Japan hunting protected humpback whales!!!

Originally posted by IAF101
I actually respect the Japanese for sticking true to their culture and traditions and not succumbing to this mob pressure being thrust on them by eco-fascists.
The hunt for whales and the need for whale meat is not merely a nutritional choice, but rather a cultural necessity.

Actually, it only really resurfaced in he dark days of world war two. I remember reading an article about how they were having trouble finding a market for whale meat as it tastes horrible.Studies with several species have shown that whale meat often contains dangerously high levels of environmental toxins such as PCB, mercury, and dioxin. The highest concentration of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ever found in any animal was measured recently in the blubber of a species commonly hunted by Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters, a Minke Whale! Toxins particularly dangerous for pregnant women/children, this calls into question the Japanese's practice of providing whale meat in the lunches of school children.
More importantly whaling was in steady decline long before "eco-fascists" in the UN decided to ban it.

Originally posted by smart420
Chances are im going to get flamed for this but oh well lol..

I may be wrong but isnt it something that theyve been doing for hundreds of years?

Well, sort of. Some Japanese have hunted whale for a long while, but it only gained national importance during WW2 when they began eating whale meat out of desperation. Even after WW2, Whaling in japan was rapidly and steadely declining.

well native people who hunt whales usually use old techniques like smallboats and hand thrown harpoons. they eat what they kill. the japonesse use bigass whaling ships to run down whales then use hsarpoon cannons on them. then they have a canning ship come in and proceess them for meat and oil

Japan is backwards when it comes to animal welfare. Japan's government is a disgrace, but guess what, Canada's government was okay with having chumps go out and club baby seals last year. U.S.A proves it's moral superiority once again.

Originally posted by vox2442
Is it OK for indigenous American populations to hunt whale?

I ask because the US government (and public, and greenpeace, and CNN and so forth) seem to have no problem with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission taking 50 bowheads a year from an estimated population of only 8,000.

Indigenous people are allowed to hunt whale as it is subsistence farming, in that there isn't an awful lot else to eat.

The Japanese are hardly short on other foods, so whilst it is part of their history (in some area's. It's worth noting that whale eating only took all over Japan after WW2 when food was scarce)

posted by intrepid
And where are those that would defend the planet? It IS a planetary issue. How about a small flotilla of warships that say, "Um, NO, you're not going to do this."

The Australian opposition Labour party has said it will send out the RAN if they get elected. The NZ gov has said it won't offer assistance if the ships get into trouble.

posted by DaleGribble
no i dont think green peace not being involved would change my opinion. i was just saying that the ships claim to be doing it for research. i cant prove they are just as you cant prove they arent.

Actually, the Australians have said that the Japanese, when asked, couldn't produce any scientific data pertaining to Whale study when the Ambassador was summoned.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was no evidence of Japan producing any data from its research.

BBC

Personally, I believe that Whales should be left alone. They are intelligent, wild animals who in this day an age, don't need to be eaten.

Someone made the comparison with Cows. Well, modern day cows wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for man, they are domesticated and reared from calf to steak.

Whales, on the other hand, are wild animals and are not farmed. If the Japs, or anyone else for that matter, want to eat whale, then they should try and farm it.

Originally posted by stumason
If the Japs, or anyone else for that matter, want to eat whale, then they should try and farm it.

You're joking here right, stu? Tell me you're joking.

Whale farms. Hah! That would be a sight to behold.

I was kind of joking. Making a point, rather.

If you can't farm it and produce it sustainably, then you shouldn't kill it. The only exception should be for people who live subsistence life styles. In developed countries, where food is mass produced and needed in huge quantities, then you should farm it. If you can't farm it, then don't eat it.

What is wrong with Japan, I believed they were civilized people, you don't kill whales for food. Not when they are in the thousands in the world.

It's just wrong to abuse nature. We must co-exist, not destroy and abuse.

This is just like when they kill Dolphins for food. It's just wrong. We will pay for our mistakes soner or later.

