ONE DOLPHIN COST US $ 200,000, BUT THOUSANDS BEING BUTCHERED IN JAPAN

The mass slaugther goes ahead with the backing of the government, but without the majority of the population being aware of it.

The former dolphin trainer has been fighting to protect the marine mammals since1970.

But the Japanese fishermen,backed by the country’s government, are slaughtering thousands of dolphins off the coast, while ignorring both international protests and concerns over contaminated dolphin meat being sold to the public.

Part of the marine mammals’s flesh is also sold in Japan, despite warnings of high-level mercury contamination, according to animal rights activists.

Dolphin activist Richard O’ Barry said “the dolphin meat is highly contaminated.” He also sharply criticzed Japan’s government for keeping both the controversial slaughter and the contamination secret from the Japanese populatiion.

Annual slaughter in Taiji and other Japanese fishing towns, often cruelly stabbed with kinves, hooks and lances.Individual,particularly beautiful dolphins are selected in a lagoon with the aid of dolphin trainers and sold off at high profits to aquariums and dolphin shows around the world.

Fishermen disable the dolphin’s sense of direction by hammering on metal rods held into the sea,thereby herding them into a laggoon secured by nets.

It often happens that babies are seperated from their mothers and that pregnant dolphins miscarry because they panic.

Mr O’Barry said that one dolphin can fetch up to US $ 200,000 and some of the survivors of this year’s cull were destined for Germany.

Between October and April, some 16,000 to more than 20,000 of the mammals are brutally killed in the annual hunt in Taiji, a quaint whaling town 700 kilometres south of Tokyo, waves lap against steep rocks of a popular national park.

However, visitors are kept well away from the slaughter happening in a secluded lagoon near by Environmentalists also accuse Japan of killing the dolphins and other small whales because thy eat many fish.

A part of the killed mammals is processed into pet food and fertiliser.

The activists secretly filmed a movie in the Taiji lagoons, which is to be presented in January 2009 at the Sundanese Festival.

MR O’Barry remains hopeful about being able to stop the killing soon.

Hundreds of live monitor lizards are seized in Malaysia

Malaysian marine polices have in last two weeks week of October 2008 seized the protected animals in a jungle cabin in Pahang state.

The alleged protected animals including 1,244 clouded monitor lizards, 17 water monitor lizards and 11 pythons are believed to be worth about 500,000 ringgit, said Mohamad Hassan Hasmin who is the east coast marine intelligence chief.

The animals are prized for supposed medicinal value,and served as “exotic” Chinese and Vietnam dishes in restaurants.

There are many hunters in Pahang state, who are well paid by the capitalist smugglers, have been hunting the protected animals for years long due to good demands
from Hong Kong, China and Vietnam.

The animals are illegally transported to China via Thailand, Laos and Vietman.

In the past a lot of wildlife Pangolin had been seized in different areas inside Thai soil around the border.

The smuggllers used the jungle routes to avoide the border polices intercepted.

Thais are also hired in the illegal transportation from the Malaysia border to Laos border from where continued to Veitman.

Beside the protected animals, dogs are also needed in Vietnam.

Almost monthly, tens of thousands of dog are collected across the Thailand ant sent to Laos via Mae Nam Kong river and then to Vietnam markets.

The dog meat is not only delicious but also cheap.

Korean peoples are likely to be the most to have eaten dog’s meat.

Basically, all of the exotic animals in Thailand are not permitted to be trade in.

The worat culprits of the illegal wildlife trade are some of the countries in Southeast Asia.

China’s reputation is among the worst when it comes to the illegal trade in wildlife.

Wildlife Smuggling

Wildlife trade is illegaly among the largest trades in the world,rivalling the illegal drugs and arms trades.

The figures suggest the trade is worth about US $ 10 billion per year.

It is frightening figure indeed.

Famous cases of illegal trade include the black Rhinoceros and Pangolins.

Horns of Rhinoceros are used for daggers handles as a symbol of masculinity in Yeman and meat of Pangolins are used as an Aphrodisiac in China.

China’s reputation is among the worst when it comes to the illegal trade in wildlife.

Traditional Chinese medicines include Rhino horns,Tiger bones and Tiger penises and Bear’s bile.

All are unproven Aphrodisiacs and are extremely costly to buyers.

In the past, Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has frequently seized a large number of Monitor Lizards and wildlife customs officials seized Pangolins, believed to be destined for Veitnam via Thai and Laos.

Wildlife smugglers are able to obtain the Pangolins and Monitor Lizards in the forest area in Malaysia where the hunters are collecting the most wanted Pangolins meat of which is naturally the best food for the rich Chinese.

They commonly believed the meat of Monitor Lizard and Pangolin were Aphrodisiacs and worth more than gold on the black market.

Apparently, more than 200 Monitor Lizards were confiscated by police force in the northeast earlier October, ‘08 and Wildlife customs officials seized the 288 Pangolin kept in the wood boxes at Don Muong Airport.

They are hunted for the bush meat trade .