I hate Dolphins

[Breaker]

In case any of you are unaware, a group of American and Australian surfers went to the fishing village of Taiji to sabotage a fishing operation in the name of animal rights.

Read the article and take a look at the video about it here.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21587718/

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=843_1193927344

Now...

Once a year in the fishing village of Taiji, they hunt dolphin. It's a local cultural tradition and not illegal. They do eat the dolphin! The news recently is advocating the harassment of a bunch of fisherman by a group of rich white American teenage surfers that were in a foreign country interfering with their cultural beliefs, who afterwards fled the country from prosecution.

More information regarding the village and their customs can be found at the address below.

http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2306

I loathe people that put the time and resources into saving the lives of animals over those of their fellow human beings. It's a little fucked up, isn't it? There are starving children in other parts of the world that are so desperate for food that they would kill and eat your first born child for an ounce of nutrients. Where's the harm in feeding them a little dolphin instead?

Furthermore, I'd love to see how much it cost these kids to fly to another continent, the price of their gear and equipment, and what their annual salaries are. Paddling out to a remote cove in a fishing village in a foreign land and interfering with their culture was not the best way to have saved these dolphins or prevent the future culling of dolphins.

They were eco-terrorists and we're glorifying it.

Good times.

[Lilith]

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[Gleeok]

I think that their actions would of been justified if there were innocent tuna getting trapped in the nets.

[Zaphod Q. IX]

I especially enjoy the part about how the surfers (including an extremely air-headed actress) "escaped before the police arrived." Those are the words of the video's narrator, not me. If these people had been wronged so horribly, perhaps they should have waited for the constables to show up on the scene, before fleeing.

Breaker, let me invite you to go on a dolphin hunt. Next year, when these indigenous people go on their hunt, you and I shall join them...my treat. As long as we eat some dolphin, and donate all kills to the tribe. They can build their houses out of dolphin skin. :)

[Nicholas Steel]

article link is down.

[Mitsukara]

I hate to post and risk some sort of AGN drama, but I promise to pay no further heed to any response so as to avoid such.

That said, I would say it's not so much the dolphins that should be hated so much as dumbass extremists. Yes, I'm all for "animal rights", but this sort of attempt is just stupid and helps nothing, for either side of the debate.

That said, dolphins are awesome, but there's also something to be said for respecting others' culture. If you want them to change, which is debatable to begin with, then at least have the decency to try to approach them with respect and try to legitimately open their minds on the subject, don't show up with some anghsty, flash-in-the-pan riot bullshit. The only function that can possibly have is to draw equally bullshit media attention, and slightly less so but still bullshit forum topics.

Also, anything involving 'celebrities' seems to automatically be dodgy and/or bullshit, I can't help but notice. Yay American 'culture'. Usually I feel dumb and awkward when I don't know something common that people are talking about, but I feel proud when I realize I have no idea who the fuck people like 'Nick and Jessica' are, and that I really give not one quarter of a shit.

And just for one last P.S.B.S. thought, I happen to agree that Americans should worry a bit more about feeding, y'know, the starving Americans. Broad-based philanthropy is great, but it's hypocritical in many cases. Doesn't draw the good ol' media attention when a rich person feeds and clothes a bunch of people in cardboard boxes in Chicago or Hollywood quite like trying to 'save the dolphins' or help people in fubar India.

(Also, Breaker, if you should read this, I would appreciate it very much if you could let Amber know I sent her a PM here on the forums. I hope that you aren't terribly disgusted with me in general, and hopefully what I write to her should explain a bit about what's going on with me for her at least.)

[Breaker]

I was ranting, not interviewing to be on Good Morning America. I'll let Amber know.

[phattonez]

I don't see how this effects any of us, so why are we complaining? Lilith . . .

[Lilith]

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[phattonez]

Dolphins are not funny, they are mildly amusing. What's so bad about eating dolphins anyway?

[The_Amaster]

I saw the title here, and said "Dude, I have to know"

I agree to a degree. People who cause more harm to the enviorment by flying a jet to south America, so that they can "protest" some enviormental thing tick me off. If your going to help the enviorment, work out how to actually do it instead of pretending. Do your research. Anyone who's read "State of Fear" knows what I mean. I don't agree with that book totally, but it has the right general idea.

On the topic of dolphins, well, if the entire world were hunting and eating them to extinction, that should be stopped. But some villages cultural tradition? Its not worth the effort.

[MasterSwordUltima]

I think this was from Futurama; "You can't eat dolphin! Its an intelligent creature!" "Not this one, he spent all his money on fake lottery tickets"

Also, rich white americans can suck it. Long and hard.

[AlexMax]

Calling them animal rights activists gives them too much credit. There are many other more productive ways to save endangered species, but people like these are simply vandals and psychopaths who use a "feel good" cause to rally behind for an excuse to ruin someone's way of life.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

At least they're harassing the right countries this time. Asian countries are far more cruel to animals than our slaughterhouses are, that's for damn sure. TBH, I agree with their sentiment, at least partially. That is, I'm not against them eating dolphin, just against them killing them so brutally.

