A horrible whale massacre took place last month near the infamous town of Taiji, south central Japan, renowned for its cruelty. It sickened (and rightfully so) millions of empathetic people as they helplessly witnessed cold-blooded executioners in-action.
Try as it may, the minke whale could not escape from these wretched penned fishing nets.
Image credit: Ren Yabuki/LIA
On Christmas Eve 2020, a minke whale unsuspectingly swam into a pen of stationary nets near Taiji. Ren Yabuki, an animal activist with the Life Investigation Agency, fortuitously saw it. Using a drone, he documented the whale’s plight and enlisted the global support of animal lovers to free our brethren and sistren of the sea.
Image credit: Ren Yabuki/LIA
Animal welfare workers dubbed this minke whale ‘Hope’. Concerned citizens from all four corners of the world appealed to Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, to release the imprisoned whale. For 19 days the world watched this frightened, trapped mammal and the indifference of the nation of Japan. Prime Minister Suga refused mercy for ‘Hope’. Ugh.
Image credit: Ren Yabuki
On the morning of January 11, 2021, two vessels carrying 10 men departed the Taiji harbor. The gruesome slaughter that ensued was documented on film by Yabuki’s drone. That bloodlust was mortifying.
The whale-killers knew that they were being filmed. As they moved in to corner the terror-stricken minke, one bully bastard deliberately tilted his head toward the sky to make eye contact with the drone. He grinned wickedly at the world.
At 6:49AM, a thick rope fastened onto the edge of the vessel cinched the minke whale’s fluke (tail), hanging it upside down. For 20 minutes the terrified whale’s head was forced underwater as it bled and violently flailed. Second by second, the world witnessed this sentient being suffocated while 10 men gleefully stood by.
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Image credit: Ren Yabuki
This perverse and cruel behavior towards the whales, that intend us no harm, is absolutely unfracking acceptable.
Globally, abattoir regulations prevent this inhumane, harrowing and prolonged form of writhing in pain before death. Shame on the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, for condoning this senseless destruction of life, especially amid the accelerating man-driven Sixth Mass Extinction.
If the human race is to continue in this century, we need all the remaining cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) alive and performing their vital ecological roles. Cetaceans are shepherds of the sea. They provide us, and all life forms, with oxygen in addition to sequestering vast amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide and burying it along the sea floor. See The Gen Z Emergency for fascinating details.
Love of one and others, and respect for nature are central to a healthy, generous and kind life.
That Japan drowned ‘Hope’ is a clarion wake-up call for all of us to double down our efforts to protect defenseless animals, our co-partners. Allow me to remind you that eight billion people depend entirely upon the existence of two million other species of life on this blue planet, in order to survive. Ladies and gentlemen, we need them, they don’t need us.
Until Japan halts all its whaling and annual small cetacean hunts, we must boycott Japanese goods and services, including the Tokyo Olympics (if they occur at all). Together, we are an unstoppable force for goodness.
Hope for a better tomorrow is what keeps eight billion people going!
#LoveIsTheSolution
#LoveNature
#Respect
#Empathy
#Compassion
#ConsumeLess
#GoVegan
#WalkMore
#GenZEmergency
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Dr Reese Halter is an award-winning broadcaster, distinguished conservation biologist and author.
Dr Reese Halter’s latest book is now available!
GenZ Emergency
Tweet @RelentlessReese
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