So, don't judge or anything, but I watched Oprah today, and was really touched by a segment she had on. There is an academy award winning documentary out called "The Cove" about the dolphin fishing/massacre happening in Taji, Japan.
It was super disturbing to watch, they trap all the dolphins in this small area, and then just go at them with spears. At the end of it all, the ocean is red with blood. Some of them are captured for sale to amusement parks.
Now, I understand that just because I don't want to eat a dolphin, that doesn't necessarily give me the right to say no one can/should.
However, according to the director, the mercury levels are so high in whales and dolphins, that all of the meat from them that has been tested in Japan is unsafe to eat anyway. Plus, he said that Japanese school children are required to eat and finish school lunches. I'd like to think that we wouldn't stand for compulsory mercury poisoning in our schools here, and if I were a Japanese parent, I'd want to be made aware. (They were able to get this practice stopped in Taji somehow.)
There were a few other issues that really got me thinking though. One of the men who worked on the film, is the world's foremost dolphin activist, Richard OBarry. In the 1960's, Richard was the dolphin trainer for the television series Flipper. B/C of this he says he feels responsible for the way we currently handle dolphins. Apparently, at some point Mr. OBarry noticed that the female dolphin who played Flipper was becoming depressed from captivity. One day, she swam up to him, looked him in the eye, took a final breath, and then stopped resurfacing for air. (I guess that dolphins don't breathe automatically, and every breath for them is a choice.) Mr. OBarry was put in jail for trying to set her free when this happened.
It was also mentioned that dolphins, like humans are self aware, as in when they look in a mirror, they know that they are looking at themselves. They are also the only wild animals that have been documented saving human lives. And I have heard of that happening time and again. (the films director said it had actually happened to him.)
So my question is;
Is it right to kill and eat an animal like this, that is self aware, capable of compassion and possibly suicide? I don't think that it's the same as me thinking it's wrong to kill and eat dogs b/c I happen to have some as pets, but I don't know, what do you think? The mayor of the village where this occurs said that the film was not based in scientific fact, (not sure what he meant since it's hard to argue w/ video footage, but whatevs) and that we (westerners?) needed to be sensitive to differences in food culture. I get that, but if cannibalism was a part of someone's culture, wouldn't we be justified in being against that? The point was made time and again, that the Japanese fishermen are under the impression that dolphins are just big fish. That isn't how I see them at all.
What do you think????
To help the dolphins, go to www.savejapandolphins.org and you can find a link to sign a petition.
*this post is Ranger Emibella approved :)
