Oh I agree. That's why I won't take my kids anywhere near a dolphin "party tricks" parlour anymore. I firmly believe that if the issue was raised in that way more, so it became common knowledge where many of such captive animals were coming from, it might be far easier to stop people dealing with these people than to stop the fishermen themselves. It's a trade - two sides. You need to stop only one to finish it. Apart from that there's the mercury issue. Japanese people aren't completely dumb. This has been reported here now so guess what.....people CHOOSE to eat something else. It's not the Japanese way to start jumping around screaming, but it surely is to quietly and stubbornly reject something simply by going in a different direction.
As for the Japanese people disgreeing with the actions of the fishermen. Sorry, I disagree. I think the vast majority would probably think that interfering with someone who is doing his job (which is completely legal) you deserve what you get. I also think that if anyone tried to infere with US, British, Australian or anyone elses fishing boats they'd probably be very much treated the same - or worse.
By the way - don't forget that it's actually a sign of madness repeating the same action over and over again, and expecting a different result!
I have - although in our industrialized slaughterhouses you usually take the cow (a bred and domesticated animal with no role in the eco system besides providing protein) out before cutting anything. what i have not seen is cows getting hacked, clubbed and kicked to death while dozens of other cows get to watch until it's their turn. i know, it's a cultural thing. so is cannibalism, headhunting, slavery and reality tv.
Again, it all boils down to POV (Point of View), cultural perspectives, morality and politics. It's quite maddening (literally) when villagers harvest animals (known to have toxins) and sell it to the public.
Their market must be the ignorant, the innocent, the poor, or those without years ahead of them? How sick is this? I find it unconscionable that public health officials have not shut this fishery down for good. Why haven’t they? What ethics, or politics are working here? BTW – I haven’t forgotten Minamata. Has nothing been learned?
As divers, witnessing such abject cruelty is hard to stomach. It’s truly a repugnant affair to see waters turned red and our mascots writhing in pain, screaming with fear. This makes people want to act immediately.
The freedom to act is a privilege. It’s too bad that some Japanese don’t understand that protests by outsiders is a tenet of a free world. Repetitive or not, effective or not I applaud the surfer protest.
One thing it has done is rejuvenated this issue on SB. It also makes me more proactive. If I happened to be at the beach that day I would have donned my wetsuit and gone in with them. Do I give a _______ what the local authorities thinks? Hardly. They’re obviously impotent CYA type bureaucrats. Someone who survives another day for a paycheck. I would have loved to stuck a Futomaki (large sushi roll) in that insane fisherman’s mouth. I would have loved to dragged the ‘whacking” fisherman into the water.
BTW – I don’t stop kids from visiting marine parks. I do ask them to pose a few questions and keep statistics. I ask them to pose these questions:
- How long will “little Shamu” live in a word surrounded by walls?
- Why do you need to catch so many whales for your shows?
- What is your average gross profit for the day?
I dare to say, that the kiddies will not be given truly honest answers by the automatons. Savvy kids often come back smarter, and far more critical of the zoo system.
As for me, the aquarium did me a great favor when they called me into their office and asked me to clean out my locker. I really didn’t know in my early 20’s what to do when you love working with animals, but are confronted by the harsh realities that we are using the critters for (usually) our own good.
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