A Tinton Falls (NJ) man was charged with eight counts of animal cruelty today.  Victor Amato, SPCA investigator, went to the man’s home and reported the following,

They found three puppies shivering uncontrollably and five adult dogs all left out in a pen that had enclosures so open that the puppies would have been dead within a few hours.  There was no food, no water, no adequate shelter.

Japan launched a six-vessel fleet with the goal of killing over one-thousand whales for ‘research’ purposes including fifty humpbacks. 

One thousand whales.  One thousand dead whales, for research.

This slautering (that’s what this is, after all) of humpbacks is the first since 1963 when they initially hit endangered status.  Fortunately, their numbers have increased dramatically since a half century ago.  Japan vows that since their numbers are abundant, they’re killings, for research, is fully justified as it won’t diminish the species.  However, humpbacks are still on the endangered list, and are still marked as being protected.  Why, then, Japan thinks it’s justified is beyond me — especially since the killings are not needed for any form of research.

We note that non-lethal research techniques are available to provide nearly all relevant data on whale populations. (AFP)

However, Japan has rebutted the non-lethal claim, also known as complete bullshit.

Such research is vital to understanding the size of whale populations, the age and reproductive status of the creatures and the effects of environmental damage. (Guardian)

Several countries are against the whale hunt, including the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.  These countries have denounced the whale hunt, and have also questioned the justification the Japanese are using under the ‘research’ umbrella.  New Zealand’s prime minister, Helen Clark, publicly condemned the expedition.

The fleet should have stayed at home, and condemned the expedition as commercial whaling in the guise of scientific research. (Guardian)

Going further, the by-products of the research, also known as the whale meat, are sold on the open food market and restuarants.  And doing a little more research, apparently the Japenese encourage their young to eat more whale meat and consider it a delicacy compared to our high-end meats and seafoods.

How Japanese can justify killing thousands of whales for research, though, is beyond me.  Not that killing one or two for research makes the idea any better, but what’s the research benefits over killing one thousand over just killing two?  The Japanese really need a thousand dead whales to perform their research? And they need a thousand dead whales whom are endangered?

Their hunt is just inhumane, and they should face some form of trade sanctions for doing so. 

Plus, Japan’s need to kill thousand of dolphins?  Nothing short of genocide.  Take Japan off my list of the places I’d like to visit one day.  Culture heritage my ass, too.  I’m all for honoring your past, but there’s need to kill just because the people before you did so.  Make sure you visit the save the Japanese dolphin campaign website.