The Great Beyond

Perhaps the last commercial whalers on this earth could finish eating the TONS of whale meat they have in freezers before they set out to kill more? They have not even eaten what has already been murdered.

Scientific whaling? These remnants of a horrifying enterprise mock the very idea of scientific inquiry.

Mark
~~~~

I couldn't agree more that western attitudes towards whale hunting fail to accept different cultures' values. It wasn't that long ago that the US and many other countries were whaling nations.

As for Japan hunting humpbacks, this is nothing new, they're just announcing their intentions.

Here is an excerpt from an article written in 1994 by Natalie Angier from the New York Times:

By current provisions of the International Whaling Commission, the only type of whale meat that can be sold in Japan is that of the southern minke whale, a relatively abundant species. But when scientists from the United States and New Zealand performed genetic analysis on 16 specimens of whale meat bought at several stores throughout Japan, they found that only seven samples were from southern minkes.

Of the rest, one was humpback whale, an endangered species that has been protected against hunting since 1966; four were fin whales, a protected species since 1989; two were dolphins, the hunting of which is not regulated by any international organization; one was a specimen of northern minke whale, and the last was thought to be a type of beaked whale, a cetacean about the size of a killer whale.

You might like to note that the CITES 'report' you link to is actually a listing proposal by Japan itself. This proposal was NOT accepted by the conference of the Parties in 2000 and the minke whale is still listed on Appendix I.

The population numbers in that proposal are also currently under major review by the IWC scientific committee.
http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm

Small details, but important nonetheless.

To compare eating of Whale meat to eating dog or cow meat is most narrow sighted. While dogs and cows are bread in mass for the purpose of eating or keeping as pets, Whales are not. Therefore, the Whales are species with a limited population that is rapidly dwendling. Mankind regardless of race or nationality, has a responsibility to ensure that our activities do not cause the demise of another species whether animal or plant. We fail at this. We are the most destructive force on earth yet we are at the same time, potentialy the most balancing, nurturing, creative force on earth. It is sad that we choose the path of destruction. Soon our world will not be a beautiful as it once was and could have been, and we only have ourselves to blame for this. We have had many warnings and chose to ignore them.

Eating highly intelligent whales and dolphins is ILLEGAL, disgusting garbage. There should be no "ifs", "ands", or "buts" about it. Period.

If the killing of these whales is for research, then maybe there are things we just don't need to know.

Pigs are "highly intelligent" too. I can understand why some people (vegetarians) think eating any animal is disgusting, but many people who wouldn't eat whales don't think twice about pork sausage. The issue is more one of sustainability; Kirsty's comment perfectly illustrates the point in the article that some people "completely reject people whose thinking isn’t the same as theirs". Let's have a debate based on facts (is whaling sustainable or not?) rather than opinions.

Whaling isn't going to go away, nor should anyone expect it to go away as we do live in a world where different people view different animal species differently.

The IWC needs to be de-politicised and turned into a purely scientific forum where quotas are decided on a purely scientific basis. The politicians need to abdicate their decision making powers, that's the reason why the IWC is the mess it is. A whaling commission with more anti-whaling nations than whaling ones is a joke. 75% support needed for any schedule amendments, which is impossible because of the huge loophole that allows nations who don't agree with the convention to join up to it and subvert it.

What kind of argument is that: "They reject people, whose thinking isn't the same as theirs."
Whoever kills an animal or destroys the plant which is in danger of extinction doesn't think at all. Such "human" is an idiot and should be put in jail. Period. It has nothing to do with different culture values. It is responsibility of every human being to protect the nature not for our generation, but for those who will live on this planet long after we will be gone. I completely agree with Conaway and Kristy.