Australian Government siding with Japanese Illegal whaling

[Rose Selavey]

The live trade policy in Australia is disgusting and should be stopped, many protests happen over this policy, and as an Australian I would like to see it stopped.

The argument that because Australian's eat meat then they can't lobby Japan to change is a crazy argument, as a citizen of democratic nation we have every right to try and change things we do not believe is fair and just. I would encourage you to lobby the Australian government (i can give you email links if you want) to stop any action they are undertaking that is not to your liking.

 

[centrajapan]

It just shows the hypocarcy of the Australian government.

 

[caster51]

they are racists

 

[Rose Selavey]

they are racists

Not all Australians are racists, I have never seen that add, it would not get past the Australian advertising standards. This is a u-tube stunt, dis-respectable and inappropriate. But this does not mean Australians are racists.

 

[Astroboy]

Really?

 

[kame]

The argument that because Australian's eat meat then they can't lobby Japan to change is a crazy argument, as a citizen of democratic nation we have every right to try and change things we do not believe is fair and just. I would encourage you to lobby the Australian government (i can give you email links if you want) to stop any action they are undertaking that is not to your liking.

There is a fine line between diplomatic lobbying and meddling into internal affairs (or messing with somebody else's business). The US would use the same argument to invade oil-producing countries, justify not abiding to CO2 reduction treaties, etc. Your excuses notwithstanding, the Australian policy is perceived no different from imposing of their cultural values based on prejudicial sentiment.

 

[Rose Selavey]

Really?

The white Australian policy did occur in Australia's history, and as an indigenous Australian I find that sheild offensive, as would most Australians. Again, not all Australians are racists.
As written by Kame:
There is a fine line between diplomatic lobbying and meddling into internal affairs (or messing with somebody else's business). The US would use the same argument to invade oil-producing countries, justify not abiding to CO2 reduction treaties, etc. Your excuses notwithstanding, the Australian policy is perceived no different from imposing of their cultural values based on prejudicial sentiment.

Australia is not the only nation opposed to the slaughter of Minke, Fin and humpbacks whales in a commercial manner rather than in a traditional manner. 31 nations signed a demarche presented to the Japanese Government.

 

[kame]

Not all Australians are racists, I have never seen that add, it would not get past the Australian advertising standards. This is a u-tube stunt, dis-respectable and inappropriate. But this does not mean Australians are racists.

I think that the ad is ridiculous and don't think that all Australians are racists. But there's racism in every country and culture including in Japan. The question here is, is the Australian anti-whaling movement based partially on racism?

Maybe a little, but I would say that the major motivation is to political and economical.

Naive arguments that people like Rose make (but officials in IWC would never make because they know they can't justify), like kangaroo hunting is okay but whaling is not, could be perceived as racially motivated because they implicitly target specific culture with under a double standard.

 

[Sukotto]

i really don't have any clue on this,
but isn't there some sort of international agreement
that only indigenous cultures are allowed to do whaling?

 

[Sukotto]

why should i listen to anything Paul McCarthy has to say?
isn't he the one who is responsible for breaking up the Beatles?
(ha! leave Yoko Ono alone. the album title "let it be" i heard,
was because the break was inevitable)
Oh, sports. Yup. Real good reason to shoot something. Sure. Always is. If it wasn't for sports there'd be people going hungry in this world.


If you want to boycott a drink you have to pay for make it Killer Coke.
There's company that definitely has responsibility no matter how
much they deny.

 

[kame]

Australia is not the only nation opposed to the slaughter of Minke, Fin and humpbacks whales in a commercial manner rather than in a traditional manner. 31 nations signed a demarche presented to the Japanese Government.

The number of countries doesn't make the perception any less prejudicial or racially-motivated by the people who are affected by the irrational banning of commercial whaling. Ever thought about small whaling villages in Japan whose people have made living by whaling for longer than the modern history of Australia and US? If you are an indigenous Australian, you must be able to imagine the pain and suffering of the people's centuries-old culture totally denied by politically engineered IWC's restrictions.

 

[centrajapan]

whales in a commercial manner rather than in a traditional manner

All whaling is commercial whether they are using hand held harpoons or hi tech harpoons.

 

[Kyoto Returnee]

I think what Centrajapan is trying to say that Australians are racist because they disagree with Japan hunting and slaughtering the poor whales.

Not sure how he can justify racism because of this.

Australia and Japan are very close and share many things.

I have a Japanese girl living downstairs, three more in my block, quite a few across the road, and allover Cairns. We can't all be racist!

Living in Japan for Aussies is a breeze as we have such a good reputation and image.

 

[caster51]

Not sure how he can justify racism because of this.

it is very simple
once Dutch made a colony in asia
Japan did ,too
How can they complain to other...

it is same that Australian kills poor kangaroo.
only racist Justify it.....
because they are surperior
it means "we are correct. you are wrong" in same action

 

[Kyoto Returnee]

it is very simple
once Dutch made a colony in asia
Japan did ,too
How can they complain to other...

it is same that Australian kills poor kangaroo.
only racist Justify it.....
because they are surperior
it means "we are correct. you are wrong" in same action

Are Australian's racists because they kill Kangaroos or is it the other way around?

Do Australian's think they are superior to Kangaroos or Japanese and why?

