Headline Of The Week Weak
Filed under: Headline of the Week > Hayden Panettiere
"Fried dolphin on menu in Japanese town"
Someone call Hayden! CLICK HERE to read the article accompanying this headline!
[Image via WENN.]
Mention a dolphin to someone in the United States and they'll think about a trip to Sea World, maybe, or Flipper, the dolphin that was the star of the mid-1960s TV show.
Talk about a dolphin in rural Japan and some people think of supper.
Fishermen hunt dolphins about every day in Taiji, a town of about 3,000 in southwestern Japan that juts into the Pacific Ocean. The sounds of waves crashing onto a rocky shore mingle in Taiji with the screeching wails of dolphins being chopped and hacked to death by fishermen.
Locals know they offend Western sensibilities by eating dolphins, but they say it's a tradition hundreds of years old. And they say outsiders have no more right to tell them to stop eating dolphins than they would have to demand that Westerners stop slaughtering chickens or cows.
"I know there are many different ways of thinking in different societies, but for us who've been eating this for a long time … it's an awkward thing to be criticized for," says Kayoko Tanaka, a retired middle school teacher. "I either fry dolphin meat or turn it into a stew."
That disgusts Ric O'Barry, a 68-year-old retired dolphin trainer from Miami, Florida, who makes a second home in Taiji, where he goes to unusual lengths to fight against the tide of local tradition.
O'Barry sometimes dresses as a woman or wears a large surgical mask to disguise his Western identity on trips to spots overlooking the ocean. He prowls the cliffs with a video camera, hoping to catch fishermen in the act with footage that could stir emotions and raise awareness in the West.
"This here is ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth," says O'Barry, who trained five dolphins to play "Flipper" on the TV series of that name. "It's absolutely barbaric and it needs to stop."
He says the dolphins face a cruel fate.
"It takes a very long time to die. They bleed to death. And some of them are dragged in the boats with hooks while they're still alive," he says. "Many of them are gutted while they're still alive."
Looming beyond questions of whether the slaughter is humane, however, are larger and more complex questions of culture and perspective.
To some puzzled people in rural Japan, the question comes down to this: What's the difference between killing and eating a dolphin and killing and eating a fish? Or a chicken? Or a cow?
Australia challenges Japan's whale hunts
Most Japanese do not eat dolphins — it's common in a few small fishing villages — but the government respects the rights of people in towns such as Taiji, says Joji Morishita, the international negotiator for Japan's Fisheries Agency.
Many Japanese consider the deer a sacred messenger from the gods, he says, but they would never suggest that people in other parts of the world stop venturing into the woods on a quest for venison.
"We don't like to play God to say this animal is just for food and this is not," he says. "Because we know nation to nation we have totally different ideas."
That's obvious in the growing dispute between Australia and Japan over whale hunting.
Japanese ships crisscross southern oceans each winter to capture and kill up to 1,000 whales. Whaling is allowed under international law when done for scientific reasons, which Japan cites as the legal basis for its hunts.
Legal justifications aside, however, the whale hunts offend many people in Australia, where new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has turned up the political pressure on Japan.
His government has dispatched a customs ship to monitor and videotape the whalers. And Rudd says Australia could even file charges against Japan in an international court to try to stop the whaling.
Back in Taiji, the fishermen are well aware of the Western sentiment that motivates whaling opponents. They realize the danger to their way of life that can come with prying cameras from other countries.
When CNN trained its cameras on fishermen gutting some freshly killed dolphins, the fishermen erected some tarps to obstruct the view.
Representatives of the Taiji Fishermen's Union declined CNN requests for an on-camera interview. So did the town's mayor and several others. And O'Barry says he's gotten into a few shouting matches with fishermen, who resent him and his camera.
High levels of mercury found in dolphins
So what does O'Barry say to their claim that he has no right to tell them to abandon a tradition that has flourished in their small corner of the world for more than 400 years?
"If someone came to my hometown and told me what to do, what to eat, I'd be outraged," he says. "But that's not going to stop me from doing it. I mean, tradition? It used to be traditional for women not to vote. So do we keep that going because it's traditional and cultural? Of course not."
Complicating the debate are findings suggesting that eating dolphins may not be good for one's health. The Japanese government said in 2005 that bottlenose dolphin meat contains 12 times more mercury than blue fin tuna — high levels of mercury in fish can cause health problems in pregnant women and young children.
A city councilman in Taiji, Junichiro Yamashita, grew so concerned about mercury levels that he persuaded locals schools to stop serving dolphin meat at lunch. He even plucked some of his hair, sent it off for testing and discovered that it contained seven times as much mercury as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.
The mercury findings have not swayed Masaru Matsushita, a Taiji fish dealer. He says that dolphin activists like O'Barry only see their needs without understanding the culture in his town.
