Sushi eatery accused of selling whale to close

[Xipe Totec]

Source: CNN



Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A trendy California sushi restaurant says it's closing after being accused of serving illegal whale meat.

The company that owns Santa Monica's The Hump restaurant had already apologized for the whale meat accusation earlier in the week.

The restaurant's Web site said: "After 12 years doing business in Santa Monica, The Hump will be closing its doors effective March 20, 2010. 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."

The investigation into the eatery began in October when two members of the team that made the documentary, "The Cove" visited The Hump, officials said.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/20/whale.meat.restaurant/index.html?

[No Elephants]

1. In other news, a sushi restaurant named something else will be opening soon in another part of town.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Hopefully with a different menu nt

[AsahinaKimi]

2. One of my girl friends in LA

Told me about this story, though I couldn't find anything about it locally in the SF Chronicle. This is seriously messed up. Despite their apology, I hope there are some serious fines involved.

[pipoman]

3. and jail time for those responsible..

[AwakeAtLast]

4. I think they are closing in order to avoid those fines

Unless they go after the owners rather than the business, I think they have done that. :(

[petronius]

17. I'm thinking that, and perhaps also an attempt to stave off questions

about where they got it...

[Ian David]

6. I think we should let the owners get off with a harpooning. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

7. 'Hump'ty-Dumpty sat on a wall... high time for that egg to crack. Inexcusable.

[jmowreader]

8. You missed the rest of the story

The two "Cove" team members went to this place and were served meat. They received an itemized bill with "whale" and "horse" listed. Both whale meat and horse meat are illegal to sell in California.

[Xipe Totec]

9. The rules permit me to only quote four paragraphs

Just enough to tease people to read the rest.

I commend you for reading the full article.

[flvegan]

10. Good. Though I'm sorry for any innocent staff members

that may now be out of a job.

[Xipe Totec]

12. When elephants fight, it's the grass that gets trampled

- Rudyard Kipling

[wordpix]

14. if they knew it was illegal whale meat, why be sorry? They're responsible, too, for not shutting

this op down sooner.

[flvegan]

15. I'm thinking of possible employees that had no idea.

When I washed dishes at a pub I had no idea what food they served. I was a teenager with zero clue about it. If they knew about it, they weren't innocent.

[ZombieHorde]

19. +1 nt

[On the Road]

11. In Japan, of Course,

they're quite open about it:



Yes, that is a whale-themed restaurant in Tokyo where it is definitely on the menu.

[wordpix]

16. oh I thought the whales were only for research in Japan - sarcasm

[wordpix]

13. Fine the m-fuckers the entire $200K & give them community service

let them clean up beaches or something.

[pinniped]

18. Check out their BS website:

http://www.thehump.biz/

THE HUMP IS CLOSING ITS DOORS

After twelve years doing business in Santa Monica, The Hump will be closing its doors effective March 20th, 2010.

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. Closing the restaurant is a self-imposed punishment on top of the fine that will be meted out by the court. The Owner of The Hump also will be taking additional action to save endangered species.

One such action will be to make a substantial contribution to one or more responsible organizations dedicated to the preservation of whales and other endangered species.

The Hump apologizes to our loyal customers, the community of Santa Monica, and the public at large for our illegal actions. While the current difficulties faced by The Hump overshadow the many friendships formed over the years, we want our customers and friends to know how much we thank you for your support.
---------------

So, now these fuckers are stewards of the sea?

Let's see if these fuckers donate all their ill-gotten gains to the ocean conservancy or something.

With a name like The Hump, it didn't seem like a camel-themed joint.

These clowns are probably going to name their new outfit Cetacean.

[Nihil]

20. Nah ...

> These clowns are probably going to name their new outfit Cetacean.

More likely to be "The Research Station" ...

Here's hoping they don't manage to side-step the fines/jail time they are due.

:grr: