Mention a dolphin to someone in the United States and they'll think about a trip to Sea World, maybe, or Flipper, the dolphin that was the star of the mid-1960s TV show. Talk about a dolphin in rural Japan and some people think of supper.

Locals know they offend Western sensibilities by eating dolphins, but they say it's a tradition hundreds of years old. And they say outsiders have no more right to tell them to stop eating dolphins than they would have to demand that Westerners stop slaughtering chickens or cows.

"I know there are many different ways of thinking in different societies, but for us who've been eating this for a long time ... it's an awkward thing to be criticized for," says Kayoko Tanaka, a retired middle school teacher. "I either fry dolphin meat or turn it into a stew."

That disgusts Ric O'Barry, a 68-year-old retired dolphin trainer from Miami, Florida, who makes a second home in Taiji, where he goes to unusual lengths to fight against the tide of local tradition.

O'Barry sometimes dresses as a woman or wears a large surgical mask to disguise his Western identity on trips to spots overlooking the ocean. He prowls the cliffs with a video camera, hoping to catch fishermen in the act with footage that could stir emotions and raise awareness in the West.

..I would shoot myself..

..I would shoot myself..

REDFEATHERS said:

How would you hold the gun with flippers though?

I don't have a problem with people EATING Flipper, I've got a problem with how they hunt him.

Teacher said:

Yeah its best to hunt them with diamond encrusted gloves and purple boots..

REDFEATHERS said:

Fuck that mundane rubber boots and pants stuff

I can't say I side with that O'Brian dude. He exploited those animals to make money so how much can one respect him?

Anyway, people there eat dolphin, people here eat pig...both have been proven to be extremely intelligent, sensitive animals. What's the diff?

If you can't practice what you preach, you should shut the fuck up.