Annual Dolphin Slaughter in Japan

**lefuet** · 02-27-2007, 14:49

10/20/2006 Annual Dolphin Slaughter Begins in Japan

Intelligence Of Dolphins Cited in Fight Against Hunt

Dolphins saved us from shark, lifeguards say

**David Craik** · 02-27-2007, 15:18

That (first) story is seriously slanted. Dolphin meat isn't 'toxic' nor are bottlenose dolphins endangered. There isn't a single mammal whose meat is inherently 'toxic'. How about the hundreds of metric tons of tuna and sardines caught every year? Oh, forgot, they're not cute or intelligent, it's far more humane to kill a stupid or ugly animal.

These creatures are subject to far greater risk from fisherman's nets worldwide. Brutal, yes. Go work in a slaughterhouse for awhile.

**Nina** · 02-27-2007, 16:54

When I was younger I had the impression that it is much better to kill one whale, instead of thousand fishs, because by this only one animal has to suffer for the same amount of food.
The slaughtering of whales is very cruel, but I think the slaughtering of pigs and cows isn`t often less horror, but you normally don`t see it on television...
The pigs normally have a minimum of "living space", that they often start to eat themselves, apart from the cruelty of transports. Where as these whales had a more or less happy live before day x.

Originally Posted by David Craik

How about the hundreds of metric tons of tuna and sardines caught every year? Oh, forgot, they're not cute or intelligent, it's far more humane to kill a stupid or ugly animal.

They can`t cry.

**sheb** · 02-27-2007, 16:58

You are basically right, David. There is no difference between killing/eating cows, dolphins, cats, dogs, pigs ... I think in the end the difference is made by the reason for killing and how they are killed. If the animals are killed because of the need to eat and not in a painful way, then it's (more or less) ok.

btw: I think I don't want to work in a slaughterhouse. ... and a lot of people would reduce the amount of meat what they eat, if they had to slaughter it by themselves.

**David Craik** · 02-27-2007, 17:47

Indeed, I had an uncle who did and became a vegetarian shortly thereafter.

**unkokusai** · 02-27-2007, 21:43

Originally Posted by sheb

You are basically right, David. There is no difference between killing/eating cows, dolphins, cats, dogs, pigs ... I think in the end the difference is made by the reason for killing and how they are killed. If the animals are killed because of the need to eat and not in a painful way, then it's (more or less) ok.

btw: I think I don't want to work in a slaughterhouse. ... and a lot of people would reduce the amount of meat what they eat, if they had to slaughter it by themselves.

Really? Do you know a lot of people living on farms/working in slaughter houses who are vegetarian? I sure don't.

**Patrick Hayes** · 02-27-2007, 23:08

Having grown up on a cattle ranch, I'd say that people who actually slaughter the animals tend to eat more meat, by which I mean more of the actual animal. They don't just eat the fancy steaks and throw the rest away. You tend to appreciate all of the edible parts, because a single carcass has to last awhile. When you go hunting or when slaughter time comes around, you eat what you kill. All of it. Waste nothing.

I was watching an episode of "Road Rules" (not intentionally, I was just channel-surfing) and the challenge was to eat "variety meats" (euphemism for "random cow parts"). The sissies gagged on heart, tripe, and especially "rocky mountain oysters."

I never enjoyed hunting or slaughtering, but if you want to eat meat, it's just necessity. Nothing I saw in a slaughterhouse made me want to turn vegetarian. Not permanently, at least.

Personally, I think "dolphin-friendly" is just PC BS. Protecting endangered species is all fine and well, but when you think about all the other stuff that ends up in processed food, dolphin is the least of our worries. I probably wouldn't order dolphin if it was on a menu, and I don't really want dolphin meat in my canned tuna (I paid for tuna, and I want tuna. If I wanted dolphin, that's what I would have bought).

The taboos we place on animals and food are arbitrary. I wouldn't eat cat or dog, but only because I imagine they'd taste terrible. However, as much as I like cats and dogs as companions, I wouldn't let that stop me from starving.

**Peter Rehse** · 02-28-2007, 02:16

Ah the Taiji penisula.

Great whale museum - they have several big whales in a sealed off bay and do a show. I also like the whaling ship and you can also swim with dolphins.

The meat - quite tasty. I've had it raw and cooked.

**Peter Rehse** · 02-28-2007, 02:23

By the by - the intelligence of dophins is rated around that of a dog or closer to our belly - the pig.

The problem is not so much how clever they are but how easily we humans see ourselves in their faces.

**lefuet** · 02-28-2007, 04:43

Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence
Diana Reiss and Lori Marino

Abstract

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is an exceedingly rare capacity in the animal kingdom. To date, only humans and great apes have shown convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Two dolphins were exposed to reflective surfaces, and both demonstrated responses consistent with the use of the mirror to investigate marked parts of the body. This ability to use a mirror to inspect parts of the body is a striking example of evolutionary convergence with great apes and humans.

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/98/10/5937
full articel as pdf

**TonyU** · 02-28-2007, 06:16

When I was a kid I had family that owned crop and animal farms in D.R. So I had a little exposure in that kind of life style, so much so that as a kid I helped kill many chickens, strip them of their feathers, gut them and get them ready for cooking. I also had family who raised different live stocks and they/us continued to eat meat.
I agree with Patrick. I do recall that they ate more of the meat and tended to waste less.

**Eye4NEye** · 03-01-2007, 10:56

Originally Posted by Peter Rehse

By the by - the intelligence of dophins is rated around that of a dog or closer to our belly - the pig.

The problem is not so much how clever they are but how easily we humans see ourselves in their faces.

True. The size of the dolphin's brain is irrelevant. Structure of the brain is what's important. Dolphins brains are designed to generate heat and withstand the cold water they live in, not to process information. The tricks they do are a conditioned response to food rewards.

**M. McPherson** · 02-28-2007, 10:28

Originally Posted by Peter Rehse

Ah the Taiji penisula.

Great whale museum - they have several big whales in a sealed off bay and do a show. I also like the whaling ship and you can also swim with dolphins.

The meat - quite tasty. I've had it raw and cooked.

Talk about bringing back memories, Mr. Rehse: I lived around Taiji for a couple of years in the early nineties, and had an iai teacher who was from there. As I remember it, one of our weekly practice sessions was held in the local taiikukan. It was a mostly bucolic little hamlet - quite pretty, in fact. I remember having whale sushi shoved in my face at an enkai held in my honor, so chowed down in due fashion (I think there was some apprehension among my hosts that, as a righteous American, I would become indignant when confronted with the menu. So just to hedge their bets, they offered me a plateful of what I was told was meat from the smallest section of the tail, emphasizing that it was rare, and, naturally, quite expensive. Who am I to say no?). What can I say? I'm rarely righteous, or indignant...
I also remember, on two occasions, groups of genuinely (self-) righteous and indignant foreign campaigners who swooped in from on high, hoping to show the local authorities the error of their ways. Gaiatsu only goes so far, and apparently not at all in Taiji.

Regards,
Murray McPherson