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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide

The Dolphin Genocide

Ivan J. Martinez
The University of Texas at El Paso

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide

Abstract
This paper looks at the controversial topic of dolphin meat and the drive hunts that come
along with it. The goal is to show the cruelty of the drive hunts and how traumatic it can be for
the dolphins. As well, as to show the health risks and issues that can come with eating dolphin
meat in order to better inform the public about this tragedy and hopefully move others to
continue to fight for Dolphins. Lastly this paper addresses some counter arguments that many
who support dolphin meat and the hunts that go with them and rebuttal toward these arguments.
The research for this paper was found in various scholarly journals and articles, as well as well
recognized newspapers.

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
Dolphins are generally seen as cute lovable creatures who perform tricks, are intelligent,
and are often seen as saviors from those rescued by them. Yet there are places in the world where
hundreds to thousands of dolphins are being slaughtered for their meat; whats more is that this
meat is contaminated with mercury which can harm people in variety of ways, because of these
reasons dolphin meat should be taken off the menu and off the killing list.
When it comes to dolphin meat before you eat it, you must obtain it. The way this is done
is through drive hunts that are performed every year. From Arguments Against Dolphin
Slaughter from The New York Times (2010) it talks about The Coves documentary segments on
the slaughter of dolphins during this hunt, in which it states Dolphins are capable of panic and
pain, both of which they suffer in this hunt. (Revkin, Andrew 2010) This statement is based off
of The Coves documentary segment in which hundreds of dolphins were lured into a cove using
modern day equipment and then slaughtered turning the cove a dark red. During the course of
this slaughter, the dolphins could be heard giving out horrendous screeches as they were stabbed
with spears and other killing devices. This statement helps with the documentaries video painting
a sad and morbid picture of what dolphins must go through during these hunts and how cruel
they can be. This is absolutely unacceptable having hundreds of dolphins and thousands around
the world being killed in this way. In fact, should this be done with other animals, it is
considered animal cruelty and should be considered the same with dolphins as well.
Even when faced with this gruesome slaughter the Japanese who partake in this claim it
is part of their culture, April Holloway (2014) states, While the practice is widely condemned in
the West, the local people of Taiji argue that they are simply maintaining ancient traditions
which have been around for centuries. We will pass down the history of our ancestors to the
next generation, preserve it. We have a strong sense of pride about this, said the Mayor of Taiji,

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
Kazutaka Sangen. Showing that many of villagers as seen say this has been a part of their life
for generations and is part of who they are as a people. Claiming that taking such an important
part of life from them is a great injustice to their heritage just like taking away practices from
another culture would be just as unjust.
Yet dolphin hunts of today are nothing like the dolphin hunts of their ancestors. While
their ancestors hunted and killed only a handful a week, today they kill hundreds a week as well
the modern-day method of drive hunting is carried out by a fleet of 13 high-speed boats
equipped with radar and GPS which locate pods of dolphins or pilot whales and, using steel
poles in the water, create an underwater wall of sound. The dolphins, which rely on sonar to
navigate, are immediately disoriented and terrified and swim frantically to shore to escape the
noise. Many die of cardiac failure in the process. (April Holloway, 2014) This is obviously not
the culture the Japanese are trying to preserve but an industry based on the mass slaughter of
dolphins in cruel and devastating methods. As seen in the small segment from this article it
greatly differs from that of their ancestors and traumatizes the dolphins greatly before they are
stabbed to death. This is not some ancient tradition but an excuse to continue to perform drive
hunts. As well many things were ancient culture like slavery yet just because it is ancient culture
does not make it right especially in todays modern world.
Cruelty to dolphins is not the only thing we need to worry about, but the health of those
eating dolphin meat as well. Tibbetts, J. (2003) states In samples of boiled small cetacean livers
purchased between 1999 and 2001, the researchers found an average total mercury level of
370.00 ppmThese levels are a thousand times greater than the worst sample that we got in
predatory fish in the United States. This shows an extremely high level of mercury within
dolphins around the Japanese area which can cause multiple health problems or even death. This

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
spike caused the Japanese government to put regulations on how much mercury can be in
dolphin meat and how much mercury can be consumed a day. Though I feel this is not enough
due to obvious health risks.
The risks that come with this kind of mercury contamination dolphins can be mild to
severe depending on how much you consume and how contaminated the dolphin is. As Ekino et
al (2007) states Acute adult cases of MeHg poisoning present the following manifestations:
blurred vision, hearing impairment, olfactory and gustatory, ataxic gait, clumsiness of hands,
dysarthria, and somatosensory and psychiatric disorders. These are just a few general health
issues that can be suffered by those who eat dolphin meat. These risks should far out way the
benefit if any from dolphin meat yet people still eat it. These are health issues that should not go
on ignored and should be brought up time and labeled on the meat products like the U.S does
with cigarettes or alcohol.
In addition to mercury poisoning, there can also risks from platinum poisoning due to
pollution in the oceans. This is evident in a study from Bioaccumulation of platinum group
metals in dolphins caught off Ghana, African journal of Aquatic Science (2008), This Study
suggests that PGM pollution levels are very significant even in open seas. Shown in Table 2
from this study.
Table 2: Platinum Group Metals (PGM) concentrations in dolphin samples. (DK1DK4 = PGM levels in kidneys; DL1DL4 = PGM
levels in livers; DM1DM4 = PGM levels in muscles; (note that the numbers 14 respectively indicate the individual dolphins that
were tested; ND = below detection limit of 0.001 g g1; SD = standard deviation)
Tissue concentrations (g g1 SD)
Sample no.
Pd
Kidney samples
DK1

