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I don’t know how much coverage this is getting in America and Europe, but it’s been a huge issue in Australia for the last few weeks.
Basicly, the Japanese have been whaling for the past however many years (Australia ourselves only stopped about 30 years ago) but the Japanese (and I assume some other countries??) kept it going. The Internation Whaling Commision was set up to put caps on how many whales could be taken every year.
Recently, the Japanse has been wanting to extend the limits they have and to go out and get more verietys of whales. Their proposals, after much negotions and influencing with members on the IWC (including with Aus minister for environment), where knocked back by the IWC.
Whales 3, Japan nil
24jun05
JAPAN lost its third major vote at the International Whaling Commission yesterday when the group refused to grant limited hunting rights to Japanese coastal communities.
The loss came 24 hours after the IWC, pushed by Australia, condemned Tokyo’s scientific whaling program, which anti-whaling states say is actually a commercial hunt in disguise.
It also failed earlier in the week to overturn a 20-year international moratorium on commercial whale hunting.
In its failed proposal yesterday, Japan had sought to allow its coastal communities to catch 150 minke whales a year. It was rejected 29 votes to 26.
Some conservationists and anti-whaling nations say they supported whaling for indigenous communities as a form of subsistence.
But they saw the measure brought by Japan — the world’s second-largest economy — as a way to skirt rules to benefit coastal communities that are neither impoverished nor in need of whale meat to support a slim diet. “We don’t campaign against legitimate subsistence whaling, but Japan is trying to create a new category — cultural whaling,” said Patrick Ramage, spokesman for the conservation group International Fund for Animal Welfare.
However, there is nothing to stop the Japanese whaling more than they are. The IWC has no power except setting up the rules.
Many Australians are angry because many of the whales are harpooned in Australian waters and in “australian antarctic waters”.
The Japanese claim the whaling is for scietific research. That is obviously a joke. And now, the Japanese are starting to relise no one is believing them.
I’m not a “tree hugger” of hippie but this really upsets me. Whales are being slaughtered in one of the most painfull ways. This is not sustainable as the Japanese claim and the worst bit is, there is nothign that can be done by anyone to stop them.
I guess the other side of the story is that we fish and there is little differnece between a whale and a fish. I suppose this is true. However, whales can feel much more pain (particulyl the sperm whale).
There is also no way Australain fishing is sustainable either. It’s just a word thrown in by officals to make it seem like everything is fine.
Another point to the Japense, a Japense minister noted that killing whales is no different to Australians killing kangaroos or emus (Aus is one of the only nations that hunts it’s national emblems;)). As much as i don’t want him to be right, he is. There is really, very little difference.
Green peace site: Please Read for more info.
http://www.greenpeace.se/norway/english/9camp/4whales/wha_jap.htmDoes anyone else have anyhing to say? (And yeah, i know my post is bias but everything is)
Yeah teh old whlaing issue, it resurfces every year or so, as the nordics 9well cieland and norway anyway) and the japanese seek to increase there whaling quotas… but since they can harvest as many as they want through scientific whaling it’s all fairly pointless.
Personally i’m not particularly in favour of it, but i see no reason why limited quotas cannot start to be introduced, the scientific evidence seems to suggest that there can be at least a limited harevsting of minke whales for one.
However if they are going to harvest whales, they have to do it properly so that there’s no risk of these magnificent animals going extinct and disappearing from our seas, and the potentially distastrous changes on the ocean ecosystem that the removal of the top predators could cause. Proper monitoring, of all whaling needs to be done, to ensure that rarer whales aren’t killed.
However I think the issue could soon start to disappear on it’s own, Norway for example harvested 129 whales less than it initially intended as the demand for the whale meat wasn’t there, and in japan itself there doesn’t seem to be a large demand for whale meat, with most people ambivalent on the issue… indeed the Japanese government launched a program to encourage more people to eat whale meat in 2002… it’s very possible that falling demand will deal the major blow to the whaling industry.
This is terrible… Terrible… It makes me sick just thinking about it… 🙁 The only difference that I myself can think about between fishing and whale hunting is that fish feel less pain, and there a many many many more fish than whales in the oceans.
Yes, It’s terrible…Though, I can’t help but feel like this is a small problem when compared to other things. MrOats217, you say that this is terrible, but what happens when North Korea activates a nuclear weapon? Then you have many more “terrible” problems.
I’m not saying this this isn’t horrible, but I believe that there are much bigger issues people should be addressing than this.
SomeGuy03, I guess I did over-react to the situation. I am just a little too sensitive to animals. I always have been… There are many, many situations larger and more serious (terrible) than this in the world.
No matter this is a terrible thing but I think Mr. Oats is 100% right that in this world there are more terrible and serious problems.
My problem is this that I’m too sensitive about humans. There are thousands of killings in Afghanistan & Iraq in recent few years. In Carpet bombing and army operations thousands of innocents gave their life. No medicne, no eatables, no shelter. I think many of us don’t have any idea of all this. If somebody have ever seen a refuge camp he can tell about the war ruined people.
Besides exploring the space, searching life on other planets please just stop destroying humanity and life on earth…MrOats217 wrote:SomeGuy03, I guess I did over-react to the situation. I am just a little too sensitive to animals. I always have been… There are many, many situations larger and more serious (terrible) than this in the world.
I was in no way of accusing you over-reacting, because it is, truly truly terrible, But I would consider someone who sits in the middle of the street protesting it to be over reacting.
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