A new horror was brought to my attention by the
documentary film The Cove. Animals
that have always been presented as friendly loving creatures are being
slaughtered and tortured for no justifiable reason. An interesting comparison was brought up n
the film between the killing of cows and the killing of dolphins. There are
many examples of unethical killing in the meat industry, but something makes
the murdering of these sea creatures different.
In Spain there is the tradition of a bullfight, which is seen by many as a cruel mistreatment of animals. Having gone to a bullfight as a young child, the scenes in The Cove reminded me of the bloody
stabbing of the bull. However, the
difference in this scenario is that bullfights are a true Spanish tradition
unlike the Japanese fishermen claim whaling to be. Also, the meat of the bull
is cut and sold directly after the show where as dolphin meet is snuck in to
groceries and elementary school lunches slowly poisoning a population. I think
what makes this story so horrific is that humans have been conditioned to love
these highly intelligent creatures. With the TV show Flipper thousand of children fell in love in the image of a bottle
nosed dolphin coming to the rescue.
The opening song of the show Flipper.
It has been proven that dolphins are highly
aware of their surroundings. Just imaging the terror they must feel swimming in
the thick pool of blood of their companions sickens me.
