FILM ON DOLPHIN HUNT STIRS OUTRAGE IN JAPAN; TOKYO FILM FESTIVAL COPS OUT

"Despite the film’s enthusiastic reception at the festival — a round of applause broke out at the end of the film — it is unclear whether it will spark a wider public debate. Whale and dolphin hunting is considered an important part of Japan’s traditional livelihood and culinary culture, a practice to be defended against foreign interference — even though only a minority of Japanese eat whale meat, and even fewer eat dolphin.

The Tokyo Film Festival initially rejected 'The Cove' as too controversial, but reversed its decision at the last minute after lobbying from Hollywood heavyweights like Ben Stiller, who has taken a personal interest in it. The festival, however, screened a disclaimer stating it had nothing to do with the film’s production.

'The feeling here is that the world needs to respect cultural differences,” said Testsu [sic] Sato, a professor in environmental management at Nagano University. 'Why should there even be a debate on this issue?'" Full NY Times article

That's not the feeling everywhere. The same argument has long been used to preserve cultural traditions that are today widely acknowledged to be abominations. Some cultures abominate longer than others.

And "eco" is THE buzzword in Japan nowadays...! Even politicians use it!

Japan dolphin hunting town threatens to sue over 'The Cove'

Japan dolphin town defends hunt as film debuts

Record of a porpoise trip to a more enlightened island...

WHAT ANNUAL TAIJI DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER?

This is the trailer for "The Cove," a covertly filmed documentary about the notorious Japanese seacoast town where an annual massive slaughter of dolphins takes place as secretly as possible. The locals are sensitive about it, as guilty folks often are.


"Winner of audience awards across the world, including Sundance, SilverDocs and Hot Docs, The Cove follows a team of activists and filmmakers as they infiltrate a heavily-guarded cove in Taiji, Japan. In this remote village they witness and document activities deliberately being hidden from the public: More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as whale meat." Take Part

Earlier PLM posts about Taiji

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"Every once in a while it's good to see a movie that makes the blood boil. ..."

INTERVIEW WITH THE "SAMURAI DOLPHIN MAN"

"What makes you so angry about this story?

That the Japanese people don't know that the largest slaughter of cetaceans in the world -- 36,000 a year -- is taking place in their own waters, at Taiji, Iwate and Futo; and they don't know that the Japanese people are hated around the world for this. The Japanese media is to blame for this blackout. That's a story in itself. It's very hard to get information on how many they capture in Taiji, but it is probably about 3,000 dolphins.

Tell me about why you switched sides in 1970.

I captured about 100 dolphins myself, back in the 1960s, including the five that played Flipper. I was the highest-paid animal trainer in the world. If I wanted I could set up one of these dolphin training programs and make 3-4 million dollars a year. I changed when Flipper died in my arms from suicide. I use that word with some trepidation but I don't know another word that describes self-induced asphyxiation. Dolphins and other whales are not automatic breathers. Every breath that they take is a conscious effort, which is why they don't sleep. If life becomes miserable, they just don't take the next breath. Flipper looked me in the eye and stopped breathing.

In those days I was as ignorant as I could be. Now I am against captivity. It has no socially redeeming feature. It is not educational. How come I can't find one person among the millions who have visited the 50 dolphin facilities in Japan who is against this industry? I organize a worldwide protest outside consulates every year and the only city where I can't get a protest going is Tokyo. So what is the value of having dolphins on display if it doesn't sensitize people? It is just casual amusement. It is a form of bad education that serves to perpetuate our utilitarian relationship with nature."

Excerpted from The Samurai Dolphin Man and the Japan Connection
By David McNeill

[That link takes ridiculously long to open - at least on my computer - if same is true for yours, try this much faster link]

via Christine Marran, w/ thanks to Jeff Bryant

WHAT DON'T THEY WANT US TO SEE?

"Drive fishing, the method of killing the dolphins, is criticised as particularly cruel. Off the coast fishermen surround a pod (group) of dolphins. They lower long metal poles into the water and strike them to create a wall of sound that scares the dolphins and confuses their navigational skills. In Taiji, the dolphins are then driven into a shallow cove and a net across the mouth of the cove prevents escape. The next day the dolphins are herded into another cove away from prying eyes and camera lenses and are killed with knives or stabbed to death with spears. Japanese officials state that the dolphins die quickly and with minimum pain. NGO observers say the dolphins clearly suffer a prolonged, excruciating death. [In fact largely for use as pet food and fertilizer.]

Until a few years ago, the hunts were carried out in public. Now, due to increased interest, tarpaulins over and around the cove mask the killing, cliff paths overlooking the cove have been put out of bounds, and photographers are chased away...

Such incidents and the hunts in general rarely appear in the Japanese media..."

The Good and Evil of Hunting Dolphins
by Deborah Mantle

Further info:

Save Taiji Dolphins Campaign [What is being hidden]

One Voice

The Ecologist

With thanks to Jeff Bryant...