Dolphin killing in Taiji should be ban

Every years about 1,200 to 1,800 of dolphins are killed in Taiji. The dolphin killing season takes place from September 1st through March. The season starts on the morning before sunrise, about 13 fisherman boats head out to deep water where the dolphins migrate. When the dolphins swim by, the fishermen position their boats perfectly evenly spaced. Then they put long poles in the water which have a flange on the bottom. And they just bang on the poles with hammers which create a wall of sound to frighten the dolphins. The dolphins are driven into a small hidden cove near Taiji harbor where the fishermen seal the mouth of the cove with two large nets, and the dolphins are trapped. At the end of the day, the fishermen leave the dolphins in the cove overnight before they kill them, because they believe the dolphin meat tastes better if the dolphins are left overnight to calm down after the chase. Just before sunrise on the next day, the fishermen herd the trapped dolphins into shallow water, close to the rocky beach. Here, they kill the dolphins with long, sharp spears and stab the still living dolphins with sharp fishermen's hooks and haul them onto their boats. The water's color is changed by their blood and the air is filled with their screams. In my opinion this is a terrible thing. Dolphins are beautiful creatures and killing them is cruel and inhumane. There are also issues of the health for people who eat the meat and the loss a valuable tourist attraction.
First of all, as I said dolphins are beautiful creatures. Killing them is cruel. It is time to end this old but inhumane tradition. People don't need to kill dolphins to live any longer, so it is time to move on.
Second, the dolphin meats are unhealthy and contaminated with toxic chemicals. The meats has been found to have extremely high level of mercury, cadmium, the pesticide DDT, and contaminants like PCBs. The levels are high enough to pose a health risk for those frequently eating the meat and researchers warn that children and pregnant women shouldn't eat the meat at all. Because of the health concerns, the price of dolphin meat has decreased significantly. In 2010, the National Institute for Minimata Disease tested for mercury from hair samples of 1,137 Taiji residents. The average amount of methy mercury found in the hair samples was 11.0 ppm for men and 6.63 ppm for women, compares with an average of 2.47 ppm for men and 1.64 ppm for women in 14 other locations in Japan. The dolphin meats also had the same result. In 2003, International teams of scientist working in Japan have analyzed hundreds of samples of whale and dolphin meat. They found that more than 90% of the samples exceeded limites for one or more pollutants. The average level of mercury was more than five times the maximum allowable level, while the average concentration of methyl mercury was four times the maximum level. As you know, Mercury poisoning is a cause of Minamata disease which effects with brain neuron. The most serious health risk of these high levels of mercury is to pregnant women and their children. The symptom include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. Although the fishermen of Taiji and the Government of Japan know that the dolphin meat is highly contaminated, they have done nothing about it.
Finally, Dolphines are more valuable alive as a tourist attraction than dead. Dolphin and whale watching is big business these day, with tourists from around the world paying billion of dollars each year only for watching them. This business is estimated to be worth up to $2.1 billion per year worldwide to whale and dolphin watching operations. There are a lot of place for watching dolphins in the world even arctic and southern ocean, for example watches in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Canada and more.
In summary, many dolphins had been killed for eating in Taiji. The sea is full of their blood and the screams can be heard through the air every year. Also the meats are too poison for eating. Instread killing them, we should change from their meats to the attractio of tourist business which is a big business and will be increase in the future. This cruel and inhumane situation should be stopped.
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