Save the whale

[joho]

Hi

Agree with all anti-whaling people in here ! Killing whales is ancient practice and should stop. We are living in a new age !

May I ask more Japanese to post anti whaling articles in their websites. If you dont' have one yet, start a website and have a page solely for anti-whaling message.

Best regards to all

 

[KenUmedaira]

>Killing whales is an ancient practice and should stop.
>We are living in a new age!

I don't buy this. Frankly, it's just illogical and does not explain why whaling should stop.

The fact "whaling is old" does not explain why we have to stop this.
Many old things passed on to younger generations from ancestors - we call that "traditions."
Some are good. Some are bad, as we all know.
Bad things should stop because it's bad - not because it's old.
Even in our new age, there are many "good-old ways" we like, and I don't think everything has to be renewed.
Please come up with a more logical explanation.

If your point is "hunting is bad", --- those people must start
protests to French restaurants immediately because they will soon start serving "games" in this season... many wild birds are hunt, killed, cooked and put on nicely decorated dishes. Why do those people blame whaling only?

Also, If your point is "hunting is bad", --
then do you think farming whales for food acceptable?
Farming has been done for fish, chickens, hogs and cows - why not for whales?
It has not yet become technically possible,
but I heard there are several Japanese enterprise studying this.
I am sure you won't say, "farming is an old practice and should stop."

But anyway, whether or not whales could be farmed,
I don't think hunting whales has to stop - it is not different from hunting for other wild lives, not different from eating games or cows, hogs, chickens or lambs - I really don't see why whaling is the only thing those people want to blame.

 

[joho]

Ken

I don't understand people's logic killing whales for food, especially when other meats are easily available on land. ???

Can't people stick to eating cow, sheep, chicken, duck, bird, pig etc...why must they purposely take the trouble to seek and destroy animals on the verge of extinction. ??? Why eat whales in the first place? ??

Are there fantastic medical or scientific reasons for eating whales???

Of course, eat a whale by all means, but only if you have no other food left to eat and you are really starving !!!

 

[KenUmedaira]

Hi, joho,

I have three things to point out here:

First, the Japanese government (pro-whaling, as we all know) has insisted that everyone has to find out if whales are really "on the verge of extinction" or not. If yes, we can wait. If not, we can start. That's what they have been saying to IWC.
I also agree with this view. However, this explanation has been ignored at recent IWC meetings.
I don't know where you got the information, but as far as I heard, "survey" has not been done for a long time as nobody knows the current numbers of whales in the sea. But if whales are not many, we can wait! If not, let Japan start catching again.

Secondly, "other meats" on land is sometimes not as easy as catching whales, and I guess you have not seen any problem with it. Large-scale farmings of cattle or hogs often create serious environmental issues - it's pointed in several books.
I also have been to Greeley, Colorado - the main industry there is cattle production - and you know what?
The whole village stinks so badly because of wastes from feedlots. Cows are drenched in craps, and you can't open the windows of your hotel rooms for more than five minutes. The meatpackers and producers are just ruining a beautiful town with a terribly ****** smell. You can't do it in a small country like Japan.
Another example is a beef packer in Iowa - they explained to residents of town when they built a plant that all smells from the factory would be totally the same as cooking smells at home - but in fact, what has come instead are smells of blood, guts, inedible parts, wastes... I have been near to many meatpacking plants, and the smells are just intolerable.
Considering those as well, I think it's at least nice to have an "option" to eat whales in Japan as Japanese ancestors used to.

Last - you have not answered my view...
If farming whales is technically possible, it should be allowed - it seems your point is that whales are about to extinct so go for other meat.... then, farming whales would not run the species to extinction.

 

[joho]

Eating whale meat is like....... eating puffer fish - it's the weirdest, insane thing to do!

 

[joho]

Ken

Please do Mother Nature a favour, go and argue your case with the following whale experts. They can provide you with scientific answers:

http://archive.greenpeace.org/oceans/whales/gallery.htm
http://www.whaleman.org/stop_whaling.html

 

[KenUmedaira]

>Eating whale meat is like....... eating puffer fish - it's the weirdest, insane thing to do!

Again, that's not a logical explanation. I think the reason you are against whaling is that you don't emotionally like eating whales.
Then, stay away. I don't stop you. But you won't have a right to protest to those whale-eaters then. They may dislike Singaporean food, but they are not like you - at least those people would respect what you eat.

>Please do Mother Nature a favour, go and argue your case with the following whale experts. They can provide you with scientific answers:

My answer is NO. Ha ha - time for you to run away? I respect those anti-whaling people as long as they don't offend pro-whaling people. It's like vegetarians - they still get along with meat-eaters. I have no intention to persuade those into pro-while eating even though I would eat whales (I don't, though).

So, if YOU want pro-whalers such as myself to turn, why don't you give it a try - I mean, ask those people to join here? It would help if you did not ask ME to do your job.

 

[KenUmedaira]

joho san,

forgot to mention this.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY ANTI-WHALERS WHO PROTEST AGAINST JAPANESE PEOPLE EATING PUFFER FISH.
If it's as sick as eating whales, why don't you go protest?

