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| ===Entertainment industry=== | ===Entertainment industry=== | ||
| Occasionally some of the captured dolphins are left alive and taken to mainly but not exclusively Japanese ]s. These dolphins are captured before the rest is caught. Some claim dolphinariums are keeping the dolphin hunts economically viable, as they'll pay up to 30 |
Occasionally some of the captured dolphins are left alive and taken to mainly but not exclusively Japanese ]s. These dolphins are captured before the rest is caught. Some claim dolphinariums are keeping the dolphin hunts economically viable, as they'll pay up to 30,000 ] for a dolphin, while only 300USD is paid for a dolphin caught for meat. Fishermen deny that the aquariums pay that much money for the animals however and not all species hunted have the interest of the dolphinariums. | ||
| ===Species=== | ===Species=== | ||
Revision as of 16:39, 8 July 2006
Dolphin drive hunting is a method of hunting dolphins and other small whale species used by fishermen in several places around the world. Most notorious though is probably the Japanese town of Taiji. The dolphin drive hunt season in Japan lasts roughly from October till April as the pods of dolphins pass. The dolphins are often hunted out of tradition and for their meat. The largest consumer of dolphin meat is also believed to be Japan.
Drive hunting in Japan
Method
In Japan, the hunting is done by a select group of privileged fishermen. When a pod of dolphins has been spotted, they're driven into a bay with boats by the fishermen while banging on metal rods hanging in the water to scare them. When the dolphins are in the bay, it is quickly closed off with nets so the dolphins cannot escape. The dolphins are usually not killed immediately, but left to calm down over night. The next day dolphins are caught one by one and killed. This used to be done by slitting their throats which resulted in a long and painful death for the dolphin, but the Japanese government banned this method and now dolphins may only be killed by driving a metal pin into the neck of the dolphin, which causes them to die within seconds.
Exactly how many are killed in Japan this way each year isn't known, but the number is believed to be at least a few thousand.
Entertainment industry
Occasionally some of the captured dolphins are left alive and taken to mainly but not exclusively Japanese dolphinariums. These dolphins are captured before the rest is caught. Some claim dolphinariums are keeping the dolphin hunts economically viable, as they'll pay up to 30,000 US Dollars for a dolphin, while only 300USD is paid for a dolphin caught for meat. Fishermen deny that the aquariums pay that much money for the animals however and not all species hunted have the interest of the dolphinariums.
Species
Mainly striped, spotted and bottlenose dolphins are caught, but several other species such as the false killer whale are also occasionally caught. Striped dolphins are now considered to be endangered in the area but despite this they are still being hunted, though in smaller numbers.
Criticism
Many, especially in the western world, oppose the hunting of dolphins, mainly saying that it is brutal especially because dolphins are known to be very intelligent animals. Most of the Japanese fishermen disagree often saying that an intelligent animal shouldn't have more rights than a "dumb" animal, such as a Tuna, just like a dumb person shouldn't have less rights than a smart one. Many are also skeptical about the intelligence of dolphins, saying that they can just be taught tricks like dogs, this despite research having shown that dolphins are amongst the most intelligent of all animals. They also point at the conditions factory farmed animals have to live under in the western world and saying that the dolphins they have caught in the wild have had a better life.
Many inhabitants of those towns where hunting takes place see the drive hunts as a part of their culture which they don't want to lose. Since the towns are fairly isolated the hunts were long unnoticed until a video of the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji was seen around the world. As a result of the video the Japanese dolphin drive hunts were suspended for over a decade until dolphin swim-with programs and dolphin displays at aquariums gained popularity, particularly in Asian nations. With the gaining popularity of these programs and animal dealers willing to pay up to $30,000 USD for a live dolphin, the drive hunts are once again taking place with up to 20,000 dolphin per year killed by the Japanese fishermen. Many of the dolphin taken for display and swim programs do not survive once they reach their final destinations where they are subjected to chemically treated water, lack of proper nutrition, stress-related diseases, and, sometimes, physical abuse when they do not perform as expected.
Some of the animal welfare organisations campaigning against the drive hunts are Sea Shepherd, One Voice, BlueVoice and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. Japan has pressured the United States to declare Sea Shepherd a terrorist organization, while Sea Shepherd claims that Japan violates their treaty obligations to the International Whaling Commission by killing Pilot Whales.
Human health concerns
The meat and blubber of the dolphins caught has been found to have high levels of mercury and organic contaminants like PCBs. The levels are high enough to pose a health risk for those frequently eating the meat and researchers warn that children and pregnant women shouldn't eat the meat at all.
Drive hunting in other regions
Solomon Islands
On a smaller scale, drive hunting for dolphins also still takes place on the Solomon Islands, more specifically on the island of Malaita. Though they also eat the meat of the animals, the main reason for hunting the dolphins here is for their teeth, which are used in jewelry and seen as a form of currency on the island. The dolphins are hunted in a similar fashion as in Japan, using stones instead of metal rods to produce sounds to scare and confuse the dolphins. Mainly spotted and spinner dolphins are hunted.
Faroe Islands
On the Faroe Islands mainly pilot whales but occasionally also other species of dolphins and other small whales are killed by drive hunts for their meat. The hunt is known by the locals as the Grindadráp. There are no fixed hunting seasons, as soon as a pod close enough to land is spotted fishermen set out to begin the hunt. The dolphins here are driven onto the beach with boats, blocking off the way to the ocean with nets. When on the beach, most of them get stuck. Those dolphins that have remained too far in the water are dragged onto the beach by driving a steel hook into the blubber of the animal, though these days they're also dragged by putting a hook in their blowhole. When on land, they are killed by cutting down to the major arteries and spinal cord at the neck. The time it takes for a dolphin to die varies from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the cut. When the fishermen fail to beach the animals all together, they are let free again.
About a thousand pilot whales are killed this way each year on the Faroe Islands, but numbers vary greatly per year. The amount of pilot whales killed each year is not believed to be a threath to the sustainability of the population, but the brutality of the hunt has resulted in international criticism especially from animal welfare organisations.
As in Japan, here too the meat is contaminated with Mercury and also Cadmium, causing a health risk for those frequently eating it. Again, especially children and pregnant women are at risk.
Peru
Though it is under Peruvian law forbidden to hunt dolphins or eat their meat, a large number of dolphins are still killed illegally by fishermen each year. Though exact numbers are not known, the Peruvian organisation Mundo Azul (Blue World) estimates that at least a thousand are killed anually. To catch the dolphins, they are driven together with boats and encircled with nets, then harpooned and dragged on to the boat and clubbed to death if still alive. Various species are hunted, such as the bottlenose and dusky dolphin.
Hawaii
In ancient Hawaii fishermen used to hunt dolphins for their meat, driving them onto the beach and killing them. In their ancient legal system, dolphin meat was considered to be kapu (forbidden) for women together with several other kinds of food. Today, dolphin drive hunting no longer takes place on Hawaii.
See also
References
External links
- BBC news - dining with the dolphin hunters
- Japan Focus - article on Japanese dolphin drive hunts
- Sea Shepherd - webpage on Taiji dolphin drive hunts with photos and video footage
- Faroe Islands official whaling website