Image courtesy of Save Japan Dolphins
Two weeks ago, Ric O’Barry made a very public–and definitive–proposition:Â “I want [the Foreign Press Club] to go to the grocery store with a meat section and buy it and have it tested, just like we did,” he said, “If the meat is not contaminated with mercury, I’ll go away and never come back.”
Well, according to the Japan Times, Ric O’Barry might just get what he’s after, albeit through a different method. The fishing village of Taiji has collected hair samples from 3,500 residents to be tested for methyl mercury linked to the consumption of dolphin meat. Those whose tests reveal mercury will be encouraged to get further testing.
The welfare official of Taiji said the tests were part of periodic health checks; whether that is true or not, mercury testing in Taiji is still an encouraging sign for dolphin activists. Undoubtedly, The Cove drew international attention to the issue, and traces of mercury in the 3,500 hair samples could be the push the movement needs to halt the annual slaughter and sale of dolphin meat.
UPDATE:
Louie Psihoyos, director of The Cove, knows that the issue of mercury poisoning is expands beyond the borders of Japan: “The tragic irony is that the dolphin is the only wild animal that throughout history is legendary for saving the lives of humans,” he says. “Unfortunately the only way we humans can save the life of a dolphin now is to prove that we have made their environment so toxic that we cannot eat them. And it’s not just dolphins and whales that are becoming toxic, it’s all the seafood we like to eat like tuna, swordfish, marlin, shark, and even freshwater fish like walleye pike and bass. And that’s not just a Japanese problem–it’s a world-wide problem.”
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Photo credit: malias’ photostream/Creative Commons
CATEGORIES: Global Health
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I will be very curious to see who will over see the testing. I’m sure the Japanese government has a vested interest in having the results show that there is no contamination. I believe they could go as far as pressuring people to make sure the results are in their favour. I will be very suspicious if they all come back negative for mercury.
This may come across as inhumane, but I sincerely hope nearly all of those residents test positive for very high levels of mercury. But then again, so is the way they slaughter and massacre those dolphins.
Its good to see a ‘just as concerning’ issue is being addressed with the dolphin culling, which is community health and poisoning, but whats with the labels? Is this a product mistaken for a dolphin meat picture? Or is there yet another scandal going on in the Japanese food community? FYI- The label on this picture this says “Bacon 1,300 (yen)” Have Dolphins joined the swine family?
Chaz, your argument is very dangerous. It would be awful for other countries to wish any of the stupid stuff we do abroad to come back at us. It also suggests that you value the life of a dolphin over that of human beings. Americans that eat canned tuna or sushi as a regular part of their diet are going to test positive for mercury if they get their hair sampled. I imagine since the Japanese diet consists of so much fish, that you will get your wish and every one of those residents will test positive for mercury. It does not prove anything except that we have succeeded in polluting our planet enough that there will soon be nothing healthy to eat. Don’t forget that the United States lead the world for harvesting whales in the mid 1800’s. Now it leads the world in poisoning them with all of our garbage and chemicals. Even in 1850, sailors noticed that whales were being overfished. Dolphins were considered good for eating back then by sailors. What stopped America from hunting whales was the arrival of kerosene—not Green Peace or any kind of higher morality. You haven’t read Moby Dick, have you?
It is interesting but insufficient for me. We have no right on 2009 to kill dolphins. It is simply indamissible!
Im with u on this one Chaz, let’s not forget how those dolphins were slaughtered, makes me sick, if they come back positive on the mercury issue even better for the dolphins!
Re: Mike
Thanks for your question about the labeling of the meat on the photo that has now been removed. That photo was initially labeled on its host site incorrectly; in turn, I did, in fact, mistake it for an image of dolphin meat. Thank you for the heads-up.
“The moral progress of a nation and its greatness should be judged by the way it treats its animals.”
Mahatma Gandhi
dolphins need protection from human greed
human need limits to their avidity
EVOLUTION