Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade signs EDM condeming the slaughter of wild dolphins in Japan.
Mike signed EDM 1004 (Dolphin Hunting in Japan), which draws attention to this serious and ongoing problem of dolphin hunting. The Japanese government continues to ignore the established International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling. This moratorium was put into place both in order to curb the hunting of dolphins, porpoises and whales and is key to maintaining a healthy wild population of these animals.
Mike said: “I am very concerned by this shocking news that dolphins are being slaughtered in large numbers by Japanese sailors, with the support of the Japanese government. This practice, in particular the horrific way in which many of the dolphins are killed, is intolerable and must stop. I have long been a supporter of animal rights and I continue to campaign in Parliament for sensible and humane policies on fox hunting and badger culling.”
EDM 1004 – Dolphin Hunting In Japan reads:
“That this House condemns the recent slaughter of over 40 wild dolphins in Taiji, on Japan’s Pacific coast; notes with concern the capture of a further 52 dolphins for sale to aquariums and other customers including a rare albino dolphin calf, separated from its mother and now kept in captivity in Taiji Whale Museum; further notes with alarm the Japanese government’s continued support for the practice by issuing quotas for the killing of over 20,000 dolphins, whales and porpoises in its coastal waters every year, despite the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling; deplores the inhumane slaughtering method of severing the dolphin’s spinal cord with a metal spike; is further concerned that the practice of dolphin hunting may be driving some populations to extinction; is alarmed by the high levels of mercury and other toxins found in dolphin, whale and porpoise food products, with reports suggesting dolphin meat is up to 5,000 times more toxic than levels allowed by the World Health Organisation; welcomes the statements made by the US Ambassador to Japan and the British Ambassador to Japan, Timothy Hitchens, opposing all forms of dolphin and porpoise drives; calls on the Taiji Whale Museum to release the albino dolphin calf from captivity; and calls on the Government to continue to raise the issue with the Japanese government at the highest level.”
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