Originally posted by stumason
Indigenous people are allowed to hunt whale as it is subsistence farming, in that there isn't an awful lot else to eat.

The Japanese are hardly short on other foods, so whilst it is part of their history (in some area's. It's worth noting that whale eating only took all over Japan after WW2 when food was scarce)

That`s an oft repeated myth that bears closer examination. The reality is that yes, whaling did increase after WW2 because the nation was in effectively a starvation situation. BUT - one should not infer that by extension whaling for meat had been less common before the war. As I mentioned before, it`s documented in text as far back as the 8th century, and pretty much continually since then. In coastal areas (which is pretty much the entire country) it has been a common enough food for well over a thousand years.

It`s a bit like saying that because the Americans drank more beer in the years following prohibition no one drank beer before prohibition.

Actually, the Australians have said that the Japanese, when asked, couldn't produce any scientific data pertaining to Whale study when the Ambassador was summoned.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was no evidence of Japan producing any data from its research.

BBC

All I can say is that Mr. Downer is a liar. I can`t think of any other way to put it.

Here is a .PDF file of pubished papers coming from the last phase of Japan`s Antarctic whaling research, which ran for much of the 90`s.

And here is the ICR homepage outlying every aspect of the current whaling research program.

That`s quite a lot of information, especially given the fact that whaling opponents continually say that there has never been any data from the research.

Can we put these two myths to rest now?

I think it's abit hypocritical for people in the west to call the Japanese & Chinese for their treatment of animals, especially when we treat livestock such as sheep, cattle, pigs, chickens and turkey's etc in the same manner.

We even stick animals in zoos or Seaquariums simply for amusement purposes and call it conservation. How would you like to be stuck in cage or a small pool. It saddens me to see how some of these animals are treated and slaughtered, epsecially humpback whales, dolphins, seals and tigers. Whose to blame? One thing is certain. The eco system is very delicate and man's ignorance is certainly upsetting the balance. Stu made agood point about whales. It's damn right ignorant to hunt, kill and drive a species to extinction when you can simply farm them instead. That's if there's even a need to kill whales in the first place. The scientific excuse is truly lame. Nobodies buying it.

It's a cruel universe, nature is cruel. It's survival of the fittest or the luckiest. Whatever way you want to look at it, that's the rules of the game. It's just the way things are. How can it be any different.

www.dailymail.co.uk... Factory farm tigers

www.slavetoentertainment.com... Orca whales: Slaves to Entertainment. Dying to amuse you.

Whales are a huge part of nature, they are one of the major consumers of plankton that eat algae. So you can imagine what will happen when there are no whales left, our oceans will become TOXIC.

reply to post by laiguana


Nonsense. Not all algae are of the red tide variety that makes for a toxic soup. Besides, the algae that causes red tide is also toxic to whales, so they don't eat it.

Algae is actually good for the ocean, as it provides most of our oxygen (more than rainforests) and it also scrubs the atmosphere of CO2. That's why iron fertilization has been seriously looked at as a possible cost-effective method of sequestering CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels.

Moreover, algae forms an important part of the oceanic food chain, along with zooplankton. You can think of algae as the sea version of grass. In fact, seaweed is also a form of algae called macroalgae.

hehehe there is nothing " magical" about whales, they are just large sea critter's...This is for "Science", NOT HUNTING for food, what a waste....Yumm roasted whale Blubber dipped in baby seal oil...

[edit on 20-11-2007 by Oneshot1]

reply to post by Oneshot1


Oi! You stay away from them baby seals

What say those, who are defending Japanese whaling based upon it being an ancient practice, make of Europeans who have been whaling for at least as long, yet have stopped?

Whales were eaten across Europe from the dark ages. I suppose it's ok for us to start again then? After all, it's part of our ancient culture.

Or perhaps, your going to be ok about Veal? An ancient dish, after all.

Porpoise and Dolphin are ancient English dishes. I assume we're ok to be eating them? How about Herons? Or Peacock?

