WDC Blog - From the Front Line

I think I may have written on this issue before, but its actually incredible that when you begin to investigate behind the rhetoric, the Japanese arguments for whale meat being an integral part of 'being Japanese' start to waver and then crumble. The Ashai Shibun, a respected Japanese newspaper, earlier this month tackled this very issue.

I quote the article directly here;

‘Hiroyuki Watanabe, a researcher of environmental sociology at Kyoto University, said the practice of eating whale meat began to spread across Japan around 1900, following the introduction of the Norwegian-style whaling method using harpoon guns.

The new whaling technique triggered strong opposition in some parts of Japan.

In 1911, up to 1,000 fishermen in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, staged a demonstration against a whaling company because they considered whales sacred creatures.

Similar protests took place in Chiba and Ishikawa prefectures.

Despite government support for the whaling industry, whale meat accounted for only 10-20 percent of Japan's total meat supply in the 1930s.

Eating whale meat became more common during the U.S.-led occupation of Japan after World War II when whaling in the Antarctic Ocean gained the approval of the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers.

Between 1946 and 1965, whale meat accounted for 23-46 percent of Japan's meat supply. But after that, whaling restrictions caused the supply to shrink, and the meat was replaced by chicken and pork.

Watanabe said eating whale meat became common during limited periods in certain parts of the country.

"(Eating whale meat) is a dietary habit developed in part because of government policy," Watanabe said.’

The full article can be found at the Ashai Shimbun

Again it would seem that its Japanese Government policy to maintain whaling and not any will of the people of Japan. Its a similar story in Norway, where fishermen once chased whalers out of their communities because they thought that whaling would destroy their fish stocks, and the quotas for whaling are decided by parliament as a finger up to the world!

I have been away for a few days, but was pleased to return to the UK to find that a UK court had convicted two men for harrassing a dolphin.

The convictions last week in Kent related to ‘reckless disturbance’ (as prescribed in the amended Willdlife and Countryside Act) and followed another case a few months ago in a court in Banff where a man was also convicted (in this case under Scottish law) of recklessly disturbing dolphins.

So what is astounding is that some UK newspapers seem to have taken the position of the men involved in defending their right to be drunk and get in the water with a protected species! Maybe thats not what the newspapers actually meant but having read the articles several times, it does appear that the papers are putting the interests of people to exloit dolphins before their need for protection.

Dave, the dolphin in Kent, was a small, almost certainly juvenile and solitary bottlenose dolphin.  This species is rare in the southeast and these solitary dolphins are particularly vulnerable as they often live in a relatively small, easily accessible and busy inshore area. That people want to interact with them is perhaps understandable, but dolphins are protected by law for a reason.   Studies show that, not only can people disturb their feeding and resting patterns but also that those dolphins that become habituated to people are significant risk of being either deliberately or accidentally harmed. 

Of the four solitary dolphins in UK waters since 2006, two are now dead and the other two, including Dave, are missing . Dave was badly wounded before she went missing and we fear that she too is now dead.   Dave’s story, including her injury, was similar to that of many other solitary dolphins and illustrates how much they need care and protection.  

I mentioned a while ago that TV presenter Nigel Marven was planning to run the London Marathon in support of our Protect Our Dolphins campaign...well, he did it, in a fantastic 4 hours and 4 minutes!  A huge thank you to him and an equally big thank you to everyone who sponsored him.

As I write we have raised just over £7000 in sponsorship for Nigel but it would be so fantastic to push this to a nice round £10k.  With £10k we could do so much to protect the amazing dolphins of the Moray Firth.  Not only do we need to continue to lobby the UK Government to stop their crazy plans to allow oil and gas exploration in the dolphin sanctuary but we need to carry out extensive legal and scientific research to add weight to our claims and strengthen our arguments.

It's not too late to give your support to this campaign - just visit www.justgiving.com/nigelmarven - thank you!

And it's not just Nigel who's been getting active for whales and dolphins.  WDCS supporter Rachel Long has recently returned from trekking the himalyas to the home of the Dalai Lama in support of WDCS, Michelle George, Emily Reakes and Mark Gazzard are all cycling from London to Paris to raise funds, Steve Weatherley is planning to swim the channel in September, Leanne Bowen is taking up our Save the Whale Week parachute challenge in June and there are many more fantastic WDCS supporters challenging themselves, having a great time and raising money while they do it.

If you fancy cycling through Cuba, jumping out of a plane, collapsing in a sense of achievement and sheer exhaustion at the summit of Kili or battling whitewater rapids in a raft...we can help!  Just call our Events Team on 01249 449500 or visit www.wdcs.org/getactive and we'll give you all the support you need.

Anyway, enough of my rambling (ooh - you can go rambling for WDCS if you fancy it...). I was just thinking about all the amazing people out there doing all these great things for whales and dolphins and thought I'd give them a mention and a thank you.