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Santa Monica Sushi Joint Busted for Serving Whale by Oscar Winning Documentarians & Feds
So it was the week before the Oscars and for the team that put together the documentary The Cove, which highlights mass dolphin killing in Japan (see a preview of it embedded below), it wasn't a week of getting prettied up and schmoozing--it was about what they won an Oscar for: undercover and investigative journalism.
Last week was actually the accumulation of an unofficial sting that began last October when the associate producer--aka director of clandestine operations--was tipped off by a friend that The Hump in Santa Monica was serving whale, which is illegal under a federal law that states you cannot sell marine mammals. The vegan documentarians ordered whale and sent the evidence to get DNA tested, according to the New York Times.
The result was the endangered Sei whale, which prompted the team to contact the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which brought in the U.S. Attorneys Office for an investigation. Since The Cove team was in town for the Oscars, two more stings were set up, this time with investigators. Then last Friday, the feds came back to The Hump with a search warrant in hand and say they found evidence. Charges may be filed this week.
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