Argumentative Essay Eng 101

In the small village of Taiji, there is a hidden cove where Japanese fishermen slaughter thousands of dolphins each year. The massacre of these dolphins goes on for six months out of the year. The dolphins are driven in to captive by using torturous underwater noises and large nets to trap them in to this cove where they are slaughtered. Some of the dolphins are killed in the cove, by fishermen cutting their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears, while others are taken off shore into trucks and dragged by their tails to be killed later.

The surrounding water is bright red with the blood of these dolphins and the air is filled with their frightening screams. Besides the abuse and unnecessary killings of these beautiful creatures, another issue that is going unnoticed is that the dolphin meat is filled with mercury and being consumed by the Japanese unknowingly. The last major issue is dolphinariums supporting the Japanese fisherman by paying thousands of dollars for selected dolphins to live in captivity for entertainment purposes. The massacre of dolphins taking place in the small killing cove in Taiji is absolutely horrific.

Not only are these creatures being killed for unnecessary reasons, but they are being tortured in the process. The chase starts off with fishermen driving long metal rods into the ocean and pounding on them with hammers to create a sound barrier that will frighten the dolphins. Once the dolphins hear this noise, they panic and swim toward the shallow cove. This grueling chase can continue for up to eight hours and once they are in the cove, nets are placed to ensure that they will not escape. Early the next morning, after the dolphins have been entrapped all night, the fishermen come in small boats to slaughter the dolphins.

They drive long metal spears into their bodies, slit their throats, and sometimes cover their blowholes to drown them. While these innocent dolphins fight for their lives the fishermen have absolutely no guilt or remorse for what they are doing. The dolphins are being killed for no reason in particular, in fact, the Japanese fishermen view what they do as a form of pest control. “The Japanese government tell the fishermen that dolphins are “pests” that eat too many fish, but the real reason for fishery declines is over-fishing, climate change, and pollution. ” (http://www. campaign-whale. org. campaigns/Japan/dolphins)

Another pressing issue that has been covered up is the consumption of dolphin meat unknowingly. The meat is highly contaminated with mercury and is not safe for human consumption. Levels of mercury in the human body poses serious health risks, especially to pregnant women and children. The contaminated dolphin meat is falsely packaged, and people are consuming this food believing that it is high-end fish meat. The mercury filled meat is also ending up in school lunches and children are coming down with serious illnesses and deformities due to the carelessness of the fishermen packing this meat.

Hypothetically, if dolphin meat was safe for consumption, it is highly unbelievable that 23,000 dolphins need to be killed each year to meet consumption needs. Dolphin meat sold to the Japanese people is highly contaminated with mercury, methyl mercury, cadmium, DDT and PCBs. The Japanese government provides no warning that eating dolphin meat poses a serious health hazard. (http://www. guardian. co. uk/film/movie/ 132131/cove. ) Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the dolphin drive hunt is the active role that some dolphinariums play in sustaining the hunt.

The fishermen of Taiji would will drive a large school of dolphins into the small killing cove, and dolphins trainers flock to the scene to find the best-looking dolphins for their display facilities. By doing business with the fishermen and paying up to 200,000 dollars a dolphin, they are maintaining the dolphin drive slaughters. The growing selection process drags on for several hours, and some dolphins die from either shock, injuries, or exhaustion. During this time some make frantic attempts at staying at the surface of the water, but their pectoral fins have been dislocated or broken.

An injured dolphin is worth nothing to the aquarium industry and the dolphin trainers simply hall the dying dolphins back into the water and dump them, showing no emotion whatsoever. (http://www. savejapandolphins. org/faq. php) Dophinariums that purchase dolphins claim that they are saving the dolphins from slaughter, however, this is entirely inaccurate. The only save the ones that can be commercially exploited and leave the “rejects” to be killed by the fishermen.

There are many facts to support that the killing of the dolphins in Japan is unnecessary, brutal, and morbidly wrong. The way that these animals are chased and tortured before they have to endure an excruciating death is heart wrenching. This is an issue that is ongoing despite the continuous attempts to stop what is happening. The only way to stop the killings is to expose them to the world. The goal of trying to get footage of the slaughters is for awareness purposes because the more that this issue become exploited, the better chance there is to stop what is happening to these dolphins.