[Aegix Drakan]

Well, I <3 Dolphins and all, but...

>_> These "animal rights Idiots" (so to speak) acted like total morons. There is nothing wrong with a once a year cultural dolphin hunt, especially if the animals are eaten and not put to waste.

If they were slaughtering dolphins every day of the week, and leaving the carcasses behind, THEN it's a problem, to say the least.

To me, this whole issue just rings of "I wanna become famous quick!".

[Anarchy_Balsac]

Well, I <3 Dolphins and all, but...

>_> These "animal rights Idiots" (so to speak) acted like total morons. There is nothing wrong with a once a year cultural dolphin hunt, especially if the animals are eaten and not put to waste.

If they were slaughtering dolphins every day of the week, and leaving the carcasses behind, THEN it's a problem, to say the least.

To me, this whole issue just rings of "I wanna become famous quick!".

My problem with it though is the fact that they could kill them unconscious with a bullet or something instead of shredding them to death fully conscious. There's no excuse for using the slaughter methods that they use.

[Lilith]

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[Gerudo]

Meh, if it was humans, everyone would be going batshit crazy.

I remember a certain football player most of us looked down on in disgust for his treatment of dogs. While I generally don't give a fuck about shit like this, I completely agree with Anarchy_Balsac in terms of humanely killing animals.

[Aegix Drakan]

Same here. >_> At least have the decency to kil it before you grind it up. Although, after hearing about what KFC does to its chickens... >_> I don't think the western hemisphere is doing much better...

Oh, and Lilith, You won't think it's so awesome if in your next life, you come back as a dolphin in that area. :P

[Russ]

Wellm it doesn't really seem humane to grind the dolphins alive. I agree with you guys, shoot them before you grind them up. Although I am personally against killing dolphins. They are the second most intelligent species on the planet. Give them some respect.

[Lilith]

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[Breaker]

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=4fb2bcea-e33a-4228-a367-f7c4534de551

http://stars.ign.com/articles/835/835708p1.html

There's a warrant for Hayden Panettiere's arrest in Japan, who was one of the "activists" involved.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

Ah geez, she annoys some fisherman and they wanna arrest her? She should have just gone ahead and cut the net.

[Breaker]

They were cutting the nets.

[Icey]

Calling them animal rights activists gives them too much credit. There are many other more productive ways to save endangered species, but people like these are simply vandals and psychopaths who use a "feel good" cause to rally behind for an excuse to ruin someone's way of life.

I think this quote proves your point: "They were so pretty. They were teddy bears in the water".

Seriously, what kind of shitty justication is that? She shows the understanding of a two year old. I doubt this girl has any real conception of why she even did what she did, other than because it's a popular cause and she's devoured a lot of propaganda.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

They were cutting the nets.

Hmm, interesting as I didn't see anything that said she had. Although if they did, it was the right thing. Asian countries need to quit torturing animals to get their precious meat.

[Breaker]

You're seriously singling out Asian countries? I'm not all for butchering dolphins, but there's a way to change the world, and this wasn't the right way to go about doing it. She was in a foreign country breaking their laws. These fishermen were doing their job. Making a living. Feeding their families. For a group of Americans to surf out and start fucking with their livelihood is pretty pretentious.

This wasn't protesting, it was harrassment.

[copsgotguns]

its a known fact animal lovers dont actually love animals, they just really, really hate humans. with that being said, i love animals!!!

[Anarchy_Balsac]

You're seriously singling out Asian countries? I'm not all for butchering dolphins, but there's a way to change the world, and this wasn't the right way to go about doing it. She was in a foreign country breaking their laws. These fishermen were doing their job. Making a living. Feeding their families. For a group of Americans to surf out and start fucking with their lively hood is pretty pretentious.

This wasn't protesting, it was harrassment.

I understand your point, but it's to the best of my knowledge that the Asian countries, while not the only offenders, are by far the worst ones. So if you were to help animals, that's where they could use the most help. I don't care if being heartless and cruel is their job or not. If someone paid you to throw fully conscious babies into meat grinders all day so that you could feed your family, would you do it? Cus I know I damn sure wouldn't. They deserved to be harassed. And in fact, they belong on the inside of those grinders, fully conscious.

[Breaker]

Don't take this as an insult, but you're not very good at arguing your points. Culling dolphins for food is not the same as throwing human babies into a grinder.

Regardless of the moral ramifications, the fishermen in Japan had the right and law on their side to catch and slaughter dolphin for food. These rich white kids went into their country and harassed them while they were doing their jobs. If they want it stopped, they could have peacefully protested or made the public more aware of what was going on in ways that wouldn't have broken their laws. If they step foot in Japan again, they'll be arrested.

The United States does many things that other countries oppose and protest again. The Death Penalty, the War in Iraq, etc. It's hypocritical to travel overseas and force our ideals on a small village that depend on fishing. There are plenty of causes worth fighting for more important than this. Instead of wasting money traveling out there and harassing them, they could have donated it to a legal and more diplomatic way of protesting the issue.

At the end of the day, this was just a shitty way for Hayden Panettiere's publicist to boost her publicity and play down the fact that she was breaking the law in another country.