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About 100,000 dolphins and small-scale whales are killed around the world, according to estimates by animal rights activists. That's what the Animal Welfare Institute, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Pro Wildlife organizations write in a report. It was more than we thought before.
For their report, animal rights activists evaluated more than 300 scientific studies as well as testimonials and newspaper articles. They talk about a "horror library". The main reasons for the increase in hunting are as follows: Dolphins are increasingly consumed in poor countries, although they can accumulate pollutants.
They serve as bait for fish, which bite because of the increasingly rare overfishing. Hunting is not regulated in many countries and illegal in others. Their consequences are generally unknown and difficult to estimate, write animal rights activists. Two independent experts did not specifically comment on the report when they were interviewed because they did not have their own conclusions
Cruel Killing
List of Countries with Largest Number of killed animals does not mention Japan. The country had been criticized for its images of dead dolphins and reddish water from the bay of Taiji fishing village. In Japan, since 2000, dolphin hunting has declined sharply from 18,300 to about 2,300 animals killed. This places the country in the tenth rank of hunting countries.
Latin America, Africa, and Asia are moving in this direction. According to the report, Peru is at the top with up to 15,000 dead animals and Nigeria with about 10,000 animals each year. Thousands of dolphins and small cetaceans also die in Brazil, Venezuela, Madagascar, India, South Korea and Malaysia. Even in Italy and Turkey, NGOs have encountered cases.
Not only were the numbers scary, but also the way they were killed. The animals would be bombarded with harpoons, surrounded by boats and nets, killed with spears, machetes, rifles, knives, hooks or dynamite. "The number of methods has increased," said Sandra Altherr, biologist and co-founder of Pro Wildlife.
As bait
Sliced dolphin meat is increasingly used as a hook or trap. Fishermen hunt fish for consumption such as shark, tuna or piracatinga in the Amazon. Threatened freshwater dolphins would also be hunted here because they are very greasy and therefore have good baits, said Altherr. "In many countries, shark fishing is the biggest motivation to hunt dolphins."
Other researchers are also seeing a new development. In addition, they note a decline in hunting in Japan and an increase in other countries.
According to the report, dolphin meat in West African countries is replacing the diminishing returns of local fisheries to feed the growing population. Fish stocks are thinned by international industrial fleets, so the locals do not have enough for their own care.
Teeth are popular jewelry
Even bycatch, where dolphins end up in the nets, is a growing problem. At least in countries where by-catch could be used commercially, animals no longer landed in the net by accident. "There we see that there is a transition to a planned hunt," Altherr said. On the other hand, animal teeth are sought after wedding jewelry, where about a thousand animals die each year, according to Altherr.
Dolphins and small cetaceans are not protected from the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on large whales. Pro Wildlife. Ecologists demand international protection regulations. Until now, there is only one scattered patchwork, which consists of regional rules and hunting bans for some species. In many countries, hunting is not limited. (SDA)
Posted on 30.07.2018 | Updated at 10:29
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