Proof that Human Cruelty Knows No Bounds...Or Reason

Today I watched a horrifying documentary about dolphin fishing in Japan. It received an academy award for best documentary and if you haven't seen it yet I would highly suggest you watch it. I was able to find it online at http://milledrive.com/videos/32340/The_Cove.html


I have never been so disgusted and horrified in my life. How can money and industry drive human beings to do such cruel things to animals? I have been a vegetarian for years because I found out how appalling animals are treated in factory farms in an effort to save money. But chickens and cows are one thing. Dolphins are intelligent creatures who I believe we can truly learn so much from. I don't see how someone can honestly think that a dolphin deserves to be slaughtered in such a heinous way just for their meat, which is contaminated with mercury and not suitable for human consumption.


In the documentary, OPS gave the fisherman an offer. They said keep your boats in the harbor and we will pay you the amount of money you would make today killing dolphins to not slaughter today. They turned it down saying it was not about the money, the government is encouraging these slaughters and deeming them as "pest control."


With each and every day I feel I lose more and more faith with human decency. Ignorance, greed, and cruelty run rampant, not just in our society, but all over the world. People do not care about this earth. They care about their wallets and filling their stomachs. God help me if I ever turned a blind eye to this cruelty.


Some argue that we have a god-given right to dominion over animals. That we are superior beings. I will not argue as to the validity of that statement but I do know that this sort of cruelty could never be "a God-given right." The Japanese fisherman claim that it is in their culture, their "right" to dominion over the seas. When in reality, most Japanese are completely unaware of this practice of hunting dolphins and find it atrocious.


People cannot all be this monstrous. It is my hope that if enough people become aware of this, action can be taken. I am currently in the process of setting up a fund raiser at my university to support the OPS's cause to stop the dolphin hunts and hopefully will one day be able to travel to Japan and write and publish a story about this. If you would like any more information about this cause and how to help you can email me at khall08@apu.edu or make a donation and get involved at http://www.takepart.com/thecove