 

[joho]

Ken

You are jumping into all sorts of wrong presumptions about me. Don't you agree it's quite immature to say ....
I am running away from this issue? Far from it......I just want you to go talk to the experts and learn a fact or two about whales going extinct. Don't shut off you mind to existing facts, in order to appear nationalistic - or whatever.

Have a nice day - and do spare a dream for the whales.. in your slumber.

 

[KenUmedaira]

joho :

we bump into each other here...which I enjoy a lot. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Could you please explain why whaling is logically not the right thing? You have not done this yet. Besides, now you are asking me to move to another website, instead of asking those people who have been trying meat-eaters such as myself to turn. That's really weird. It's not ME who has been trying hard to make those people turn. I am just telling you your logic is illogical and does not explain why you don't allow other people to eat whales. Please don't get me wrong - I am not shutting off my mind to existing facts. It's you that don't respond to my points posted above and now asking to move over.

So, Let me ask you again ---- why is whaling wrong? Please explain it to me.

 

[joho]

Ken

Why is killing tigers, pandas and sharks wrong?

My answer to your query lies in your thoughts about these 3 endangered animals.

Is'nt it all about human cruelty and carelessness towards nature?.

 

[maji]

what does puffer fish taste like anyway?

 

[KenUmedaira]

joho:
So the reason is basically it's an endangered species...
Then let me point out again: "controlled whaling" or "farming" should be okay.
The Japanese government has been insisting on "survey" firstly (and IWC and anti-whalers deny this for some reason, I don't know - silly), and then find out if we should wait for some more years or can start whaling, but for a limited quantity. This way would not run whales to extinction.

Maji:
It tastes like chicken, someone said so - but many people here say the taste is more like between white flesh fish sashimi and Grenouille. If you want to try (haha), I can search for a restaurant...

 

[joho]

Maji -

Before you take Ken's advice to try pufferfish - make sure you write your last will.




Ken -

I am not sure Japan can prove they are monitoring the minke whale population. Do you know of any scientific reports on this so-called controlled-whaling?

" ....The Institute for Cetacean Research claims that Japan's yearly whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary is for 'scientific' purposes. However, Greenpeace charges that this program is illegal and primarily an attempt to pave the way for a resumption of full-scale commercial whaling..."

 

[KenUmedaira]

Just a quickie response, joho --- there's a serious error in the quote.

>this program is illegal
Scientific whaling is what IWC call "Scientific Permit" or "Special Permit" which is a recognized right by ICRW (#8 clause #1). It is a legitimate right agreed in the treaty.

Also I don't get your question - I have not posted that Japan can "monitor" minke whale population. I saw several websites on this issue, but the monitoring whale population still requires a lot of study.
But then, you also cannot say whales are really scarce - and
in reality, quota or "limited catch" would be workable.
That's the way every country do for most kinds of fish, and I don't see a problem in applying the rule to whaling as well.

Also, have you finished thinking about "farming?"

 

[noyhauser]

I'm highly sceptical that whales can be farmed? I no leftwing whale loving hippy (no offence), as most people on this board can attest to. And the presumptuous notion that whalers can renewably harvest the whaling populations is very worrisome. You can窶冲 farm a species that has 20+ yearlong life spans that are on the verge of extinction. The recent Harvard University study on whale genetics show that the effects of Commercial whaling was far more widespread than ever predicted. Such a resource is unlike any other. It's not like cattle where you can pen them up and count how many whales you have. I think this story aptly shows how ignorant some of those ideas are about the sustainable use of whales.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Whales' recovery 'vastly overestimated'

I really wonder why there has always been such a rush to bring back whaling. I don't think your standard of living is in any way at the detriment of not having commercial whaling. How often do you go out and eat a whale? Are you likely to switch to an all whale diet if whaling was resumed? How many people are? Whaling was important to the Japanese nation in the 50s and 60s when the economic conditions were harsh and meat scarce, but those days are long gone and the need for it correspondingly has vanished. And the Japanese people have less long-term cultural ties to the industry than most other cultures. Icelandic and Inuit cultures were utterly dependant on whales for their sustenance, while most of Japanese culture (with the exception of some Ainu and enclaves) did not whale at all.

Also, the scientific catches that the Norwegians and Japanese undertake were originally included to appease former whaling countries some means to catch some whales for domestic consumption. It is well documented how these whales are sold on the domestic market afterwards and should not be confused with scientific study.

 

[koibito]

Whales, cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, rodents, fish, insects? Why hurt them when a non-meat (vegan) diet is possible and results in great health.

 

[joho]

koibito

Eat anything if you wish - but please stop eating whales.

Christmas should be the best time for us to remember the danger of whales become extinct.

Let us preserve the whales for the sake of future generation - and mother earth.

Whales may become extinct in 30 years or less ....at the rate Norwegians and Japanese are hunting them down. Does Japan want to have the honour of being one of the countries that caused it?