Japan Mayor Protests Dolphin Hunt Documentary Oscar Reuters

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Japan Mayor Protests Dolphin Hunt Documentary Oscar

Reuters

 

TOKYO

 

The mayor of a Japanese town which conducts an annual

dolphin hunt protested on Monday against the Academy Award given to " The

Cove, " a documentary film about the grisly slaughter.

 

The film, which picked up an Oscar for best documentary

feature in addition to a series of other awards, follows a group of activists

who struggle with Japanese police and fishermen to gain access to a secluded

cove in Taiji, southern Japan, where dolphins are hunted.

 

It features shocking footage of the slaughter.

 

" I think it is regrettable that the film presents as

fact material that is not backed up by scientific proof, " Taiji mayor

Kazutaka Sangen said in a faxed statement. He emphasized that the hunt was

legal in Japan and urged respect for the tradition.

 

" There are a variety of customs relating to food,

within this country and abroad, " he said.

 

" An attitude of mutual respect is necessary, based

on understanding of the years-old traditions arising from these customs and the

circumstances surrounding them. "

 

The film, directed by former National Geographic

photographer Louie Psihoyos and featuring a former dolphin trainer from the

" Flipper " television series, is little known in Japan, where the

government says the hunting of dolphins and whales is an important cultural

tradition.

 

But a Japanese distributor said last week a slightly

modified version of " The Cove " was set for release in major cities

across Japan from May or June this year.

 

The faces of the fishermen will be blurred out and the

distributor will add a note saying that there is disagreement about mercury

levels in dolphin meat, which is sold as food and served for lunch at schools

in the area.

 

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds, editing by Miral Fahmy)