COMMENTARY: Fight dolphin poaching in Japan!

Dear Stars and Stripes,

I am a high school student from Nile C. Kinnick and I want to bring to attention the issue of dolphin poaching. This mass killings are taking place right here in Japan, a land I once thought was full of peace and nature. Now I know of the darkness that lies under that illusion. Due to my new found knowledge of what is happening to multiple species of dolphins, I want to raise awareness to try and gain support to help save the dolphins so we can have them for the future generations to see and learn about.

Thousands of dolphins used to be caught and the numbers have decreased but it isn’t due to the kindness from the fishermen, but really due to the fact that their aren’t as many dolphins to catch anymore. They have laws to restrict the number of fish caught so that the species has time to reproduce and grow, yet they are hunting hundreds of dolphins every year. They capture as many as they can with no respect to how many are left. They do sell some to aquariums but we all know about the controversy going on about Sea World.

Is living in captivity any better than dying to a dolphin? Without their pod they will not survive long anyways, infact even if they do escape from the cove in which they were herded into they stay in a close proximity, not wanting to leave their family.

Now are we really going to allow this barbaric practice to continue? Dolphin meat isn’t even good to eat due to the mercury levels. Due to this I want to, I need to do something about this. Dolphins are magnificent creatures and I would like my future children and their children to be able to go to the beach and see the wild dolphins passing by. I don’t want them to just become a myth, a story that will be told to children before bed. The only way to stop this tragic event from happening will be to address the issue, to get others to see the truth. That is why I messaged you, to gain support and to hopefully have help to spread the word.

Sincerely,

Madison Lindfors