Environmental Issues

haffajappa

Leyna Minai wrote:

I've been wanting to watch The Cove too..but have been extremely hesitant..especially because I'm Japanese :(
In no way do I approve of what they are doing. No way at all..so please don't think all Japanese people are evil!!

Someone on my facebook had posted this thing - shortly after the Cove had come out - about how NO ONE should travel to Japan because of what they do in Taiji. For some reason that got me really pissed off... Then no one should come to Canada either, because of the seals, and if that's the case, nor should anyone go to England - don't they hunt foxes there? Ironically, I think the person was from England. My point was, just because the actions of a few are despicable, doesn't mean the whole country are characterized by that.

That being said, of course it makes me extremely sad the way some people treat animals/animal populations and that the ones who do it knowingly - whether it's sharks, dolphins, or whatever - are scum.

I watched the Cove and I cried (like I did in Sharkwater...)
For the record, I'm Japanese too.

chadwick

iamwishingyouawell wrote:

I agree 100%. The cultural slaughter of pilot whales as a "passage to manhood" on Faroe island needs to stop along with the slaughter of bottle nose dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan (See the film The Cove) after the prime mammals are picked for amusement parks.

The irony of this situation is that the meat that they process from these slaughters are full of toxins and are not even healthy to eat. Same goes with Japanese whaling and their hunts under the guise of "Scientific Research". (See http://www.seashepherd.org) They are simply hiding in a weak law so they can continue their cultural way of whale meat eating. Paul Watson is a true soldier for the earth and should be commended for his dedication over the decades.

It comes down to this: We are not separate from the earth. We are indeed a part of this system and when we murder and rape the land of it's natural resources we are not taking from a separate ecosystem, we are limiting the future existence of many species including our own for the sake of a selfish unnecessary and unhealthy habit.


Blue whales are at the top of the food chain. Remember what my man Irons said, "A whale's heart is as big as a car." I just wish we treated them that way.

many do not understand that infact humans do rape the earth. they pass this off as modern day hippy talk. with ted nugent currently being in the news many discussions have been fired up, some have been stopped, locked and shut down. yes, humans rape the good mother earth every single day. wake up, folks! happy days is done.

Bronx Bombers

TAIJI, Japan –  The Japanese town that gained notoriety for its annual dolphin hunt, through the Academy Award-winning documentary "The Cove," is considering a plan to turn its local bay into a pool where visitors can swim with whales and dolphins, Jiji Press reported.

The plan, thought up by local residents of Taiji, would see black whales and dolphins caught in waters near the town and then released into the giant 70-acre marine park.

"We've never heard of such an attempt elsewhere," a Japanese Fisheries Agency official told the news agency.

Officials also say there would be the possibility of making the park a center for whale research and providing information to visitors about the Japanese whaling industry.

But the development of the marine park on a section of the cove infamous for its annual dolphin slaughter is not likely to pacify activists.

A town official, who declined to be named, told AFP by telephone that the town "is no way going to stop" its annual dolphin hunt, adding local residents see no contradiction in both watching and eating dolphins.

The cove is the scene of an annual slaughter when the fishermen of Taiji corral dolphins, select a few dozen for sale to aquariums and marine parks, and stab the rest to death for meat, turning the sea red.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/01 ... z1tcwcwQIe

polaris_x

single biggest threat to life on this planet: humans

lukin2006

polaris_x wrote:

single biggest threat to life on this planet: humans

ain't that the truth...kind of sad.

I always find it amazing that some people like hunters justify their actions by saying they're controlling the animal population. I know hunters and the more I'm around them the more I realize how horrible they are as humans.

It's not the hunting I don't like...it's the baiting and just sitting in a tree stand somewhere waiting for their prey that I don't like about hunters...but its legal...which is said...so I'm not sure people who hunt this way can really call themselves hunters.

The community I lived a few years back had/has a major crow problem in the winter...every ones solution was to hunt them...even though most experts suggested a bylaw requiring your garbage to be put to the road in a covered container. City council did not want to go there...it would inconvenience people.

Some hunters I know hunt coyotes because they have themselves and ignorant people believing that they are doing humans a favor by controlling the population...even though a lot of what I've read about coyotes is that its extremely rare that they interfere with human.

The human population is F***ING IGNORANT.

Bronx Bombers

Sadly its that time of the year again, this Saturday marks the start of the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, approximately 20,000 Dolphins will be butchered and slaughtered across Japan waters through next spring.