"I understand that they think the dolphin in a cute animal, and I agree they're cute doing performances," he says, "but it is our culture to eat dolphins."
WTF?? Fried whale - no thanks!
yuk
MARISA
Oh no! (lovey pic btw…)
It's good that she's so involved with these animals, but isn't there any other news about her besides the dolpins??
Mierda!
that's gross
poor dolphins..x
Awww =o( =o(
First?
FIRST, LOSERS!
Blah Blah!!!
Butt Out Little Girl!!!
eww.
that is just gross I could not and will never eat a dolphin
FIRST i have waited so long to say that
That is disgusting. Between that and whale hunting for "scientific purposes" food. Cruel race.
This makes my skin crawl just reading this….
Fuck white people. You offend 1 Billion East Indians every time you eat a hamburger. GO fuck yourselves!
perez i hope u weren't trying to be funny. i support her in what she's doing. dolphins are not meant for eating until we have a worldwide salmon, bass, trout, halibut, etc shortage.
That's horrible. Imagine eating flipper! For that matter I'd never eat deer either… imagine eating Bambi!
She doesn't give a shit about dolphins just publicity.
Um, there's dolphin in tuna. Hayden's cause is against COMMERCIAL WHALING.
NOT dolphins. Do you eat meat? What about the conditions your Big Mac beef is raised in?
You're a fucking dumbass hypocrite.
Re: Dingus – Who's the loser…..LOSER!!!!
seventeenth!
let them eat their dolphins.
Re: White Peopl – Hey if you don't like us eating cows then GO BACK TO INDIA!!
the problem is certainly not a cultural one. the problem is that dolphins (like octopi) are highly intelligent mammals and they deserve to be treated humanely and with respect. not only does it take them much longer than chickens or cows to create offspring, and they only create one at a time, but their intelligence ranks very high in the world (probably higher than some humans i have met). just as we don't torture and kill chimps (it is illegal), we need to be conscious of the pain that dolphins feel and realize that killing them barbarically is similar to killing our own.
Perez, get naked and shut up.
wayyy to long to read perez….
is that mary kate?
Sick..but what is she gonna do about it? She can't change anything.
16 nbitches shes da hottest bitch evr
whats up with her pose?
sad!! first
I'm unsure where I stand on this issue. I think that that it makes sense for them to stop due to the high levels of mercury, otherwise I'm unsure whether I'd be for or against this tradition.
eeww. sickos.
***************************************************
stop the cruelty
WWW.PANETTIERECLOSET.COM
"They bleed to death. And some of them are dragged in the boats with hooks while they're still alive"
help save the whales and dolphins
xxxxxx
What's with her?
Firrst? ====???
I thought that was mary -kate
What's the big deal?? How is that any less disgusting than eating a bunch of cow hoof's and tails that you americans call "hot dogs."
Japan is too crowded. They should resort to cannibalism instead. Leave the dolphins alone you stupid fucking bastards.
it's called fucking culture! lay off of other other peoples' business! you don't see other cultures that regard cows as deity come meddling in america's business of consuming grotesque amounts of hambrugers.
sure it's important to conserve the species' population and make sure they don't go extinct, but i don't see people doing anything about tuna or other species in the fishing industry. i'm sure dolphins aren't the only ones facing the problem of dwindling number.
STOP BEING SUCH A HYPOCRITE AND IDIOT!!!
THANK YOU PEREZ FOR SPREADING AWARENESS OF THESE ATROCITIES. DOLPHINS ARE NOT BRED LIKE COWS AND THE NUMBERS ARE DWINDLING. THE JAPANESE HAVE NO RIGHT TO DEPRIVE THE REST OF THE INHABITANTS OF PLANET EARTH OF THE JOY AND WONDER OF DOLPHINS AND WHALES!!! GO HAYDEN AND RICK!!! GO SEA SHEPHERD!!!
(P.S. GREENPEACE CAMPAIGNS FOR FUNDS AND DOES NOT USE THEM FOR THE WHALES. THEY HAVE STOPPED OPPOSING THE JAPANESE! GREENPEACE IS A FRAUDULENT ORGANIZATION! GIVE TO SEA SHEPHERD!!! SEA SHEPHERD ARE THE REAL HEROES!!!)
ewww,that's really gross ;(
Re: angel hair – COWS ARE BRED, DOLPHINS ARE NOT!!! D U H !!!!
I completely agree with the Japanese who commented in this article. Their country, their town, their culture…their right to eat dolphin if they wish. An animal that's considered cute and cuddly in one culture is considered dinner in another. I mean, how would people in the U.S. feel if Hindus demanded we stop slaughtering and eating cows? Or if Japanese demanded Americans stop hunting deer? Westerners need to stop trying to arrogantly impose our culture and values on the rest of the world. If someone kills a dolphin for food while in the U.S. or Canada or Australia, then they should be arrested. If they do it in a country where it's legal and culturally acceptable, then fine.
yeah WE may not like them eating dolphins but I mean, we eat cows and im sure the hindus arent too excited about that. get over it. america isnt the world.
on a second note, apparently in south america people eat guinea pigs. In DC there is a restaraunt that serves fried guinea pigs. to each his own i guess
hey, the dolphins here in the US got ate up all year, they only won one game.Now the big tuna gonna save the dolphins.
