The Cove is a documentary which talks about slaughtering of dolphin in Taiji, Japan. Personally, after I discovered that there were indeed so many massacre of dolphin in a small cove, and recognising how cruel the killing was, I felt so upset as I did not notice such catastrophe before. There are several reasons for hunting practices mentioned in the movie. For example, the geographical location is perfect for the hunting as there are many coves in Taji, which are surrounded by highlands on three sides. Moreover, there is a quite long history for dolphin hunting to the Taiji people, which is part of their cultures. But most importantly, is the ambiguous attitude of the Japanese government toward the hunting problem.
But why did those people …show more content…
But the meats of the whale, including the dolphin, are extremely poisonous due to a high level of mercury. Therefore, the whale meat should not be sold in the market. Yet, there are thousands of dolphins are killed every year in Taiji. Most of the whale meats that people buy in the Japanese markets actually come from dolphins. The most astonishing fact is that the Taiji mayors try to distribute the dolphin meats, with the non-profit purpose, for the Japanese school lunch. Since they school lunches are compulsory for students, they will actually eat the toxic dolphin meats, and it definitely harms their health. But government in Japan tries to hide everything behind, even via the media blackout. The documentary mentioned one example that impressed me, it was the mercury incident in Minamata, which also called the Minamata disease. Local people were affected because of the illegal waste dumping. But the government tried to cover those things up, as the polluter was the one of the advanced factories in Japan. Consequently, if the government brings all the stuffs on the stage, such as the toxic meats and cruelty, the whaling industry will bear the brunt …show more content…
So the standard of IWC has been criticizing for a long time, since they are protecting the large whales, while excluding the small dolphins, but actually dolphins are also whale. And why it is toothless is that it does not have the mandate to look at issues affecting dolphins. On the other hand, the documentary also stated that Japanese government was trying to manipulate the IWC. The research pointed out that in 2002, most of the Japan’s initiatives could not gain the support of majority (Miller & Dolšak). So the Japanese government recruit voting by giving developmental aids to the small bankrupt countries, which was mentioned in the documentary. The foreign aids serve as a diplomatic tool, the receivers will thus follow the interest of Japan, in order to make IWC more Japan-friendly (Miller & Dolšak). In short, the documentary reckoned that the IWC was not an effective, or even useless organization, to deal with the dolphin hunting problem.
I reckoned my self as an accomplice of the slaughter of dolphin. Because before I was impressed by this meaningful documentary, I thought dolphin were adorable, and their performances were absolutely fascinating. So when I went to the Ocean Park, the dolphin performance was the must-go place. But because all of us think that dolphins are cute, and paying money to watch the dolphins
But why did those people …show more content…
But the meats of the whale, including the dolphin, are extremely poisonous due to a high level of mercury. Therefore, the whale meat should not be sold in the market. Yet, there are thousands of dolphins are killed every year in Taiji. Most of the whale meats that people buy in the Japanese markets actually come from dolphins. The most astonishing fact is that the Taiji mayors try to distribute the dolphin meats, with the non-profit purpose, for the Japanese school lunch. Since they school lunches are compulsory for students, they will actually eat the toxic dolphin meats, and it definitely harms their health. But government in Japan tries to hide everything behind, even via the media blackout. The documentary mentioned one example that impressed me, it was the mercury incident in Minamata, which also called the Minamata disease. Local people were affected because of the illegal waste dumping. But the government tried to cover those things up, as the polluter was the one of the advanced factories in Japan. Consequently, if the government brings all the stuffs on the stage, such as the toxic meats and cruelty, the whaling industry will bear the brunt …show more content…
So the standard of IWC has been criticizing for a long time, since they are protecting the large whales, while excluding the small dolphins, but actually dolphins are also whale. And why it is toothless is that it does not have the mandate to look at issues affecting dolphins. On the other hand, the documentary also stated that Japanese government was trying to manipulate the IWC. The research pointed out that in 2002, most of the Japan’s initiatives could not gain the support of majority (Miller & Dolšak). So the Japanese government recruit voting by giving developmental aids to the small bankrupt countries, which was mentioned in the documentary. The foreign aids serve as a diplomatic tool, the receivers will thus follow the interest of Japan, in order to make IWC more Japan-friendly (Miller & Dolšak). In short, the documentary reckoned that the IWC was not an effective, or even useless organization, to deal with the dolphin hunting problem.
I reckoned my self as an accomplice of the slaughter of dolphin. Because before I was impressed by this meaningful documentary, I thought dolphin were adorable, and their performances were absolutely fascinating. So when I went to the Ocean Park, the dolphin performance was the must-go place. But because all of us think that dolphins are cute, and paying money to watch the dolphins