DS1119

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

shep

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

mmmmm... delicious cows.... maybe I'll have one for dinner.

Everyone knows dolphins are just gay sharks....

Relax I'm not being serious, just lightening the mood.

stuckinline

JK_Livin wrote:

I just ordered the The Cove on Amazon. That's some sick shit that's going on.

I just recently watched The Cove. It's a tough movie to watch.

ComeToTX

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

So you haven't seen the movie? Nobody is paying a lot of money to "walk with cows" or "roll with pigs" for an hour.

DS1119

ComeToTX wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

So you haven't seen the movie? Nobody is paying a lot of money to "walk with cows" or "roll with pigs" for an hour.

If it's part of their culture who am I to judge? There's a lot of things that I do that I don't need anyone judging.

dcfaithful

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

+1.

Not to derail this conversation or thread, but I see countless people advocate an end to cruelty to dogs and cats, but will hit up their local steakhouse hours later for a nice sirloin or pork chop. It's just an interesting perspective.

Just got my mind thinkign with that post, DS.

BinauralJam

dcfaithful wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

+1.

Not to derail this conversation or thread, but I see countless people advocate an end to cruelty to dogs and cats, but will hit up their local steakhouse hours later for a nice sirloin or pork chop. It's just an interesting perspective.

Just got my mind thinkign with that post, DS.

Oh God, Dont His Ego will Explode!

DS1119

BinauralJam wrote:

dcfaithful wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

I wonder how many tuna will be slaughtered worldwide today? Pigs? Cows? Horses?

+1.

Not to derail this conversation or thread, but I see countless people advocate an end to cruelty to dogs and cats, but will hit up their local steakhouse hours later for a nice sirloin or pork chop. It's just an interesting perspective.

Just got my mind thinkign with that post, DS.

Oh God, Dont His Ego will Explode!

Just keeping it real. I see DC subscribes to the "real" theory as well.

Bronx Bombers

DS1119 wrote:

If it's part of their culture who am I to judge?

It's really not


Officially, the main purpose of the dolphin hunt is to provide dolphin meat to the Japanese people. But only a small minority of people in Japan actually eats the meat. During our many campaigns in Japan, we even got the impression that dolphin meat is considered "trashy," unlike the much more expensive whale meat. DNA tests on meat labeled “whale meat” in Japanese markets have revealed the meat is in fact falsely labeled dolphin meat.  Whale meat sells for more money than dolphin meat, so Japanese consumers are tricked into buying dolphin meat falsely labeled as "whale" meat.

There is another essential, and rather shocking, aspect to the dolphin hunt: During a meeting with the Taiji fishermen in January 2004, the fishermen told us that they do not only hunt dolphins for their meat or for sale to the dolphinarium industry. In their own words, they kill the dolphins "as a form of pest control." The dolphins, from the fishermen’s perspective, eat too much fish, and the fishermen are simply killing the competition. This is the first time ever that Japanese dolphin hunters have openly admitted to executing pest control on dolphins. Over-fishing of the oceans is a tremendous problem on a global level, and the Japanese fishermen, supported by their government, are wrongly pointing at the dolphins as the reason for this depletion. The Japanese government is making the same false argument in front of the International Whaling Commission that whales eat fish and therefore need to be controlled by killing. The desire to keep the dolphin population down is a major reason why the Japanese government is so keen on issuing permits for the hunts. It is not really about providing meat for the Japanese people. It is not really about maintaining what the fishermen repeatedly refer to as their "tradition" or "culture." It is about eradicating as many dolphins as possible in order to make the oceans' fish available to themselves.  We know of several areas in Japan where local dolphin populations have declined or been eradicated by this mentality, fully supported by the Japanese government.

In addition, the powerful Japan Fisheries Agency promotes the killing of dolphins and whales as part of Japan’s “food culture”, despite the fact that few Japanese are interested in eating whale and dolphin meat anymore, and huge surpluses are kept in refrigerated warehouses. The Agency sees their role as protecting the Japanese people from the consequences of overfishing worldwide – if environmentalists shut down whaling and dolphin killing, their reasoning goes, then other Japanese fishing methods and species might be attacked. The whaling staff of the Japan Fisheries Agency has an additional very personal incentive: sale of whale meat and government subsidies to protect whaling pays for their salaries. If whaling and dolphin killing end, these bureaucrats will be out of a job.

http://savejapandolphins.org/take-actio ... -questions

DS1119

Bronx Bombers wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

If it's part of their culture who am I to judge?