Pt

Rh
ND

0.161 0.024

ND

DK2

ND

0.345 0.052

ND

DK3

0.099 0.015

ND

0.025 0.004

DK4

ND

ND

ND

Liver samples
DL1

ND

ND

ND

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
DL2

0.195 0.029

0.675 0.101

0.037 0.006

DL3

0.040 0.006

0.946 0.142

0.023 0.004

DL4

0.481 0.072

0.754 0.113

0.011 0.002

Muscle samples
DM1

ND

0.258 0.039

ND

DM2

0.299 0.045

ND

0.001 0.0002

DM3

0.049 0.007

0.239 0.036

0.013 0.002

DM4

0.264 0.040

0.243 0.036

0.005 0.007

258

This table shows how platinum contamination can be found within the liver, kidneys, and muscle
in high enough amounts to endanger people to platinum poisoning. This contamination is
suspected to cover a wide area due to movement of dolphins and several factories that may be
dumping platinum based pollution into the ocean, which can affect a large area of people who
also eat dolphins.
If Japan continues to allow sloppy regulations with mercury within dolphin meat there
could be another Minamata disease relapse. As Ekino et al (2007) explains, In the early 1950s,
massive methyl mercury (MeHg) poisoning of residents living around Minamata Bayprimary
route exposure to MeHg in this incident was the consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated
with a high concentration of MeHg. This incident happened in Minamata, Japan where large
amounts of people ate mercury contaminated fish much like people today eating mercury
contaminated dolphins. Because of this incident there should be more awareness of what others
are putting in their mouths and those who are eating dolphin meat should learn of this event to
better understand the risks of eating this food.
Among these reasons to stop drive hunting for dolphin meat is the astonishing fact that
dolphins are intelligent beings, as stated in Is Dolphin a Person? by Grimm, D. (2010) Defining
exactly what it means to be a person is difficultbut dolphins seem to fit the checklist many
philosophers agree. There are the obvious ones: Theyre alive, aware of their environment, and

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
have emotions; but they also seem to have personalities, exhibit self-control, and treat other
appropriately, even ethically. This small segment just shows how dolphins are capable of things
that are on the level of humans. Dolphins are just as aware as people having complex emotions
like humans do and often act like humans in many ways. Because of this, dolphins should be
given the same respect as humans get even more so because they are intelligent creatures who
are also capable of saving humans, showing compassion towards people. Even amongst animals
there is no other that compares to dolphins in the land or sea making it that much more evident
that dolphin meat should be put off the menu.
From being slaughtered in horrific manners to the danger of eating dolphin meat, to even
the dolphins shocking likeness to humans, isnt it time to take off Dolphins from the menu from
these regions and treat them with the equal kindness people often see from them? The answer is
yes! Dolphins should be free from these horrific hunts and people should be saved from the
deadly toxins within the meat. For humans to continue to grow they must expand the circle of
compassion to others just like dolphins.

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide

Bibliography
Ekino, S., Susa, M., Ninomiya, T., Imamura, K., & Kitamura, T. (2007). Minamata
disease revisited: An update on the acute and chronic manifestations of methyl
mercury poisoning. Journal Of The Neurological Sciences, 262(1/2), 131-144.
doi:10.1016/j.jns.2007.06.036

Essumang, D. K. (2008). Bioaccumulation of platinum group metals in dolphins,

Stenella sp., caught off Ghana. African Journal Of Aquatic Science, 33(3), 255-259.
doi:10.2989/AJAS.2008.33.3.8.620

Grimm, D. (2010). Is a Dolphin a Person?. Science, 327(5969), 1070-1071

Holloway, April (2014, January 21) Ancient Customs Used to Justify Dolphin
Slaughter. Retrieved from http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/ancientcustoms-used-justify-dolphin-slaughter-001245

McNeill, David (N/A) Taiji: Japans Dolphin Cull and Clashes of Culture. Retrieved
from http://www.japanfocus.org/-David-McNeill/2306.

Psihoyos Louie, The Cove documentary, 2009 July, 31

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Running Head: The Dolphin Genocide
Tibbetts, J. (2003). Mercury in Japan's Whale Meat. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 111(14), A752.

Revkin Andrew, C. (2010, March 11) Arguments Against Dolphin Slaughter. The
New York Times. Retrieved from dotearth.blog.nytimes.com