- 23 Sep 2005
- 1,295
- 76
"For the anti-whaling lobby, Japan appears to be its Moby Dick, a foe to be singled out and endlessly pursued.
For example, activists chased Japanese whalers across the Southern Ocean under a full media glare this past winter.
But are the attacks fair, when other nations also engage in substantial amounts of whaling―and unlike Japan, in open defiance of international conventions?
Hunting opponents seeking to influence the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the world regulatory body, at its annual meeting in Santiago, Chile, this week were unequivocal.
Japan is the "head of the zombie and needs to be cut off," said Willie Mackenzie, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace U.K. "It's very, very clear that, internationally, Japan is behind the drive towards commercial whaling"";
Full Story;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080627-japan-whaling.html
Personally i do think that people do attack Japan too much for its whaling- yes, it kills the most whales, however at least it does its whaling under the guise of research (which BTW is not total rubbish, but not completely true either). I do think Japan is being unfairly overly targeted in this debate- there is not even half as much coverage about Iceland and Norways whale hunts in comparison to Japanese ones even though they also kill hundreds of whales.
"Greenpeace still supports subsistence whale hunts by native peoples in Arctic waters. In 2006, Greenland inhabitants alone accounted for almost 200 whale kills, including 11 fin whales, which are listed as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
"Greenpeace doesn't campaign against aboriginal subsistence whaling, because it's not the problem," Mackenzie said.
That view isn't shared by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), one of the few groups to campaign against subsistence whaling."
There seems to be a massive conflict of opinion/ideals here between certain major animal/environmental groups- Greenpeace is not completely against all whaling, but WSPA is. I think Greenpeace is being more reasonable by supporting aboriginal subsistence hunting- this way at least they aren't completely putting animals before people.
""It has almost become a religion, that whales are the only symbol of the marine ecosystem," she said. "People who believe this religion think all Japanese people are evil, because we kill whales.
"Food security is a serious problem for Japan, particularly with rising fuel prices around the world. And the government and Japanese people should stand up and say that whale meat is a good food resource that should be used to provide protein," Misaki said."
I do think there is some degree of racism towards the Japanese because of the countries whaling policies- i've seen it myself, like people saying "Lets harpoon those Japanese yellow bastards" etc.
I don't think its healthy to have so much coverage on Japanese whaling and anger directed at the Japanese- there are many more much more important wildlife problems going on it the world and i think that all of this whaling religion anger stuff often overshadows more important stuff like the poor failing state of the marine ecosystems on the whole in general etc.
I also respect the idea that whales and whaling could be a more environmentally friendly form of marine harvest- a whale has a considerable amount of meat and fat on it and every single part of the whale can be used for something. Commercial whaling is less damaging on the environment than commercial fishing like trawling- its less destructive to marine ecosystems in general.
For example, activists chased Japanese whalers across the Southern Ocean under a full media glare this past winter.
But are the attacks fair, when other nations also engage in substantial amounts of whaling―and unlike Japan, in open defiance of international conventions?
Hunting opponents seeking to influence the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the world regulatory body, at its annual meeting in Santiago, Chile, this week were unequivocal.
Japan is the "head of the zombie and needs to be cut off," said Willie Mackenzie, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace U.K. "It's very, very clear that, internationally, Japan is behind the drive towards commercial whaling"";
Full Story;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080627-japan-whaling.html
Personally i do think that people do attack Japan too much for its whaling- yes, it kills the most whales, however at least it does its whaling under the guise of research (which BTW is not total rubbish, but not completely true either). I do think Japan is being unfairly overly targeted in this debate- there is not even half as much coverage about Iceland and Norways whale hunts in comparison to Japanese ones even though they also kill hundreds of whales.
"Greenpeace still supports subsistence whale hunts by native peoples in Arctic waters. In 2006, Greenland inhabitants alone accounted for almost 200 whale kills, including 11 fin whales, which are listed as an endangered species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
"Greenpeace doesn't campaign against aboriginal subsistence whaling, because it's not the problem," Mackenzie said.
That view isn't shared by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), one of the few groups to campaign against subsistence whaling."
There seems to be a massive conflict of opinion/ideals here between certain major animal/environmental groups- Greenpeace is not completely against all whaling, but WSPA is. I think Greenpeace is being more reasonable by supporting aboriginal subsistence hunting- this way at least they aren't completely putting animals before people.
""It has almost become a religion, that whales are the only symbol of the marine ecosystem," she said. "People who believe this religion think all Japanese people are evil, because we kill whales.
"Food security is a serious problem for Japan, particularly with rising fuel prices around the world. And the government and Japanese people should stand up and say that whale meat is a good food resource that should be used to provide protein," Misaki said."
I do think there is some degree of racism towards the Japanese because of the countries whaling policies- i've seen it myself, like people saying "Lets harpoon those Japanese yellow bastards" etc.
I don't think its healthy to have so much coverage on Japanese whaling and anger directed at the Japanese- there are many more much more important wildlife problems going on it the world and i think that all of this whaling religion anger stuff often overshadows more important stuff like the poor failing state of the marine ecosystems on the whole in general etc.
I also respect the idea that whales and whaling could be a more environmentally friendly form of marine harvest- a whale has a considerable amount of meat and fat on it and every single part of the whale can be used for something. Commercial whaling is less damaging on the environment than commercial fishing like trawling- its less destructive to marine ecosystems in general.