Caroline Kennedy addressed concerns over Dolphin Hunting in Taiji, Japan

The pictures shown on the news papers and TVs are disturbing and horrible. The oceans colored red, endless array of dead dolphins..

I am talking about the cultural tradition of Japan's southern small sea-town, Taiji, which has received many protests from the world for years about its 'Dolphin-hunting'.

Recently, American Ambassador to Japan, Ms.Caroline Kennedy tweeted on January 18th that she was deeply concerned by inhumanness of drive hunt dolphin killing and United States Government opposed drive hunt fisheries.

The environmental activist group, "The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society", a Washington based non profit group,  stream-videoed the whole hunting event. According to the diverse media sources, fishermen have taken 37 bottle nose dolphins to be sold into aquariums and parks, and 200 around dolphins are still in the cove to be killed. Among the captive dolphins, there are baby and juvenile albino dolphins which are worth millions. 

The dolphin hunt in Taiji first got global attention when the documentary "Cove" which describes the event received award from the Oscar in 2009. At the time, many petitions were rounded on the net.

However, from the local point of view,an unidentified Japanese fishing industry official told reporters that the event was completely legal and a cultural tradition. The official added that the cruelty of dolphins hunting was similar to eating other animals such as cows, pigs or other living creatures.

I remember that I signed a petition to stop dolphin hunting early last yearhowever, it seems nothing has changed since then. One thing that got me totally taken aback while searching the news was that people's interests of marine mammal in the aquarium was the huge source of dolphins hunting. The Cove guardian group spokesperson mentioned that people should say no to the marine mammal exhibition at the zoo and aquariums over the world. Recently, major parks in Korea stopped showing 'Dolphin' shows. I think it is a big progress. 

The image of slaughtered dolphins stuck on my head and going to be that way for a long while I guess. In the mean time, I will try to voice out my concerns throughout the diverse forms of media on the net.

Images: Google images

Source: The guardian, The Atlanta post, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN,etc.

http://livestream.seashepherd.org