2010-03-09

Whale Meat Served In US?

The New York Times is reporting that the producers of the movie the Cove may have brought their dedication to protecting dolphins and whales back to the US.

The New York Times reports In the clash of two Southern California cultures — sushi aficionados and hard-core animal lovers — the animal lovers have thrown a hard punch.

“This isn’t just about saving whales,” said Louie Psihoyos, the director of “The Cove,” a documentary that chronicles eco-activists’ battles with Japanese officials over dolphin hunting. “But about saving the planet.”

The sushi sting actually began in October, when the documentary’s associate producer .... Charles Hambleton, heard from friends in the music industry that the Hump, a highly rated sushi restaurant next to the runway at the Santa Monica airport, was serving whale.

Video of a meal by two activists shows the two activists,...being served what the waitress can be heard calling “whale”

The samples were sent to Scott Baker, associate director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. Professor Baker said DNA testing there revealed that the samples sent to him were from a Sei whale, which are found worldwide and are endangered but are sometimes hunted in the North Pacific under a controversial Japanese scientific program. “I’ve been doing this for years,” Professor Baker said. “I was pretty shocked.”

Waiters identified a meaty course of whale, referring to it at times by its Japanese name, kujira, at a cost of $60, according to a federal affidavit.

What WDCS would ask is why is japan saying it needs to hunt more whales if whale meat is ending up in [a] Japanese restaurant in the US?

How much have they got spare and how much is someone making in this illicit trade?

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