Commend Arrest of Chefs for Serving Whale Meat

Target: The Oceanic Preservation Society,  The Cove director Louie Psihoyos, and Richard M. Tefank, Executive Director of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

Goal: Thank a film director and police department for holding up an undercover sting to catch two chefs who were selling whale meat in their sushi restaurant

Two Southern California sushi chefs have plead guilty to serving whale meat to their customers. Their statement comes almost four years after the chefs were caught in a secret sting operation, and months after their case went to trial. Chefs Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and Susumu Ueda plead guilty for scheming and selling illegal imported meat from Sei whales.

According to reports from 2007, the two chefs obtained about 10 pounds of the whale meat from a Japanese supplier who was selling the meat off the coast of Japan. Since the meat is illegal, they imported it with a label marking it as “fatty tuna.” The meat was being sold “off-menu,” meaning patrons had to specifically ask for it in their restaurant. The restaurant has since closed due to the scandal.

There are huge environmental impacts that come along with killing marine mammals such as dolphins and whales. Not to mention, the meat is toxic with mercury, which is bad for the health of consumers. The trade in whale meat is a huge violation of marine mammal and endangered species protection laws put in place by the United States. The laws prohibit the sale and import of whale and dolphin meat, which means that the chefs could land themselves in prison for up to three years.

Please sign this petition to thank the people behind the undercover sting operation. If it weren’t for their relentless dedication, this restaurant would still be serving the meat of endangered animals.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Louie Psihoyos  and Richard M. Tefank,

Thank you for acting quickly when you visited a Southern California sushi restaurant that was serving whale meat. It was your swift thinking that saved additional whales from becoming sushi for this grotesque restaurant. After your sting operation revealed that the restaurant was serving whale meat, it was officially shut down.

We may never know why a successful restaurant needed to sell the meat of endangered animals, but we’re glad that they are in prison and will not be harming the Sei whales anymore.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: E. Schreurs via Wikimedia Commons