To Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan,
We, the undersigned, ask that you end the hunting of Dall's porpoise. If the hunt continues at its current levels, their long-term survival could be threatened.
The total of about 1,200 porpoises who were killed from November 2012 to April 2013 was lower than in previous years. As Claire Perry of the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency says, the reason for these declining numbers of is simply because "there are fewer porpoises to catch."
The actual number of Dall's porpoises who die as a result of the hunt is very likely far higher than reported because the "official numbers do not count those that are wounded, but not brought into port nor do they count the numbers of nursing babies that are left to starve to death after their mothers have been killed," according to Sea Shepherd.
Consuming cetacean meat poses serious health threats to Japanese citizens. Some samples of Dall's products have been found to contain mercury as well as PCBs.
Dall's porpoise is not an endangered species. But if the hunt keeps up at current levels, their very existence is in question. We ask that you end the inhuman practices of the hunt, for the sake Japanese consumers' health and for the survival of a unqiue marine animal, Dall's porpoise.
