News Whale meat sold in vending machines sparks ire

[thomas]

A Japanese whaling company, Kyodo Senpaku, has sparked an angry response from animal rights campaigners after selling whale meat from vending machines to boost consumption.

Kyodo Senpaku, whose vessels led Japan's whaling fleet during its controversial expeditions to the Southern Ocean, opened its first kujira (whale meat) "stores" at two locations in Tokyo this month after a successful trial late last year. The machines sell a variety of whale meat products, including canned items containing meat imported from Iceland, bacon, steaks and red meat that can be eaten raw as sashimi. Prices range from 1,000 (£6) to 3,000 JPY.

Campaigners criticise Japan firm selling whale meat from vending machines

Kyodo Senpaku opened ‘stores’ at two locations in Tokyo after successful trial

www.theguardian.com

 

[thomas]

Apparently, the whale meat vending machines were installed in Motomachi, Yokohama:

A Japanese whaling firm unveiled vending machines offering whale sashimi, whale steak and whale bacon in Yokohama on Tuesday in hopes of reviving sales of a food long in decline and shunned by many supermarkets. Wearing a whale-shaped hat, Kyodo Senpaku President Hideki Tokoro greeted prospective customers at the firm's latest 'unmanned store'--a trio of vending machines in Motomachi, an upmarket shopping district home to fashion boutiques and artisan bakeries. The firm has recently set up two similar outlets in Tokyo, plans to open a fourth in the western city of Osaka next month, and hopes to grow to 100 locations over the next five years. "There are many major supermarkets that are afraid of being harassed by anti-whaling groups so they won't use whale. So there are many people who want to eat whale but can't," Tokoro told Reuters at the launch. "Therefore, we are opening stores with the thought that we can provide a place where those people can eat." The products on sale mainly contain whale caught in Japan, a company spokesperson said, with prices ranging from 1,000 JPY ($8) to 3,000 JPY ($23).

Japan whaling firm pins hopes on vending machines to revive sales | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Uncle Frank]

A big money business for Maine is the lobster industry with many people working in that sector with tons of money tied up in boats & gear. Our government want to pretty much shut it down to protect whales from being caught in the trap ropes. I guess records show one might have got tangled in the last 20 years if at all.

 

[mdchachi]

A big money business for Maine is the lobster industry with many people working in that sector with tons of money tied up in boats & gear. Our government want to pretty much shut it down to protect whales from being caught in the trap ropes. I guess records show one might have got tangled in the last 20 years if at all.

Maine lobsterman upset as new federal laws take effect

"You could go down to Cape Cod Bay today and find some Right Whales. But if you went out in my boat, I could take you around for hundreds of miles, and you would never see a right whale, said Dustin Delano, Vice President of the Maine Lobsterman's Association.

I think that's the point. If there weren't lobster fishing all around there, there would probably be some whales.