The Netherlands should apply consequences to Japanese dolphin slaughter
Marianne Thieme has put forward Parliamentary questions encouraging Prime Minister Rutte to call Japan to account about their dolphin slaughter and whaling. The Prime Minister was in Japan on a trade mission.
In recent years, the Dutch government and Lower House have frequently spoken out against Japanese dolphin slaughter and whale hunting through a set of commitments and a series of adopted motions. Since Prime Minister Rutte was going to Japan on a trade mission on 10 and 11 November, Chairwoman Marianne Thieme of the Party for the Animals took the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister in Parliament how he was planning to give consideration to the official Government position against these Japanese practices and to prior commitments to remain a strong opponent.
Marianne Thieme: “Now is the time for the Prime Minister to translate words into deeds and make it clear to Japan that the Netherlands will not stand for dolphin slaughter.”
Taiji
Each year, cruel dolphin hunts and slaughterings take place in Taiji, Japan, which are closely linked to the trade in dolphins with dolphinariums worldwide. Japan has issued 23,000 licenses to coastal cities that allow the owners to capture dolphins from the wild. Firstly, the finest animals are sold at a high price to dolphin trainers from all over the world for their dolphinariums. The remaining dolphins are then killed in a gruesome manner by having a metal rod driven into their heads. Each year, hundreds to thousands of animals are killed this way during hunting season.
In addition, Japan structurally ignores a decades-old ban on commercial whaling, without international government leaders acting against it.