Sundance Stunner Sheds Light on Dolphin Slaughter

Dolphins were herded but then set free

(NEWSER) - Dolphin conservationists seem to have won the day in Japan—the annual slaughter of wild dolphins, depicted in the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, did not take place as expected. An official in the town of Taiji said dolphins were herded into the cove as usual but then set free this morning, save for a few that were kept for aquariums, the AP reports. He did not explain why. Conservation group Sea Shepherd has been monitoring the cove this week and urging people to visit Taiji in order to protest the dolphin cull. More»

(NEWSER) - The Japanese town that triggered a furor after a documentary highlighted its dolphin slaughter is granting a reprieve to 100 of the animals, reports AP. Some 50 dolphins will be sold to aquariums, and the remainder of the 100 trapped for yesterday's first hunt of the season will be released back to the sea. The town of Taiji made the decision in response to anger triggered by the film, The Cove, which showed bay waters turned red with blood in the town slaughter. More»

Critics wowed by 'horrifying' film

(NEWSER) - Critics are raving about The Cove, a documentary about a Japanese town whose economy rests on capturing and killing dolphins for the worldwide market:

• It’s “an exceptionally well-made documentary that unfolds like a spy thriller, complete with bugged hotel rooms, clandestine derring-do and mysterious men in gray flannel suits,” writes Jeanette Catsoulis in the New York Times. “This is no angry enviro-rant but a living, breathing movie whose horrifying disclosures feel fully earned.”

Activists have no right to decry slaughter of Flipper's brethren, locals say

(NEWSER) - One activist calls the Japanese city of Taiji "ground zero for the largest slaughter of dolphins on planet Earth," but locals want him and his cohorts to mind their own business. Residents of Taiji have been eating dolphin meat for hundreds of years and say they have as much right to do so as Westerners have to eat beef, CNN reports. More»

Sushi capital continues to eat up

(NEWSER) - New Yorkers may be in the throes of a sushi scare after the Times reported on the dangerous mercury levels in tuna, but the Japanese aren't batting an eyelid. One official's biggest concern was that the controversy would ignite "groundless rumors" about a healthy food, AP reports. "We're not talking about eating 10 tuna sushi every day—in which case I might be a little worried," said one sushi lover. More»