Editorial: Dolphins earn new respect

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

Scientists are joining the ranks of animal rights activists and environmentalists who oppose an annual dolphin hunt off the coast of Japan.

The annual hunt, for which the Japanese government issues permits, is expected to result in the killing of 21,000 dolphins this year, The Washington Post reported Monday. Japanese officials call the hunt a "kind of cultural activity" that has been happening each fall and winter for centuries. But something has changed. Few Japanese still eat dolphin. So the meat that hunters and their communities once consumed is now used for pet food and fertilizer - uses that came more out of a need to find ways to dispose of the meat, rather than a need to feed people who need or want the food.

This situation, along with the grisly and often painful, drawn-out deaths these sea mammals suffer during capture, has raised opposing voices from animal lovers and conservationists worldwide. But now, scientists who specialize in dolphin studies are saying these animals deserve better because they possess the complicated ability of self-awareness.

Dolphins have long been known to be intelligent and gentle, but more recently, scientists have assembled a growing body of evidence that dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors. It is an ability previously documented only in humans and chimpanzees.

A recently formed organization of animal lovers and scientists has launched a worldwide petition and statement demanding that the Japanese government stop issuing permits for this "brutal and inhumane practice that violates all standards of animal welfare."

Governments that have good relationships with Japan could help by talking with Japanese officials about halting this outdated tradition of savagery. The United States, which has enjoyed a strong diplomatic relationship with Japan in recent decades, would be in the perfect position to help, if the Bush administration's own environmental record wasn't so shoddy.

With Bush-supported efforts by Republican lawmakers to dismantle the Endangered Species Act, to open huge swaths of public lands to drilling and timber harvests, and to make sweeping cuts to water conservation and National Park Service programs, the United States can't exactly go around telling other nations how to protect wildlife. Powerful leaders don't guide by force. They lead by example. And Bush has failed to set a good one.