IS THIS CELEBRITY GOSSIP OR INFORMATION FOR A TERM PAPER??!! TMI ALL THE WAY–
This is a good article. I mean, we really don't have any right to tell them what animals they can eat. I mean, it's not like India is all up in arms because of the beef industry. And dolphins are cute, it's not like they're sacred to our religion or anything.
opsy
Claire Bear's gonna Hulk out when she hears this! Super Cheerleader to the rescue!
Give me a fucking break. Dolphins are not an endangered specy. Why should they stop killing and eat them just because some people think they're cute?
I wouldn't eat it myself, but I don't see the problem if they eat dolphin. What right do we have to tell them what to eat? Don't we have bigger problems?
This just deeply saddens me. I can't believe anybody would hurt such beautiful creatures. They should gut those Japanese fisherman
why can't we just eat what God blessed for us to eat.killing ang torturing animals is never the way to go.i also think that eating vension or why not just call it deer, is not blessed by God.i'm so tired of reading about these inhumane people that want to justify their evil heart.another thing that comes to mind, why not try vegetables, fruits, whole grains and such for a change in diet.it might actually stimulate one's mind and make one a better person.food for thought.
no one should be mad about eating dolphins if they eat other meat. it's the same thing.
this is fucking retarded. people in india dont come over here and stop us from eating cow bc they think its sacred. leave them the fuck alone, its culture.
it's sad and a little disturbing for westerners, who view dolphins as adorable and almost as pets. however, muslims disagree with us eating beef, the japanese disagree with us eating venison, jewish people disagree with us eating pork, and for all we know there may be cultures who disagree with us eating chickens. it's a cultural thing and we have no right to judge or tell these people that it's outside their rights to consume these animals — by their perspective, it's perfectly okay. i'd be interested to know whether this o'barry guy is a vegan or not . . . if not, it seems odd that he would be passing judgement on other for eating one animal when he probably consumes another on a regular basis. i'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, but i respect others' rights to eat, or abstain from eating, pretty much whatever they want, apart from humans.
the only issue i have with this story is the fact that these animals are being killed inhumanely. i believe that all animals who are being killed for any purpose, including feeding us, they are at least entitled to die with as little suffering as possible. but we have issues with that here in the US, what with veal and duck live foie gras and chickens and such. so, once again, we're really not in a position to judge.
No entiendo una verga, por que esta en ingles.
Re: Pokey –
Dolphins and whales are wild animals, you fucking moron. Quit comparing them to cows.
People your missing the point! Eat whatever animal you wish. There is zero reason to let any animal suffer before doing so. It's sick!
I just don't understand why these animals are TORTURED to death. Haven't they heard of methods (like guns) that will kill them instantly? I don't think they should be killing them in the first place, but since they aren't going to stop anytime soon I don't think these creatures should suffer the way that they do- no innocent animal or human should have to die this kind of death.
Good for those Japanese villagers. We don't impose Hindus to eat beef so how can we say to not eat dolphins? it's such a culturally insensitive thing to say.
that is horrible it is not the same as eating a cow or chicken because dolphins are smart and cute
Ahaaaaa to be so young and idealistic. Give her a few more years to be jaded and resigned to the fact, there are some things in life you can't do shit about. You can go crazy, give up or start drinking. The Japanese culture has been eating Dolphin for centuries. The sad part is, like dogs, Dolphins actually have compassion for humans and are known to protect them, aka altruistic. Do you want to kill and eat a mammal that will fight a shark to save your life?
Why is it that Americans think they have the right to tell other cultures that hundreds of years of traditions are wrong and cruel? What makes them the authority? Americans need to take a look at what's happening in there own country before taking on the world's "problems".
I am not saying that I agree with the treatment of these animals–on the contrary–however I feel that it is NOT our place to intervine in another cultures practices.
As has been mentioned already, Hindus consider the cow as sacred and refrain from including it in their diet, but do you ever see them protesting against the beef industries?
people need to stop seeing things one-sided–there are ALWAYS 2 sides to every story.
I'm so glad you posted this on your site! People really need to be educated on this subject! I'm a huge advocate of saving dolphins and whales!! They are unsafe to eat and most of the Japenese culture don't even like eating dolphins or whales!! It's insane!!!!!
I'd order that if it came on a stick!!
Well, there is also a type of fish called dolphin, that isn't the cute little mammal we all love.
And regardless,