Swiss Animal Activists on Mission to Stop Japanese Dolphin and Whale Hunts

Protesting against Dolphin- and Whale-hunts - Animal Activists are junking a Japanese Car

After a nice and very friendly demonstration in the center of Zuerich, the activists now put their promise to junk a Japanese car into effect. With this action they want to put a stop to the Japanese dolphin- and whale-hunt.

Angie Neuhaus from Lucerne sacrificed her Japanese car for this action: "This car is still running, but I did not want to drive it around any more. All the reports from Japan about the slaughter of dolphins and the hunts to sell them worldwide to the dolphin industry, as well as the whale hunts, have made me very sad. I shall very carefully pay attention that I do not own any Japanese products and I will not buy any in the future."

left: Angie Neuhaus - right: Andreas Morlok (CEO ProWal

At the very impressive demonstration in the center of Zuerich, animal protection activists and passing pedestrians were able to write their opinions about the Japanese dolphin and whale hunts on the car. Amongst those were: "Freedom for the Dolphins!", "Stop the Killing", and "Shame on the Murderers of Taiji". Many of them are Orientals and were quite surprised about this action and the approval rate was quite high.

The demonstration in Switzerland was co-organized by Andreas Morlok, CEO of the German dolphin- and whale protection organization ProWal, who had been an eye witness to several of the dolphin drive-hunts in Japan:

"Dolphins are caught at these hunts and then sold for more than 100.000 Euros to dolphinariums all over the world. This is a lucrative billion-dollar business for the fishermen, handlers and the whole dolphin industry. All the animals that are captive in the around 330 dolphinariums, in existence all around the world, are being exploited for commercial gain until their death.

Those member of a dolphin family that have been caught and are not material to be used for breeding purposes, because they might have scars or skin lesions from fights with sharks, will be slaughtered by the Japanese fishermen. Even young animals or babies are not saved. Mainly bottlenose-dolphins, striped-dolphins, risso's dolphins, spotted dolphins, short-finned pilot-whales, small killer-whales and dall-porpoises are being caught and killed in the coastal waters around Japan. The fishermen get about 400 Euros for the meat of a dolphin, which is sold on the local markets.

We also condemn the false scientific whale hunt of the Japanese, which in reality is nothing but a commercial enterprise. The scientific results that are gained hereby, are totally worthless, because the dead whales are only measured and the stomach content is examined to find out, what the animals ate. Only very seldom dioxin analyses are performed, because people are afraid that the results, which are bound to show that the whale meat is contaminated with mercury and other environmental poisons, will turn the consumers away. Although the demand for whale meat is shrinking in Japan and the country meanwhile is sitting on a mountain of 5.000 tons of frozen and unsellable whale meat, several hundred whales are still being killed under different whaling programs in the Antarctic and in the Pacific."

The animal protection activists will contact the Japanese government and will show them the power of the consumer with their action. The Japanese car was expertly delivered to the junkyard in Switzerland. Angie Neuhaus meanwhile is driving a new car, which is much more to her liking. It is a French product.

The confrontations for the Japanese whale hunters are getting more and more numerous. Just a short while ago the environmental protection organization "Seashepherd" discovered the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic.