfers, Hollywood celebs and journalists. On Monday, October 30 they had corralled some thirty pilot whales in the killing bay. As they began their grizzly slaughter 38 surfers paddled into the picture. Cameras rolled and then a remote controlled helicopter flew over bearing a small camera that recorded the butchery. The footage was soon appearing on TV and computer screens around the world.

The fishermen were apoplectic. What they fear and detest most is public exposure and here it is in spades.

For years BlueVoice operated in Taiji alone. Our documentaries appeared on National Geographic and PBS and caused avalanches of protest generated through the BV web site. The fishermen hate us and consistently tried to wrest our video from us. But they were powerless to stop us. Over the years others have joined the fight to save the dolphins here. They are welcome to the fight.

I received a very nice note from one of the surfers who had participated in this demonstration of support for the dolphins:

hi hardy having part of the surf crew into Taiji i appreciate even more the great work you have being doing all these years and we will be sure to put bluevoice out to people. with thanks, howie surfersforcetaceans.org

But this year a critical mass seems to have been reached. Just as the surfers were escorted out of town for crossing the dolphin hunters nets, BlueVoice arrived. The dolphin hunters have not ventured out since we appeared – seven days with no dolphin hunting.

My notion is that the fishermen are reeling. I think they have always imagined that interest in this abomination would melt away. But the reverse is happening. Each time word about the tragic and brutal killings here reaches the world more attention is attracted.

The combination of television and internet exposure of the dolphin slaughter here and mounting evidence of the toxicity of the dolphin meat ought to bring an end to this savagery. BlueVoice will soon publish the results of tests of both dolphin meat and fish caught in the Taiji area. Early results show the dolphin meat is contaminated by both mercury and organic pollutants at levels far exceeding Japanese health standards.

Exposing Toxic Levels in Dolphin Meat Key to Ending Slaughters. bluevoice.org/sections/ocean/doltoxin.shtml