In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Today's News: Our Take
"Emotional" Heroes Star Dismissed by Dolphin Hunters
Hayden Panettiere courtesy SavetheWhalesAgain.org
A video circulating on the Internet (watch it here) shows a group of animal-rights activists confronting fishermen in Japan about their practice of hunting dolphins and whales. Among the activists is Heroes heroine Hayden Panettiere, who in tears recalls her encounter with an ill-fated pilot whale, saying, "This baby... kind of looked at us, and the thought that [it] is no longer with us is very difficult."
According to the AP, the Japanese fishermen rationalize their pursuit by saying, "Whales and dolphins are traditionally being used [as resources] in Japan" and as such, "We cannot accept an argument simply based on emotional causes."
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 8:58 AM
|
|
Poor whales and dolphins, Hayden I support your cause and we love you!
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 1:49 PM
|
|
Big deal people eat cows and chickens everyday, cry me a river
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 2:25 PM
|
|
Maybe she was crying because she's watched the awful second season of Heroes.
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 3:58 PM
|
mick:
They farm cows and chickens. They are bred as meat machines. What's in the ocean is a natural source that has been overfished for many years. It is not sustainable at these levels.
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 4:00 PM
|
|
It scares me that there are people like Mick in this world...
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 4:11 PM
|
I wish celebrities would stop caring about these less important issues so freakin' much. If you are gonna raise issues over stuff, then at least make it something to do with humans. Example: starving people in Africa. Isn't that more important than some stupid dolphins(who people only care about because they are "cute" or whatever)?
I don't think the world would suffer without dolphins. What have they ever done for us, beside jumping through hoops in amusement parks?
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 4:16 PM
|
pyeman:
A dolphin's life may not seem as important as that of a human being, but there are many reasons for protecting/wanting to save other creatures on this earth. All living things play an important role in their environment and the endangerment/extinction of any creature ultimately affects us all. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong w/ Hayden or anyone else fighting for something they are passionate about. For all you know, she does do work to help people in Africa, but she just so happens to care deeply about the lives of animals as well. If you think that dolphins do nothing for us except 'look cute', you should do a little research. Dolphins are extremely intelligent animals that have been trained to do all kinds of important tasks. Even if that weren't the case, I would think that the fact that they bring joy to a lot of people and have just as much right to exist on this planet as we do, would be enough reason to want to keep them around.
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 5:05 PM
|
|
achyfakey and bluegrumpy-- kudos to the both of you-- well said. I agree with you both.
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 6:50 PM
|
So right, cows and chickens have been bred and raised for centuries for the sole purpose of being food, if they weren't would cows even exist? How many cows have you seen in roaming wild Mick?
Whales and Dolphins are an extremely important part of the oceans ecosystem (more than half of the world;'s surface). When they are gone it impact the ocean which impact the planet... not exactly rocket science. And it was one thing when the Japanese hunted a few hundred years ago to feed a village, but times have changed and so have populations. And I personally believe that a big part of the starving children in Africa lies with lack of birth control and people (too many) living in an area that cannot support them (genocide in some areas doesn't count here). And Hayden did risk injury; the Japanese have fired upon and rammed boats trying to stop them in ocean waters. They feel that they are above laws. And so little of the animal is even used and a lot of what they use it for can be recreated in a lab these days anyway. I will not get off my soap box.
|
|
Nov 3, 2007 11:16 PM
|
I fully understand Hayden's grief. Thank God not everyone has such a limited worldview as some of those who have posted here.
Human beings have adopted some misguided notion that they are the most important things ever to come down the pike and that other creatures--why, the entire world, of course--is in the business of "doing" something for them, or get off the planet. "Amuse me, lowling." Oh, shut up.
Beauty and nature, thank God, exist despite people like you. I don't expect wildlife to "do" anything for me but to simply BE. Other life forms are beautiful, fascinating and important to the well-being and balance of the world.
When I'm sick to death of agendas, backstabbing, murder, white collar crime, deceit, child abuse, drug use and all the other things perpetuated by us, I look to the other beings who share the earth for some peace from the insanity.
I value them, respect and appreciate them. People who are too myopic to appreciate anything but what they see in the mirror, people who only care about "me getting mine and forget the rest of you, the future, and everything else but ME ME ME" disgust me to the core of my being.
|
|
Nov 4, 2007 1:56 PM
|
|
Weren't dolphins the celebrity cause of the 90's? Poor Hayden, getting her decades all mixed up.
|
|
Nov 4, 2007 2:21 PM
|
|
Listen to what she said in the video. She is upset because they are nice animals. She equates killing dolphins to killing puppies. And then after the fishermen are harrassed and do something back, the protesters are suddenly "victims". The fishermen were doing nothing illegal in Japan. They are merely providing a service that there is a demand for. And while that may not be a rationalization that some can except, it is the truth. Not everybody sees animals as cute, cuddly friends. Most people, and especially people who are deeply connected to their ancestral heritage (Alaska Natives, other American Indians, Japanese) see whale and dolphin consumption as a right. As long as the whole animal is used they view this as exceptable. Basically all this hullaballoo is about is a group of people that can't differentiate between a house pet and food.
|
|
Nov 4, 2007 3:34 PM
|
|
I would prefer that they kill puppies than dolphins (I mean, if it came down to some Sophie's Choice situation). We are not very successful at breeding dolphins in captivity. But we have no problem creating broods of multiple puppies without any difficulty.
|
|
Nov 4, 2007 10:03 PM
|
|
|
