So this is what I was doing tonight apart from sharing love and Rock and Roll in Tokyo’s fabulous Budokan.
I was interviewed by AP’s journalist of conscience, Yuri Kageyama, in support of the Dolphin Project, to end the tragic slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji.
Of course this is not in any way someone from outside, criticising Japan. Those who know me know that these days I spend a large part of my life campaigning against cruelty to animals – and attempting to be a voice for wild animals in particular. In the UK we still have a government that is trying to bring back blood sports – fox hunting, hare coursing, etc, and is currently slaughtering badgers in an already demonstrably failing attempt to solve a farming problem.
In Japan, in TAIJI, a tragedy regularly happens. Whole families of dolphins are herded into a cove where they are butchered, tortured, and some brutally torn away to become attractions in marine parks.
Fox hunting is the shame of Britain. Bull fighting is the shame of Spain. And TAIJI is the shame of Japan. Civilised decent compassionate people call for an end to these shameful abuses. NOW.
For clip see APArchive.com
Bri
TRANSCRIPT OF BRIAN’S COMMENTS:
Tokyo, 23 September 2016
BRIAN MAY: “I think the problem is the Japanese people – I know Japanese people, so many – they are decent, they’re kind, they’re compassionate, but they don’t know that this is going on. They don’t realize that this is still going on in their own country. So I’m just here to lend my voice to those in Japan who are saying, ‘Look, this cannot happen anymore. We cannot do this to our fellow creatures.’ These are mammals, highly intelligent, sensitive creatures bringing up their children like we do and they are being slaughtered and tortured in your country. It must stop.
“This only started around the 1950’s. It’s not a traditional Japanese sport. It’s not a traditional Japanese need for food either. And it’s been shown that eating dolphins are bad for you because they have such high mercury content. So it’s dangerous for human beings to be eating dolphins, but it’s also morally wrong. It’s indefensible.
“I don’t like that connection. There are good people in every country and there are great people in Japan who have exactly the same feelings as I do. This is not about countries. It’s about a section of humanity that doesn’t yet to understand that animals have feelings too and animals are as important as humans.”
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