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.
The comparison that you bring up between the Spanish bullfights and the killing of dolphins is interesting. Another difference between the two would be that the bulls used in bullfights come from a huge resource. If the human population has been able to perfect one thing, it would be the ability to breed livestock on a massive scale. However, dolphins are not bred by humans and it takes a long time for them to reproduce.
The comparison to bullfighting brought up a good point. I didn't know that the meat from bullfighting was directly cut and sold after the show, avoiding wastefulness. Dolphins swimming in a pool of their own blood sickens me as well, and that was kind of the scene that REALLY woke me up and made me aware of the problem.
I wish we could put our finger on exactly what makes dolphins so different from other animals. There's obviously something there. But, before we can, I think it's important to look at dolphin slaughter within the context of our relationship to other sources of meat. 42 million cows suffer for our meat consumption each year, versus 23,000 dolphins, and 250,000 bulls. http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/cows.aspx http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/the-world-society-for-the-protection/
I did not really think before about the comparison that you brought up about the relationship between dolphin meat and other sources of meat. Its a scary reality. The comparison provides perspective on the issue and brings out a multitude of issues that a lot of humans do not want to deal with.
Good point about the dolphin hunting not really being an actual Japanese tradition in comparison to actual traditions such as bull fighting. I also never knew that the bull's meat was sold after the fights.
I didn't even think of comparing dolphin fishing to bullfights. To me, the main difference is that bullfighting is a lot more ritualistic, so you kind of get a sense that the bull and the bullfighter are both playing an important role. The dolphin fishermen just go in, terrorize the dolphins, and then butcher them in droves. I'm still not quite sure where I stand on whether bullfighting is humane or not, but it's definitely preferable to dolphin fishing.
Comparing bullfighting and dolphin killing is intriguing. Both animals are used afterwards as resources for food, even if dolphin meat is toxic, but I feel like they are both unethical, even if one is a true Spanish tradition. I've been to cockfights and dogfights before and it makes me sick to see such cruelty among people and animals alike. It's unnerving to think that people kill these animals for pure entertainment. Although we have been taught to adore dolphins growing up, some nations are taught to respect bulls and cows. No matter where you go, there are going to be people who have different opinions on the nature of killing animals. The Japanese clearly have a different viewpoint than Americans on killing dolphins. They don't see them as cute, loving, entertaining pets like we do. They see them as business, money, food. Sustainable living. They need it just as much as the Spanish needs the bull meat, and we need our cow meat. Our cultures set us apart from each other which causes great discourse between us.
To see that a group of human beings lack the empathy to stop them from slaughtering thousands of harmless dolphins is a sad wake-up call. It seems like arms and legs have made our population selfish. Dolphins are just as, if not more, brilliant than humans. As you mentioned, they have a true sense of insight into their surrounding world. I wish people chose to respect and learn from them rather than feel superior.
I hadn't thought about the comparison between bullfighting and the slaughter of the dolphins before reading this. And while slaughtering bulls for entertainment and tradition isn't ethical either, the idea of a bull coming from a massive scale of livestock and being murdered then sold directly to the people that watched the fight seems a lot less horrifying than a group of wild dolphins being frightened into a corner and stabbed to death in order for people to make money, even if it means poisoning a nation.
The comparison that you bring up between the Spanish bullfights and the killing of dolphins is interesting. Another difference between the two would be that the bulls used in bullfights come from a huge resource. If the human population has been able to perfect one thing, it would be the ability to breed livestock on a massive scale. However, dolphins are not bred by humans and it takes a long time for them to reproduce.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison to bullfighting brought up a good point. I didn't know that the meat from bullfighting was directly cut and sold after the show, avoiding wastefulness. Dolphins swimming in a pool of their own blood sickens me as well, and that was kind of the scene that REALLY woke me up and made me aware of the problem.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could put our finger on exactly what makes dolphins so different from other animals. There's obviously something there. But, before we can, I think it's important to look at dolphin slaughter within the context of our relationship to other sources of meat. 42 million cows suffer for our meat consumption each year, versus 23,000 dolphins, and 250,000 bulls.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/cows.aspx
http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/the-world-society-for-the-protection/
I did not really think before about the comparison that you brought up about the relationship between dolphin meat and other sources of meat. Its a scary reality. The comparison provides perspective on the issue and brings out a multitude of issues that a lot of humans do not want to deal with.
DeleteGood point about the dolphin hunting not really being an actual Japanese tradition in comparison to actual traditions such as bull fighting. I also never knew that the bull's meat was sold after the fights.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think of comparing dolphin fishing to bullfights. To me, the main difference is that bullfighting is a lot more ritualistic, so you kind of get a sense that the bull and the bullfighter are both playing an important role. The dolphin fishermen just go in, terrorize the dolphins, and then butcher them in droves. I'm still not quite sure where I stand on whether bullfighting is humane or not, but it's definitely preferable to dolphin fishing.
ReplyDeleteComparing bullfighting and dolphin killing is intriguing. Both animals are used afterwards as resources for food, even if dolphin meat is toxic, but I feel like they are both unethical, even if one is a true Spanish tradition. I've been to cockfights and dogfights before and it makes me sick to see such cruelty among people and animals alike. It's unnerving to think that people kill these animals for pure entertainment. Although we have been taught to adore dolphins growing up, some nations are taught to respect bulls and cows. No matter where you go, there are going to be people who have different opinions on the nature of killing animals. The Japanese clearly have a different viewpoint than Americans on killing dolphins. They don't see them as cute, loving, entertaining pets like we do. They see them as business, money, food. Sustainable living. They need it just as much as the Spanish needs the bull meat, and we need our cow meat. Our cultures set us apart from each other which causes great discourse between us.
ReplyDeleteTo see that a group of human beings lack the empathy to stop them from slaughtering thousands of harmless dolphins is a sad wake-up call. It seems like arms and legs have made our population selfish. Dolphins are just as, if not more, brilliant than humans. As you mentioned, they have a true sense of insight into their surrounding world. I wish people chose to respect and learn from them rather than feel superior.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about the comparison between bullfighting and the slaughter of the dolphins before reading this. And while slaughtering bulls for entertainment and tradition isn't ethical either, the idea of a bull coming from a massive scale of livestock and being murdered then sold directly to the people that watched the fight seems a lot less horrifying than a group of wild dolphins being frightened into a corner and stabbed to death in order for people to make money, even if it means poisoning a nation.
ReplyDelete