And they seem to have found religion on the subject. From the Los Angeles Times:
A Santa Monica sushi restaurant facing federal charges for serving endangered whale meat appears set to close its doors Saturday, according to a statement posted to The Hump's website Friday which called the decision a “self-imposed punishment."Given the litigiousness of the US in general and California specifically, I'm actually impressed that they would admit that they would so clearly and unconditionally admit and apologize for "our illegal actions."
“The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will help bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species,” read the statement on the restaurant's longstanding website.
The charges came after an undercover sting operation (Isn't that redundant? Can you have a sting operation that isn't undercover?) orchestrated by followers of Louie Psihoyos, the director of Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, about dolphins slaughtered in a national park in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture.
That's the same Mr Psihoyos who is currently in Seoul protesting Japanese whaling in front of the Japanese embassy, but not protesting against South Korea's own shadow whaling efforts.
[above: Apologies and regrets the morning after at The Hump.]
Although I am definitely against the consumption of whale meat, for some odd reason, I feel bad for the owners of the Hump. Maybe it was just the way the whole sting operation went down. But oh well, they served the banned whale meat and now are paying the price. Such is life. I think I just hated the way the Vegans went on air and retold the story as if they were heroes (and the fact that they actually attempted to eat the whale meat instead of just packing it away).
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