Taiji dolphin slaughter..

I was reading the newspaper today and I came across a very very disturbing article about dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.. And I really feel compelled to do a post on it, because I'm pretty sure not many are aware of this, as I myself was not.. So here it is, please read, and know something bout it, cuz it's just plain shocking and cruel..

• Taiji is a small fishing village located in Japan and it is there that the practice of driving dolphins into shallow waters and slaughtering them began.. This is how it works.. A small group of dolphin hunters usually operate with 13 motorized boats about 40 ft. long. Two men are assigned to each boat. At sunrise, the boats go out in a single file searching for dolphins. Each boat carries two 15 foot long metal poles, one on each side. When the dolphin hunters locate a pod of dolphins, they position their boats in a long row, evenly spaced. They then lower their metal poles into the water and start banging on them with hammers.

• The noise literally creates a wall of sound underwater and is used to gain control over the dolphins. The underwater noise functions as an acoustic barrier between the dolphins and the open sea. The dolphins run for their lives to get away from the terrifying noise, but this only brings them closer and closer to shore. Their fear and loss of navigational sense enable the dolphin-hunters to drive them into killing coves.. Once the dolphins are in the cove, the dolphin-hunters drop nets into place at the entrance and the dolphins are trapped inside. Once the dolphins are trapped in the small area, the dolphin-hunter drive hooks, sharp spears and knives into their bodies. The water turns red with blood. The worst thing about the slaughter is that the dolphins suffer a lot before they die. These hunters often drive the spears in the wrong places, and the dolphins do not die immediately. Meaning they bleed, and go through tremendous pain before actually dying.

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• The most ironic thing is, the dolphins are hunted so that their meet can be consumed, or made as pet food. But one thing that is being kept very quiet is mercury poisoning. Dolphin meat has been tested and the average level of mercury in dolphin meat is far beyond the maximum allowable level. Some meat that were tested had mercury levels that were 35 times more than the safe level. Dolphin meat is so toxic that its meat should not be consumed or made as pet food. So if their meet cannot be safely consumed, why continue slaughtering them in such an inhuman way?

• The hunters said that dolphin slaughter is also carried out because the dolphins eat too much fish. So dolphin slaughter is viewed as a form of pest control. They are basically trying to reduce the dolphin population, so that they'd have more fish for themselves. Those complete idiots have probably never thought of the fact that the reason why there doesn't seem to be enough fish for them and the dolphins is because the population of fish is decreasing.. And why is that huh? Well, it's caused by the people who have the same freaking attitude as those bloody dolphin-hunters, through over-fishing and pollution. So tell me, is their act of slaughtering dolphins justified based on the reasons given? I don't think so. Anyway, if you do wanna know more bout this, click HERE