It's really not


Officially, the main purpose of the dolphin hunt is to provide dolphin meat to the Japanese people. But only a small minority of people in Japan actually eats the meat. During our many campaigns in Japan, we even got the impression that dolphin meat is considered "trashy," unlike the much more expensive whale meat. DNA tests on meat labeled “whale meat” in Japanese markets have revealed the meat is in fact falsely labeled dolphin meat.  Whale meat sells for more money than dolphin meat, so Japanese consumers are tricked into buying dolphin meat falsely labeled as "whale" meat.

There is another essential, and rather shocking, aspect to the dolphin hunt: During a meeting with the Taiji fishermen in January 2004, the fishermen told us that they do not only hunt dolphins for their meat or for sale to the dolphinarium industry. In their own words, they kill the dolphins "as a form of pest control." The dolphins, from the fishermen’s perspective, eat too much fish, and the fishermen are simply killing the competition. This is the first time ever that Japanese dolphin hunters have openly admitted to executing pest control on dolphins. Over-fishing of the oceans is a tremendous problem on a global level, and the Japanese fishermen, supported by their government, are wrongly pointing at the dolphins as the reason for this depletion. The Japanese government is making the same false argument in front of the International Whaling Commission that whales eat fish and therefore need to be controlled by killing. The desire to keep the dolphin population down is a major reason why the Japanese government is so keen on issuing permits for the hunts. It is not really about providing meat for the Japanese people. It is not really about maintaining what the fishermen repeatedly refer to as their "tradition" or "culture." It is about eradicating as many dolphins as possible in order to make the oceans' fish available to themselves.  We know of several areas in Japan where local dolphin populations have declined or been eradicated by this mentality, fully supported by the Japanese government.

In addition, the powerful Japan Fisheries Agency promotes the killing of dolphins and whales as part of Japan’s “food culture”, despite the fact that few Japanese are interested in eating whale and dolphin meat anymore, and huge surpluses are kept in refrigerated warehouses. The Agency sees their role as protecting the Japanese people from the consequences of overfishing worldwide – if environmentalists shut down whaling and dolphin killing, their reasoning goes, then other Japanese fishing methods and species might be attacked. The whaling staff of the Japan Fisheries Agency has an additional very personal incentive: sale of whale meat and government subsidies to protect whaling pays for their salaries. If whaling and dolphin killing end, these bureaucrats will be out of a job.

http://savejapandolphins.org/take-actio ... -questions

So by reading your post it's part of their culture and are only protecting their way of life. :?

Thoughts_Arrive

Humans suck :(

Bronx Bombers

Taiji - An horrific scene played out in Taiji, Japan last night as 55-65 striped dolphins were driven into the Cove and slaughtered. Stressed dolphins threw themselves onto rocks and had to be physically dragged to their slaughter. Warning: Graphic images.

Initially said Cove Guardians with Sea Shepherd, there were more than 200 dolphins in the pod that was driven towards the Cove yesterday -- far too many for the Taiji drive boats to handle. And although the majority of the pod did eventually manage to escape, for a significant number of unlucky marine mammals, the trauma was just beginning.

All dolphin drives are awful to watch but a striped dolphin drive is particularly gruesome. This species of dolphin live in the open ocean and rarely encounter land. So when they are forced toward coastal waters, they panic in the most horrifying manner imaginable.

Last night's drive was one of the most brutal dolphin hunts documented by Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians so far this season. The entire event was streamed live by Cove Guardian Nicole McLachlan. The footage now archived at Taiji.ezearth.tv, was difficult to watch.

"Tired and terrified," said Cove Guardians on their Facebook page, "the dolphins frantically threw themselves up onto the surrounding rocks as their family members looked on. Dolphins," they added, "were dragged kicking and screaming into the cove as the killers could not control the absolute havoc."


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/3 ... z2EqIYrPt4

Brutal just absolutely brutal to watch, what a bunch of fucking savages.

polaris_x

"protecting our way of life"

that way of life is responsible for wars, extinctions, environmental destruction, starvation, mass suffering ... what an absurd excuse for cruelty ... slavery was once someone's way of life ... so, was torture ... so, is child soldiers ...

also ... the same correlation to eating meat ... really!?? ... hey - folks ... don't complain if someone robs you because at some point you've probably rolled through a stop sign and broke the law yourself ...

Pap

Some happy news!

http://www.thalassa-project.gr/LH2Uploads/ItemsContent/61/Thalassa-Project-Newsletter-5_Eng.pdf

http://www.thalassapedia.gr/en/