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Hercules67

Ok, truth be told, I used the title more like a HOOK to get your attention for this news item I found. But the article does state that:

mattk25 · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 1:26 pm Post subject:

I'm not an environmentalist or anything like that, but I don't think there is a purpose for catching and killing dolphins. They are very unique creatures and shouldn't be bothered. I agree with what she did.

NeoFeaR · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject:

I totally agree with what she did, dolphins are great mamals. Also, you are quite right, Dolphins are generally smarter than most degenerate humans out there! =P

Although I do think that anyone who falls to their knees crying about it needs some professional help. It's like she lost a child or something (I hope I don't offend anyone by saying that, if I do, I appologise.)

obsidianflame · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:09 pm Post subject:

I think she's very noble for doing what she did, but at the same time, there's something about it that puts me off. It's a futile effort, regardless of whether or not they were successful. If they had indeed managed to save those dolphins, the fishermen would have just gone out and gotten more. Saving a group of dolphins doesn't save them all, it just angers the fishermen to possibly be even more vicious and vindictive and slaughter even more dolphins than they had originally planned.
If they truly want to change what's happening in Japan, they need to attack higher in the chain. Talk to consumers, arrange a boycott. The fishermen kill these dolphins because it's how they make their living. Supply and demand. If there wasn't a demand, they wouldn't be making money supplying it.

As for why Hayden cried...I cried too. It's a woman's motherly instinct to care for young children, and a lot of times that extends to animals. If she saw a baby dolphin about to be killed, that's really hard to handle, especially if you know that dolphins are intelligent like humans.

Hercules67 · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject:

I agree. When you're young, you tend to be very ideological. The problem sometimes is that nobody listens to you.

OTOH, Hayden is in a position, because of her fame (I am sure that "Heroes" probably has a huge Japanese cult following), to influence consumers over there. Don't you think? So in effect, she might have done this stunt knowningly to influence young fans in that country. And is that such a bad thing? So, in that light, was her crying acting? OR was she really emotionally devastated? I wonder?

I do think that people need to stop killing whales and dolphins for the reasons that used to be stated as needed. At the same time though, you have to offer people education and alternatives.... And you can't just talk about these things here... An occasional letter to a government representative helps. Just my twocents

worth!

Payquage

SuperHiro · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:39 pm Post subject:

I saw a program a few years ago where researchers theorize that dolphins communicate via sonar holography. So instead of telling other dolphin about that killer whale a couple miles away, a dolphin actually sends a visual representation of what it saw to the other dolphin via sonar communication.

My point? Humans have a long history of killing things without really understanding what they are or the level of the atrocity we are committing. Humans need to evolve as a species and start caring about the other species we share this planet with. That's my two cents.

obsidianflame · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:23 am Post subject:

Oh, don't get me wrong. Hayden's presence really helped give attention to the problem, and that's why I think she's noble for doing this. I'm just saying that saving those dolphins wouldn't have actually solved anything. The fishermen's ideologies won't get changed because a bunch of foreigners want to put a stop to their livelihood. In order to effect change, you need to attack the problem at the source.

Hercules67 · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:48 am Post subject:

One of my favorite book of all time is Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective.

In it he has a Chapter (# 24) called: "Some of my best friends are Dolphins" which includes some amazing tales of Dolphin communication and intelligence. When you read this kind of scientific information, and then you hear of other people slaughtering dolphins and whales, it makes you sick.

There are Dolphins that have learned a dozen words of English (apparently their blow hole allows them to duplicate many sounds). To human knowledge, there are no human who have learned a single word of dolphinese.

There are Dolphins who have protected shipwrecked humans from being attacked by sharks -- documented in News articles from around the world.

There is a story of a Dolphin who after he was liberated from captivity, was let loose and was followed. When it made contact with a school of Dolphins , there was an extremely long and involved sequence of sounds indicating some "sort of conversation". Was it an account of his imprisonment?

This and many other such stories make you wonder about the world around us... BUT most people? They just don't give a damn.

So, yeah, I am glad Hayden did what she did, I just hope like Payquage said she did not endanger anybody else who was not a willing participant. The whole killing of Dolphins and Whales culture needs to change.

As Carl Sagan says at the end of Chapter 24:
"Though the search for extraterrestrial intelligence may take a very long time, we could not do better than to start with a program of rehumanization by making friends with the whales and the dolphins."

Payquage · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 4:29 am Post subject:

SKQ62 · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject:

No question about it, I think what she did was very brave. Considering some of her fellow actresses of her age just end up making fools of themselves and getting ridiculously drunk, for her to so publicly and devotedly act for a cause she believes in... I just have nothing but respect for that action.

Payquage · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:02 pm Post subject:

Good point. Here's to Hayden not passing out at nightclubs or hitting anyone with her car.

Jormengrund · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

I think her point is valid, but the way she went about stopping this was totally wrong.

Just because she stops one group isn't going to keep another group from doing the same thing. Most fishermen are quite superstitious, and if they believe that something is causing them to not have as good a season as they're supposed to be having, then they'll act to try and eliminate that block.

Take the Sea Lions over here on the Washington and Oregon State coastlines. There have been hundreds that have been slaughtered just so that fisherman can have a decent catch during their peak seasons, and it's even been proven that the Sea Lion herd sizes are smaller now than they were back when the fishermen were having large catches. Does it make sense? No. But because someone is willing to put 2 and 2 together, they figure that's the reason that they need to kill off a natural predator.

Anyway, I'd say that Hayden should be commended for her willingness to stop the inhumane acts, but she needs to learn how to really affect the way something works, and not just try to put one small band-aid on a gaping wound.