Regarding Rob Gilhooly’s July 26 article, “Japan bucks trend: Captive dolphin biz big“: I cannot agree with the opinion of Sakae Hemmi of the Elsa Nature Conservancy that the reduction of dolphins in captivity is the international trend. This trend is a current fashion of Western culture only. We must respect the culture of each people in the world.
Japanese people now enjoy visiting many aquariums in which whales and dolphins are kept alive and perform wonderful shows, the result of training in the facilities. Japanese people learn about marine life and ecosystems in the facilities. Thus, anti-whaling ideas have not been brought into those parts of Japan where whales and dolphins are close to people’s lives.
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