Dolphin Slaughter Essay

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Dolphin Slaughter. “A dolphin’s smile is nature's biggest deception,” says Rick O’Barry. People from all over the world pay big bucks to gather and watch dolphins perform at aquariums, but little do they know, they are just contributing to the dolphin slaughter taking place in Taiji, Japan. An article in The St. Petersburg Times states that “In a grisly annual ritual, Japanese fishermen herd bottlenose dolphins into shallow water then kill the highly evolved marine mammals with knives and clubs, turning the sea a bright red with their blood. Some are strung up by their tails to suffer agonizing deaths. This year, the government of Japan will allow 21,000 dolphins to be slaughtered in that manner. ” Taiji fisherman whom are paid by the Japanese government, take their fishing boats out and search for a herd of dolphins. Once they have found a herd, the boats surround the herd and bang on a half submerged metal rod. Since dolphins communicate by sonar, this noise frightens them because it is an abnormal sound. The dolphins try to escape but the fishermen herd them into the cove and block their escape route with layers of fishing net. some are captured and sent to aquariums, amusement parks and interactive “dolphin encounters" worldwide. “The dolphins are speared, hooked, hoisted into the air by their tails, and finally eviscerated alive. The methods, say researchers, result in a long and painful death for these intelligent marine mammals,” says an article in Science Letter. These Dolphins are simply scared to death and are condemned to die. Works Cited Bly, Laura. "Dolphins: How close is too close?" USA Today. 7 Aug. 2009: 09D. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. Catsoulis, Jeannette. "A covert mission to expose dolphin slaughter." New York Times 31 July 2009: C4(L). Gale Student Resources In Context.

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