Russia Seizes Japanese Harpoon Ship

[Victorian Gray]

Two points. First, whales are arguably higher life forms. (I'm not sure I buy this as pigs are pretty smart. For instance, seldom does a herd of pigs run out into the ocean, become stuck, get rescued by humans, and promptly run back into the ocean.)

The second and less arguable point is that whales tale a loooong time to restore a population and, like all large marine life, are under pressure from myriad other stressors. Therefore it makes sense to not hunt them at all, or to have only token cultural hunts like the Inuits'.

You can if you wish add a third point - that whale harvesting is more brutal and barbaric than we are comfortable with. This is not easily improved because whales are very large and very powerful.

The Japanese are oddly dichotomous. On the one hand, they are lauded for their environmental sensitivity. On the other, they are the only nation still whaling commercially, routinely clandestinely import endangered species' parts as aphrodisiacs and folk medicines, build airports over reefs, and generally treat the Ainu like crap.

fyi, Norway and Iceland also do commercial whaling as well and, unlike Japan, they set their own targets rather than follow commission targets and, they both catch endangered species.

One of Japans' issues is that they hunt in areas that are off limits.

The 3 really should stop.

 

[werepossum]

fyi, Norway and Iceland also do commercial whaling as well and, unlike Japan, they set their own targets rather than follow commission targets and, they both catch endangered species.

One of Japans' issues is that they hunt in areas that are off limits.

The 3 really should stop.

Thanks, I thought they had stopped.

 

[Victorian Gray]

Thanks, I thought they had stopped.

Unfortunately no. They continue to present a middle finger to the rest of the world on this issue.

 

[MrPickins]

The second and less arguable point is that whales tale a loooong time to restore a population and, like all large marine life, are under pressure from myriad other stressors. Therefore it makes sense to not hunt them at all, or to have only token cultural hunts like the Inuits'.

This is really the only argument I have against it, in all honesty.

As long as populations are maintained, I have no problem with harvesting some of the herd.

A whale isn't much different than a deer, IMO.

 

[kage69]

This is really the only argument I have against it, in all honesty.

As long as populations are maintained, I have no problem with harvesting some of the herd.

A whale isn't much different than a deer, IMO.

Sure, until you factor in cadmium, mercury, PCBs and dioxins.

I admire and respect a lot about the Japanese. Their fixation on poisoning themselves for the sake of tradition? Not so much.

Their birthrate is going down like a bucket of chicken at Oprah's.