 

[caster51]

at first, Austraria should quit to kill poor Kangaroos.
then ask Japan

 

[Elizabeth van Kampen]

Hello Caster51

it is very simple
once Dutch made a colony in asia
Japan did ,too
How can they complain to other...


I am Dutch, but the above sounds double Dutch to me.

Australia was never a Dutch colony. Abel Tasmas discovered Australia and Tasmania in 1642. Abel Tasman was a Dutch explorer.
It must have been a real great adventure in those days.

 

[caster51]

Australia was never a Dutch colony

I never said that.

 

[Elizabeth van Kampen]

Caster51,

Indonesia was a Dutch colony in Asia. The Dutch are no longer living in Asia.
Indonesians are not complaining about the Japanese whaling.

So what did you mean?

 

[caster51]

Indonesia was a Dutch colony in Asia. The Dutch are no longer living in Asia.
Indonesians are not complaining about the Japanese whaling

Japan never complains about Dutch colony in the past.

Dutch does not have right to complain about others of the Past

so does not Austraria about the Japanese whaling if they are not racist

about this one, we do fight. look at this racist aussi
they are always violent

 

[centrajapan]

I think what Centrajapan is trying to say that Australians are racist because they disagree with Japan hunting and slaughtering the poor whales.

Not sure how he can justify racism because of this.

It is not Australia's business what Japanese choose to eat and not to eat. Australia is denying Japanese to hunt whales despite the fact that the whale spiecies Japan wants to hunt is no where near being endangered. The stocks are abdundant.

kame. Keep up with the good posts. Very informative and very rational.

 

[kame]

I know it is annoying and frustrating to be accused of being a racist. Centrajapan is kind of his style to be aggressive and caster51 is just too influent in English to get his point across. But I do think that those who make anti-whaling arguments based on anything other than pure scientific issues can be well PERCEIVED prejudicial and racist in the eye of those who do like to whale, and you should be well aware of that fact when making such arguments. Just saying that you don't intend any racism does not free you from the guilt. Like sexual harrassment, racism is often totally unrealized by those who offend.

To the eyes of Japanese, Australians do seem to have double standard about whaling which can easily be perceived as (at least partially) based on racism. It implies intolerance, targeting specific cultures based on a standard that you don't apply to your own. For example, anyone cares to answer this?

I fail to see what the fundamental difference is between hunting millions of wild kangaroos (commercially) and hunting whales in a sustainable way. Both are mammals (seems that matters to some people, I don't know why), both are wild, both are eaten and other parts used effectively, both are adorable creatures to many people (if you poll Japanese kids for popularity, I bet kangaroos would win 9 to 1), both are valuable as tourist attraction, and the list goes on.

Could someone present a convincing argument that would justify one type of hunting over another? If you say you oppose both, I think that's an opinion that I can respect.

 

[Sarapva]

I fail to see what the fundamental difference is between hunting millions of wild kangaroos (commercially) and hunting whales in a sustainable way.

Could someone present a convincing argument that would justify one type of hunting over another? If you say you oppose both, I think that's an opinion that I can respect.

Kangaroos belong to Australia, so it's Australia's decision about what to do with them. (I oppose any killing that is done in an imhumane manner, causing pain. I think if killing has to be done to control populations, it should be done as quickly as possible to minimize the animals' suffering.)

Whales don't belong to any country - therefore, it's within any country's rights to oppose killing whales. Insulting and accusing others is just going around the problem.

 

[Rose Selavey]

As Sara has mentioned Kangaroos are Australian on Australian territory and are governed by Australian law. There are International standards with regard to how these animals are killed. The reason I have even mentioned them is because centrjapan has constantly used this fact to justify killing whales. Kangaroos and whales are two very different situations as Sara has explained. Australia's want of protection for the whales (all whales) is not a racially motivated attack on Japan.

The difference between commercial whaling and traditional whaling is so dramatic it should not even be a question. Traditional or indigenous hunting does not mean using old methods or equipment, it means hunting a similar number of species to be utilized by the community directly associated with the hunt. This could mean selling off parts of the hunt for consumers outside the community in a sustainable manner. An example of this would be a small fishing village in Japan hunts a number of whales a year for the consumption of the community and for a way for that community to maintain their lifestyle. The community has a connection with the species being hunted are is therefore more likely to hunt sustainably.
A commercial operation is different paid workers hunt catch and kill large numbers, with no connection to the species and with little more to show for it other than a pay packet.

 

[kame]

Kangaroos belong to Australia, so it's Australia's decision about what to do with them. (I oppose any killing that is done in an imhumane manner, causing pain. I think if killing has to be done to control populations, it should be done as quickly as possible to minimize the animals' suffering.)
Whales don't belong to any country - therefore, it's within any country's rights to oppose killing whales.

Yes, whales don't belong to any country. Therefore, it's within any country's rights to pursue sustainable utilization of the marine resource wether it's commercial or otherwise. Yes countries can oppose whaling but only based on sustainability and scientific facts. They can ban whaling withing their own waters. And your argument seems to justify hunting Minks within the Japanese waters all they want since its within their territory.

Australia can kill kangaroos all they want since they are not endangered. Whaling (even commercial) should be allowed if it can be proven that a certain level of whaling does not endanger that whale species. We do that for tunas, salmons, and other marine resources. There is no justifiable reason to treat whales differently (they are mammals? oh please...).

There is a fine line between lobbying for you want and sticking its head into a neigbor's refrigerator.