http://www.japantimes.co.jp/ric.htm

Tama-chan for dinner, please

I think Tama-chan should be caught and turned into seal meat. Seals are
marine mammals, which have been used for their skins, oil and meat for
generations. Pizzles are also used in oriental medicine. By consuming large
amounts of fish and seashells, Tama-chan is destroying the ecological
balance in the rivers of the Kanto area -- despite scientific data that
suggest otherwise.

Some people may think "Tama-watching" is a tourist industry that creates
jobs and protects the environment, but this is just a ridiculous cry from
conservation zealots who think Tama-chan should not be eaten because it is
"cute" and "intelligent."

Eating marine mammals is part of this nation's food culture, and Western
emotions have no place in Japan when it comes to Tama-chan, which could
provide protein for a food-resource-starved Japan.

(Of course, this letter is meant to be a satirical comment on whaling.)



CHRIS FLYNN
Fukuoka