We are hypocrites to criticize the Japanese people for there hunting of dolphins.

"However, there is a prominent difference between the hunting and killing of dolphins and the slaughtering of cows, pigs, or other farm raised animals. The release of the documentary, The Cove, showed in graphic detail how hundreds of dolphins are herded into a cove near the village of Taiji, and killed with knives and spears. In the film the cove waters turned crimson with blood. "Our analysis shows that this method does not fulfill the internationally recognized requirement for immediacy," says Andrew Butterworth of the University of Bristol Veterinary School. "It would not be tolerated or permitted in any regulated slaughterhouse process in the developed world." The ways of killing of dolphins and raised animals in the United States are not at all comparable, as the killing of dolphins is extremely inhumane, as explained by Butterworth, and is not tolerated by any slaughterhouse in the world. Western culture is not at all hypocritical between the slaughtering of farm raised animals or dolphins, as the method for killing is incomparable." "Dolphins are being inhumanely killed and there has been a decrease in the amount of dolphins. They are deceived because of the way the hunters stress them out with vibrations under the water, making them come to the surface and be stabbed, taking from 5 to 300 seconds to die. It is not humane, as their echolocation is being used against them. Unlike slaughtered animals in the United States, dolphin hunting does not have any regulations to make sure it is humane and pain free as possible." Obviously the killing of these dolphins is horrific but I very much doubt that it exceeds the practices of some slaughterhouses in inhumanity, it is difficult to show the inhumanity of slaughterhouses without picking on individual examples but I will try, these are all common practices in slaughterhouses, suspending cattle by their legs while still living [1], sometimes the hide is removed while alive [2], the throats of cattle are cut [3], there are many other problems relating to battery farming [4]. I would argue that this is almost equally as inhumane as the killing of dolphins, I do see issues with the Japanese hunting of dolphins (I would have to be blind not to) but I don"t see any less problems with slaughterhouses in the western world. "Secondly, it is important to discuss the differences of the slaughtering of animals compared to dolphins, as there are guidelines to making slaughtering humane and as pain free as possible. For example, sheep and cow are a few animals who are in proper restraints to prevent the animal from turning around or unable to stun. Stunning methods are used to make the animal unconscious before it is slaughtered in order to eliminate pain, discomfort and stress from the procedure. Dolphins slaughtered by Japan, however, have no guidelines or regulations to insure a humane death." This relies on the idea that it is humane to kill something which is stunned, it may be more humane but any killing (with the possible exception of euthanasia) be it of a human or animal is not humane and there is no real way to get around this. "Thirdly, there are certain dolphin species that are endangered, one type has not been seen in years, and probably the first type of dolphin to most likely to be extinct." Correct me if I"m wrong but the dolphins slaughtered are bottlenose dolphins [5] which are not endangered [6]. There are varieties of dolphins which are endangered but they are not slaughtered in these hunts. "We are definitely not attacking other cultures, as it is not apart of the Japanese cultures. Dolphin sold in Japan is usually mislabeled or sold for counterfeit whale meat. Samples of dolphin meat has been tested, and has shown to exceed even Japans heath recommendations. It has over 5000 times more mercury than the advised amount, since the toxic waters the animals are in. It is not only inhumane, but also unsafe. As it is not sold as a regular Japanese food, it is not a part of the culture, nor is it healthy. In addition, a Hindu could campaign for the rights of cows, and would not be viewed as racist, as it is their culture and beliefs. However, since the separation of church and state is present, the government cannot deny others from eating beef. The hunting of dolphins can be analyzed, however, because of the cruelty of it." I would appreciate it if you could back this up (I"m sure it was a mistake and you do have a link and as you have been meticulous in documenting the source"s of your arguments I"m sure the claims you make are genuine, it would just help me). Much of the dolphin meat is in fact sold as dolphin meat [7] (obviously if it turns out that a large amount of dolphin meat is being sold as whale meat that is wrong on almost every level, however I wonder if this is more of a loophole needing to be closed than an outright deception). There are health risks involved when anything is eaten, a large percentage of the western world is overweight [8] this is primarily from overconsumption of meat [9]. I would argue that anyone should be able to put anything into their bodies so long as they haven"t been coerced and they know the risks. Whale and dolphin meat has been eaten by the Japanese people for thousands of years [10], it is as much part of the culture in certain parts of Japan as consumption of cows in the US. I do not live in a country with separation of church and state and there may be differences but I suspect if a large scale hindu campaign was launched against the inhumane treatment of cows, the hard right wing of any western country would instantly latch onto it however this is simply speculation and not by any means the core of my argument. [1]http://www.bbc.co.uk... [2]http://www.pbs.org... [3](NSFL, really I mean it, this is disgusting) http://www.animal-rights-action.com... [4] http://www.my-cause.com... [5]http://www.theecologist.org... "250 Bottlenose dolphins were netted" [6]http://en.wikipedia.org... [7] http://www.seashepherd.org... [8]http://www.cdc.gov... [9]http://bringthewaves.blogspot.co.uk... [10]http://www.whaling.jp...