Guest guest Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Activist Protests Dolphin Slaughter In a surprise move, dolphin expert Ric O’Barry, of the French animal rights organization One Voice, walked into Friday’s Commission meeting wearing a TV set showing footage of Japan’s violent dolphin slaughter in Taiji and Futo. Without sound or saying a word, O’Barry paraded the footage in front of the astonished Japanese delegation and the entire Commission. Security quickly escorted O’Barry and his TV get-up out of the meeting, followed by a parade of TV cameras and reporters. One Voice France has joined with Earth Island Institute and Elsa Nature Appeal of Japan in bringing the plight of Taiji’s dolphins to the world’s attention. This coalition seeks to end the tragic slaughter of dolphins in Taiji and other areas of the world. O’Barry trained the dolphins used in the popular 1960s US television program " Flipper. " His experience with those dolphins convinced him that dolphins should never be kept in captivity or treated inhumanely. Most Japanese agree with him and are horrified to learn that the Japanese Fisheries Agency still allows the herding and bloody slaughter of thousands of dolphins annually. The dirty secret of the inhumane killing is that the international captive dolphin industry, representing aquariums and swim-with-dolphins programs, subsidizes the Taiji slaughter by annually buying a handful of the " best " animals from the drive fishery for captivity at enormous prices. Meat from the slaughtered animals has been shown to be high in mercury, PCB’s, and other dangerous toxins, yet it is often sold in Japan mislabeled as " whale meat. " A number of representatives from Taiji have reportedly joined the Japanese delegation this year to push for renewed coastal whaling of minke and Bryde’s whales, in addition to the annual dolphin slaughter. Move To: Go Need help with your e-mail? View solutions to common issues. BellSouth | Advertising | Help | Service Agreement | Legal Notices | Privacy Policy | Contact Us Copyright 2004 BellSouth Corp. > > Kim Bartlett <anpeople > 2006/06/18 Sun AM 04:07:20 EDT > aapn > BBC Japan faces whale 'cruelty' claim > > > * Japan faces whale 'cruelty' claim * > >Australia will present what it says is proof > >that Japan's whaling programme is cruel. > >Full story: > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5091674.stm > Japan faces whale 'cruelty' claim > By Richard Black > Environment correspondent, BBC News website, St Kitts > > Australia is to present what it says is proof > that Japan's scientific whaling programme is > cruel, at the meeting of the International > Whaling Commission. > > Environmentalists who filmed Japanese boats > whaling in the Antarctic say that some animals > took 30 minutes to die. > > Japan says these cases are exceptions, and may > try to censure Greenpeace for interfering with > what it says is scientific research. > > On Saturday, Japan lost a third key vote at the meeting in St Kitts. > > But the margin of just one vote was narrower > than on the first day, a factor explained by the > late arrival of some African nations which > usually side with Japan. > > The temperature of the meeting rose a notch, > with heated exchanges between Australian and > Japanese delegates. > > Time to death > > During the last Antarctic whaling season - which > saw a doubling of Japan's annual " scientific " > catch to just over 1,000 - Greenpeace filmed a > number of kills at close range. > > The footage has now been analysed by scientists > working with another conservation group, the > International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw). > > " We found that for one whale the time to death > was over half an hour, we found that the average > time to death was 10 minutes, " said Ifaw's > Vassili Papastavrou, " and in two out of the 16 > occasions, asphyxiation was the likely form of > death. " > > The whales were asphyxiated, he said, because > harpoons entered their bodies near the tail and > the animals were held upside down in the water. > > " Back in the 1950s it was recognised that > whaling was inhumane, and really nothing very > much has changed since then, " Mr Papastavrou told > BBC News. > > " It's simply impossible for the harpooner to hit > the whale close enough to the brain to ensure a > reliable clean kill in all cases. " > > Japan maintains these examples are the exception rather than the rule. > > " The time to death for the majority of whales is > less than 30 seconds, " said Glenn Inwood, a > spokesman for the Japanese delegation. > > " Japan takes the issue of time to death very > seriously, and is working together with Norway to > improve the humane side of whaling. " > > 'Inhumane and disgusting' > > Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell > described the footage as " absolutely inhumane and > quite disgusting " . > > He told reporters: " It is a horrendous thing... > it is absolutely abysmal, it is wrong and it has > to stop. " > > Japan's deputy whaling commissioner Joji > Morishita countered by pinpointing Australia's > annual cull of millions of kangaroos. > > " I just wonder if the minister knows how long it > takes for kangaroos to die in his country? " he > said. > > Mr Campbell is due to present the Ifaw analysis > during discussions on whale killing methods on > Sunday. > > On Saturday, Japan suffered its third defeat of > the meeting, this time on a motion which would > have permitted some of its coastal communities to > hunt 150 minke whales each year for local > consumption. > > Katsutoshi Mihara, chairman of the town council > in Taiji, one of the communities involved, told > the BBC that his region had a long tradition of > whaling, and food from the sea was vital as the > region lacked farming land. > > He condemned conservation groups and > anti-whaling countries which want to prevent the > minke hunt, and which put pressure on Japan to > stop catching dolphins in Taiji. > > Breaking the deadlock > > Earlier in the day, Japan tabled a document > calling for " normalisation " of the IWC, by which > it means setting the organisation on a path > towards a resumption of commercial whaling. > > Japan has invited nations which share its > long-term goal to a separate meeting later this > week. > > The " normalisation " proposal did not go to a > vote, and neither did another proposal from the > Netherlands and New Zealand delegations which > would see a high-level meeting of the world's > environment ministers convened to reform the IWC. > > " It's working very badly, it's very bad > governance, " said Dutch whaling commissioner > Giuseppe Raaphorst. " > > " Normally with governments you take decisions > and move forwards; we're not moving forwards, > we're going backwards, " he told BBC News, " and > the only thing you can do is get the ministers > together to solve it. " > > The Netherlands hopes to convene such a summit before next year's IWC meeting. > > Richard.Black-INTERNET > > Story from BBC NEWS: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5091674.stm > > Published: 2006/06/18 07:02:35 GMT > > © BBC MMVI > > -- > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 I live on Okinawa. Trying to save an animal once is captured by the city is almost impossible, animal protection laws are almost non-existant. Our rescue group has encountered many set backs but we are working hard to help animals before they end up in the gas chamber. If there are any groups out there able to help in any way possible, please contact us. www.oaars.com We have been able to use a converted a green house as a shelter for some 45 dogs, there's alot of work that needs to be done. Volunteers go daily to walk the dogs, feed them and clean, we hold adoption events and screen people that want to adopt. Many animals on Okinawa are infected with HW, we need funds to treat them. Please help, there are no world animal welfare societies on Okinawa. Thanks, Liz OAARS Kim Bartlett <anpeople wrote: > * Japan faces whale 'cruelty' claim * >Australia will present what it says is proof >that Japan's whaling programme is cruel. >Full story: >http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5091674.stm Japan faces whale 'cruelty' claim By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website, St Kitts Australia is to present what it says is proof that Japan's scientific whaling programme is cruel, at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission. Environmentalists who filmed Japanese boats whaling in the Antarctic say that some animals took 30 minutes to die. Japan says these cases are exceptions, and may try to censure Greenpeace for interfering with what it says is scientific research. On Saturday, Japan lost a third key vote at the meeting in St Kitts. But the margin of just one vote was narrower than on the first day, a factor explained by the late arrival of some African nations which usually side with Japan. The temperature of the meeting rose a notch, with heated exchanges between Australian and Japanese delegates. Time to death During the last Antarctic whaling season - which saw a doubling of Japan's annual " scientific " catch to just over 1,000 - Greenpeace filmed a number of kills at close range. The footage has now been analysed by scientists working with another conservation group, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw). " We found that for one whale the time to death was over half an hour, we found that the average time to death was 10 minutes, " said Ifaw's Vassili Papastavrou, " and in two out of the 16 occasions, asphyxiation was the likely form of death. " The whales were asphyxiated, he said, because harpoons entered their bodies near the tail and the animals were held upside down in the water. " Back in the 1950s it was recognised that whaling was inhumane, and really nothing very much has changed since then, " Mr Papastavrou told BBC News. " It's simply impossible for the harpooner to hit the whale close enough to the brain to ensure a reliable clean kill in all cases. " Japan maintains these examples are the exception rather than the rule. " The time to death for the majority of whales is less than 30 seconds, " said Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for the Japanese delegation. " Japan takes the issue of time to death very seriously, and is working together with Norway to improve the humane side of whaling. " 'Inhumane and disgusting' Australia's Environment Minister Ian Campbell described the footage as " absolutely inhumane and quite disgusting " . He told reporters: " It is a horrendous thing... it is absolutely abysmal, it is wrong and it has to stop. " Japan's deputy whaling commissioner Joji Morishita countered by pinpointing Australia's annual cull of millions of kangaroos. " I just wonder if the minister knows how long it takes for kangaroos to die in his country? " he said. Mr Campbell is due to present the Ifaw analysis during discussions on whale killing methods on Sunday. On Saturday, Japan suffered its third defeat of the meeting, this time on a motion which would have permitted some of its coastal communities to hunt 150 minke whales each year for local consumption. Katsutoshi Mihara, chairman of the town council in Taiji, one of the communities involved, told the BBC that his region had a long tradition of whaling, and food from the sea was vital as the region lacked farming land. He condemned conservation groups and anti-whaling countries which want to prevent the minke hunt, and which put pressure on Japan to stop catching dolphins in Taiji. Breaking the deadlock Earlier in the day, Japan tabled a document calling for " normalisation " of the IWC, by which it means setting the organisation on a path towards a resumption of commercial whaling. Japan has invited nations which share its long-term goal to a separate meeting later this week. The " normalisation " proposal did not go to a vote, and neither did another proposal from the Netherlands and New Zealand delegations which would see a high-level meeting of the world's environment ministers convened to reform the IWC. " It's working very badly, it's very bad governance, " said Dutch whaling commissioner Giuseppe Raaphorst. " " Normally with governments you take decisions and move forwards; we're not moving forwards, we're going backwards, " he told BBC News, " and the only thing you can do is get the ministers together to solve it. " The Netherlands hopes to convene such a summit before next year's IWC meeting. Richard.Black-INTERNET Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5091674.stm Published: 2006/06/18 07:02:35 GMT © BBC MMVI -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.