The point I'm trying to make is times change. Whales are not fish. They are highly intelligent creatures with social structures, possibly language and can feel pain, let alone communicate this to other members of their family, who then show signs of distress and depression.

I'd argue they are at least as intelligent as Apes, if not more so. Yet, we do not eat Apes and find their slaughter for food abhorrent.

Hypocritical?

Pre-WW2, the only people in japan who ate Whale were a selection of coastal communities. It was hardly widespread. It was only post-WW2, due to starvation, that Whale meat took off. Soon after things returned to normal, the demand for whale meat nose dived again. Most Japanese don't eat whale, don't want to eat whale and don't regard it as a cultural dish, let alone a delicacy as is claimed.

I don't have a problem with this. As far as I know, they aren't endangered so there is no serious threat posed by fishing them. Whales are just another animal. If you want to protect something, stand up for the nearly depleted cod stock. Cod are in a lot bigger trouble than whales are (I'm aware that whales are mammals and not fish...), and have been for a long time. It threatens to wipe out the cod species and the lifelihood of fishermen all along the Atlantic coast. Oh wait, cod aren't big "majestic" creatures so you don't want to protect them.

There should be no species differentiation. People who eat one kind of meat and then shout in outcry over protecting whales are huuuuuuge hypocrites. If you even cook with animal fat or oil or drink milk, you should shut your mouth and think about how many animals you harm in your everyday life. I think I'm one of the few people out there who is willing to publicly admit that I would eat a dog if offered it under a legal and socially accepted setting. Golden retriever puppies look like they would taste especially good to me. I'm serious.

In my opinion and many others, Greenpeace is a fanatical terrorist organization. They throw smoke canisters onto boats, throw ropes and chains into their propellors to break them and strand the ships, etc. You might as well take the word "peace" out of their name.

As the great Maddox once said, "For every animal you don't eat, I'm going to eat three."

I'm assuming then, Yarcofin, that you'd eat a Gorilla or Chimpanzee?

reply to post by stumason


That doesn't make sense. Are those apes eaten by anyone else in the world? Monkeys don't count.

They don't look too tasty to me. There are other species of monkey that I would prefer to try over apes. But yes, if I had to (if it were legal and I was in a country where it was custom, or I was starving to death), I would assist in killing, gutting, and eating a nice big silverback. The only animal that I would exhibit any kind of hesitation or remorse over eating would be another human being, and if I was going to starve to death I would probably do it despite being disgusted at the same time. I've heard people taste absolutely disgusting anyway.

Obviously I would prefer a nice boneless, skinless chicken breast or better yet a chicken-flavoured tofu patty. But I can appreciate and respect that other people may want or NEED to eat other things.

Originally posted by stumason
What say those, who are defending Japanese whaling based upon it being an ancient practice, make of Europeans who have been whaling for at least as long, yet have stopped?

That`s part of my issue with the whole thing: Europeans have NOT stopped. Europeans whitewash the fact that whale is hunted by Norway - and that whale meat is still eaten in Europe.

Pre-WW2, the only people in japan who ate Whale were a selection of coastal communities. It was hardly widespread. It was only post-WW2, due to starvation, that Whale meat took off. Soon after things returned to normal, the demand for whale meat nose dived again. Most Japanese don't eat whale, don't want to eat whale and don't regard it as a cultural dish, let alone a delicacy as is claimed.

Have you ever been here? What are you basing your opinion on? From where I sit (Japan, my home for nearly 6 years now), I think you`re just re-hashing a bunch of uninformed greenpeace drivel and anti-Japanese media spin. I think that because it contradicts everything I`ve ever seen in a Japanese history book, in a Japanese museum, on Japanese television, at Japanese restaraunts and supermarkets, uttering forth from the mouths of japanese co-workers and friends, and so forth. But I`m sure you know better, living in ... England, is it?

The real question for me is this: Why are you so wrong? Why is it that wherever Japan is concerned in the Western Media, the impression is so consistently off target?