Broome tells Japanese city to stop dolphin slaughter

Last semester, we read in our textbook about the Australian town of Broome.

Well, Broome was in the headlines today, in an article in the Japan Times. Broome is apparently twinned with the city of Taiji in Wakayama. The two cities have a long history: people from Taiji emigrated to Broome in the early 20th century to teach the local people how to dive for pearls.

It appears that Taiji is now famous, or infamous, for an annual slaughter of dolphins. This slaughter has been given a great deal of negative publicity, and this year, despite the long history and the close ties between Broome and Taiji,

The local council in Broome voted unanimously Saturday to send a warning to Taiji to end its dolphin “harvesting,” council head Graeme Campbell said Monday.

At the same time, a documentary has been made about the annual Taiji dolphin slaughter, and has already been screened in the US. The English version of the Asahi newspaper has the story:

A U.S. documentary film that features footage of the annual slaughter of dolphins in a tiny cove in Japan has stirred waves of controversy here since its release at the end of July.

Moviegoers who have seen “The Cove,” directed by Louie Psihoyos, said they were stunned by the cruelty of the killings, captured by concealed cameras.

Many newspapers have blasted the traditional coastal whaling practice in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, which is not subject to the International Whaling Commission‘s ban on commercial whaling.

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  In Japan, the context for understanding modern whaling is to be found in its relationship to centuries-old traditions; and a small part of this history is illustrated by this narrative screen showing …

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