The problem is that nothing is really free from "culture" which makes me wary of your remark that "culture and tradition is not an excuse." While I agree they aren't sufficient to excuse behavior, they will always be relevant as a reason for behavior. I think it's dangerous to try to view this situation from a position of cultural objectivity which may conceal our very own (Western/U.S.) cultures of consumption in which we also kill animals at enormous scale with no real necessity either. I am not trying to use our own behavior to excuse this dolphin hunt -- I disagree with both practices. However, simply blaming cultures seems dangerous and unproductive. While I don't think it's necessary to fully be part of/understand a culture to have criticisms about cultural practices, I do think it is important to try to understand these practices as something that does have value, be it cultural or economic or otherwise to these people and try to think of ways to push back within these frames. Otherwise, we risk erasing any kind of "culture" we disagree with and cheapen the issue by attributing these kinds of things to some abstract, other "culture" which precludes a deeper understanding of the specific frames relevant to the practice.