Dolphins: Massacre in Taiji
Every year, Japanese fishermen kill tens of thousands of dolphins, and forcing them into the bay. This is happening in the Bay of taiji.
For many years the sight from animal lovers tears welling in his eyes: in the Bay of the Japanese coastal town Tayiji die in agony, hundreds of dolphins. Fishermen are driving them into a trap, blocking network access to the sea. Sitting in a boat, fishing spears, harpoons and knives hit the boiling water. And they always hit the target - so high density of writhing bodies of animals in shallow coastal waters. Dolphins are in a panic looking for way to escape. But no way.
Bay Tayiji become synonymous with the conflict of cultures. On one side are the fishermen. They justify the annual slaughter that is - an ancient ritual, and the fact that dolphins are supposedly taking away the catch, depriving the inhabitants of coastal livelihoods. They are opposed by environmentalists and animal welfare advocates, primarily from the West. They argue that this slaughter does not make sense, and the fishermen themselves to blame for the fact that in the Sea of Japan is becoming less and less fish. And the reason is happening - not in the tradition, and money.
And indeed: the bloody orgy - quite a profitable business for the killers of dolphins, and not only in taiji. Before the dawn begins massacre, envoys from zoos around the world have been driven into the trap of visiting the dolphins, to replenish their stock dolphinariums. Because the Dolphins do not breed in captivity, must constantly buy new animals. According to unconfirmed reports, each copy costs up to 200 000 dollars. Nowhere is there such a wide choice and more convenient conditions for the acquisition of dolphins, both in the fishing season in places such as Taiji. Once salesmen selects the best specimens for the remaining dolphins began hell.
Taiji - not the only place in Japan, which kill dolphins. Experts estimate that within six months of catching cetaceans off the coast of Japan destroyed more than 30 000 animals. Nobody knows exactly how many more die in the networks of Japanese trawlers: a year in total, probably three times more than in the bays. The Japanese government has not heeded the protests of animal protection. In taiji already accustomed to the demonstrators from the western countries: the fishermen do not let them to the place of slaughter, often under the threat of force.
What happens to the dead dolphins? Japan has long been talk about that dolphin meat contains mercury. This has already led to the collapse of the national market. And only in the coastal towns, many families stubbornly doesn't refuse dubious delicacies, not sparing him the money. However, most of the bloody "harvest" is sent to recycling: the Japanese make him food for dogs.