ABSTRACT: Most people don't realized that on an annual basis, tens of thousands of dolphins are killed in such countries as Japan and Norway due to dolphin drive fishing practices.
(UPDATE FROM ORIGINAL: I realize this isn't a pleasant subject to read, it wasn't a pleasant subject for me to write. This article was written in 2008, sadly, things haven't changed over these years and it still continues. July 5, 2014)
CONTENT: For many years, consumers were at an uproar over the fact that they became aware that many dolphins were needlessly killed as they would become entangled in the nets used to trap tuna for the tuna marketing trade. For many years now almost all major tuna producing companies, such as Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea have placed as part of their label, "Dolphin Safe" supposedly meaning that no dolphins were trapped or needlessly killed by the tuna fishing trade. We thought we could rest easy, our minds and conscious clear. This is far from the truth.
Yes, it's true that maybe dolphins aren't killed in the process of tuna fishing procedures, but tens of thousands of dolphins are killed, no, let me clarify that, outrightly massacred yearly and mainly by Japanese and Norwegian fishermen however, other countries are just as guilty.
Not long ago, I wrote about the unscrupulous practices of the puppy/kitten mill industry, as I wanted to inform people about the truth about what exactly goes "behind closed doors" of this so-called business, and yes, as horrendous as the business is of the puppy/kitten mill industry, nothing compares to the needless slaughter of thousands upon thousands of dolphins every year.
I like to think of myself as being well informed and know what cruelties are going on in the world when it comes to animals in general. For many years people have rallied against the killing of whales in and as far as I know, this has stopped to a certain extent. But like many people, I was not even aware that such a massacre of such intelligent creatures such as the dolphin was taking place on a yearly basis, that is not until I happen to come across a very graphic video that is posted on the http://nifie.multiply.com/video/item/70/Dolphins_Massacre_c website. I couldn't even bring myself to watch the whole video as it was too disturbing for me to view.
Before I get into more about this atrocity, I think one needs to know a bit about dolphins in general.
Here are the specifics of dolphins. First, they are of the same order as Cetacea, that is the same group or class as whales, and can indeed be thought as miniature whales. Here are more scientific specifics of the dolphins in general. They belong and are classified as:
Kingdom Anamalia
Phylum Cordata (vertebrates)
Class Mammalia
Order Cetacea
Sub-order Odontoceti
Family Delphinidae
Genus Delphinus
Species delphis (1)
We too as humans belong to the Animal Kingdom, are vertebrates, and belong to the Mammal class as well. What is most remarkable about the dolphin is that the brain of a dolphin is almost the same size as that of a human, perhaps just slightly larger. Numerous studies with dolphins have indicated that these, out of almost all aquatic species, the dolphin shows the highest intelligence factor. They have several forms of communicating with one another, and also seem to have the capability of understanding us when we communicate with them in captured environments, thus the popularity of dolphins in aquatic type shows, like Seaworld, and of course have been featured in numerous television shows or movies. Even many of the world's military units have incorporated dolphins from everything to finding mines to searching and rescuing lost or trapped humans underwater, much in the same way dogs might be also used for search and rescue missions on land. Another area that is being studied and considered, especially by neurophysiologist John Lilly that because dolphins represent a non-human form of intelligence, by trying to understand the dolphins form of communication, could possibly lead to an understanding of the communication capabilities of other non-human forms of intelligence, particularly that of, if and when, we ever do meet up with an extraterrestrial race of beings.
Now as to the specifics about the killing and slaughter of these highly intelligent forms of marine life and how these "drive fishing" practices are conducted. First, no doubt the fisherman "trade" of such countries as Japan and Norway will cite that they kill the dolphins for food, but the plain truth is that they are killed as dolphins are considered a "nuisance" and drive away other fish that the fishermen wish to catch. These dolphin drives, particularly in Japan, are conducted during the months of October until March of each and every year and tens of thousands of dolphins are killed annually.
The most common way these fishermen conduct these dolphin drives is for as many fishermen to go out into the ocean to where a school of dolphins are spotted, in as many motorized boats as possible, surrounding them and forcing the dolphins toward the direction of the shore, in effect inhibiting the dolphins from escaping back into the open water. The dolphins are continually lead to the shore, and thus shallow water where they are the most vulnerable. Once the dolphins have reached the shore, fishermen will go out to the trapped dolphins, and either begin clubbing or stabbing the dolphins and/or drag them further inland to continue the process of clubbing them death. As shown in the one video of the Norwegian massacre of dolphins, this is a gruesome, graphic and horrendous sight to watch. One can't fail to notice that for miles around, the ocean is no longer blue, but red from the blood of the dolphins.
I can't help thinking if more people were made aware of this brutal form of killing such intelligent marine creatures such as the dolphin, just because it's an "inconvenience" to the fishermen of such countries, that perhaps once and for all this type of massacre would be made illegal. There are several places one can contact to find out more about voicing their objection to such a practice, such as:
Oceana:
http://www.oceana.org/north-america/who-we-are/
Jacques Cousteau Society
http://www.cousteau.org/
Greenpeace
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
The Humane Society Of the United States
http://www.hsus.org
Videos about Dolphin Massacre
Norway
http://nifie.multiply.com/video/item/70/Dolphins_Massacre_c
Japan
http://www.flicklife.com/ff5ba48402883d9b7270/Dolphins_Massacre_in_Japan.html
Information about Dolphin Massacre:
http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/what_are_the_issues/drive_fisheries.html
Information about Dolphins in General:
(1)
http://www.earthtrust.org/wlcurric/dolphins.html
http://littletownmart.com/dolphins/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/D/dolphins.html
Image source~©Melanie Neer~Photo of Dolphins at Seaworld, Orlando Florida~ And yes am aware of the "cruelty" involved with these marine shows now as well
No comments:
Post a Comment