Japanese officials condemn eating of dolphin meat

WDCS applauds courage and fortitude of Taiji Councilmen - In an announcement today by the Japan Times, two Assemblymen from Taiji have openly and boldly condemned the sale, consumption and provisioning of contaminated dolphin meat to local city schools. Labeling the dolphin meat as ‘toxic waste’, these council members have verified the abundance of evidence obtained through the sampling and testing of dolphin meat obtained in the drive hunts in Taiji indicating that mercury and methylmercury levels in dolphin meat far surpass the government’s health advisories for mercury levels in food. The tragedy of Minimata and the persistent mercury poisoning that occurred there lingers to this day and is unforgettable in Japan, and Minamata disease remains an important issue in contemporary Japanese society. In the face of such history alone, the issue of mercury-contaminated whale and dolphin meat and the threat posed to Japanese consumers can no longer be denied by the Japanese government. WDCS has sponsored the sampling and testing of whale and dolphin meat by credible and independent researchers, and welcomes the culmination of additional testing and attention to this issue as a primary concern in its efforts to end the drive hunts in Japan.

Japanese officials have openly condemned the consumption of dolphin meat due to its dangerously high levels of mercury.

Speaking to The Japan Times, Japanese Assemblymen Junichiro Yamashita and Hisato Ryono, both from the whaling city of Taiji, described the locally caught dolphin meat as no less than ‘toxic waste’ and condemned the growing practice of feeding this meat to school children.

This is believed to be the first time that any elected official in Japan has openly spoken out against the eating of dolphin meat.

The Assemblymen, who are both independents, said that they had found extremely high levels of mercury and methylmercury in samples of meat from pilot whales killed inshore by Taiji hunters and put on sale in the local area.

Pilot whales are one of the species targeted by the annual drive hunts carried out in Taiji, which are responsible for the yearly slaughter of about 2,300 dolphins. Similar hunts elsewhere in Japan account for at least another 20,000 small whales and dolphins each year.

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Source: The Japan Times