In the article "Taiji Officials: dolphin meat 'toxic waste,'" concern is expressed about the high levels of mercury in dolphin meat and the controversy surrounding the habit of giving this highly contaminated meat to school children. However, mercury isn't the only contaminant in whale and dolphin meat. A recent study by Japanese scientists found that a high proportion of the minke whales hunted in the North Pacific show evidence of the pathogen Brucella, which can be transferred from animals to humans and cause a disease that can result in spontaneous abortion, infertility, brain lesions and death.
The fact that the Japanese government knows of both the Brucella and mercury contamination of whale and dolphin meat but actually promotes the consumption of such meat by giving it to schools and even hospitals, is extremely unethical. Trying to keep the ailing whale and dolphin meat market afloat is no excuse for putting the health of Japanese children at risk.
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