By Rachel S.

The Jewish Perspective on

Dolphin and Whale slaughter

Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayyim

• Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayyim literally means “compassion for the pain of living creatures”. The benefit to man must outweigh the pain and suffering of animals .

What Jewish Law Says about Dolphin Slaughter

• Although there are no Jewish texts specifically on Dolphin and Whale slaughter and abuse, there are many texts that describe how animals should be treated. The mitzvah of Tza’ar Ba’alei chayyim states how animals should be treated. One says “God has compassion on all who have compassion on their fellow creatures”. Sifrei Devarim 96

Moses Cordorero, The palm Tree of Deborah

• Other text says, “compassion should be extended to all creature neither destroying or despising any of them. For God’s wisdom is extended to all created things: minerals, plants, animals, and humans. This is the reason the rabbis warned us against despising food. In this way a person’s pity should be extended to all works of the Holy Blessed One, just as in God’s wisdom, nothing is to be despised. One should not uproot anything that grows unless it is necessary nor kill any living thing unless it is necessary. Anyone should choose a good death for them with a knife that has been carefully examined to have pity on them as much as possible.”

The Beginning

“Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). What God meant by this was not rule over them in a dominant way, but be its caretaker, its custodian, keep it healthy and strong and protect it against all evil.

Biggest Dolphin Slaughter in the world

• The biggest dolphin slaughter in the world happens once a year between the months of September and March in a small city in Japan called Taiji. Thousands of dolphins are killed here every year. The thing is the Japanese people have known nothing about this for years and just recently found out when the documentary The Cove came out in 2009. The reason for this slaughter, is obviously money. The fisherman basically herd them into a cove using their means of communication and navigation against them.

How they are Trapped• They make a ear

wrenching sound by banging metal poles that reach to the bottom of the ocean. The sound this technique creates scares the dolphins so badly that they swim straight into the trap. Once trapped they are tested and observed for talent and beauty

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• If they qualify they are sent to various aquariums around the world for about $150,000. Instead of letting the dolphins that don’t qualify back into the wild they kill them. They kill them for no other reason then to eliminate competition for fish.

Heritage

• If you were to ask a Japanese fisherman why the slaughter these amazing creatures they would tell you it’s a tradition. If you were to ask a Japanese citizen why their fisherman slaughter they will look at you as if you are crazy. Before the movie the cove came out in 2009 the Japanese people had no idea what was going on. So how is it tradition? Easy its not.

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• It was done for survival when dolphins were plentiful in our oceans. Now they do it for profit. They sell meat to stores in Japan under the label of whale meat. Dolphin meat is extremely high in mercury which has been proven to cause brain damage, nerve damage, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's decease, and many more illnesses and diseases.

Watch This

• http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/cove/• http://www.savejapandolphins.com

How You Can Help

• Support Save Japan Dolphins on the Frontlines in Japan

• Take the Pledge Not to Buy a Ticket to a Dolphin Show

• Sign the Petition and Letter to World Leaders to End the Slaughter

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/724/210/624/• Tell Zoos and Aquariums To Stop Aiding the

Dolphin Killing• Tell A Friend About Our Campaign