Others See Equal Weight In the Value of Tradition

A coalition of marine scientists has launched a campaign to halt Japan's annual "dolphin drive," in which thousands of bottlenose dolphins are herded into shallow coves to be slaughtered with knives and clubs.

The government-sanctioned event, which extends through the fall and winter, has been under fire for years from environmental and animal rights activists.

But in a potentially influential escalation of that battle, mainstream scientists and administrators of zoos and aquariums -- some of whom have been criticized for buying surviving dolphins for use in their shows -- have united to condemn the practice.

The campaign pits the emerging science of animal intelligence against a centuries-old cultural tradition.

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