The Japanese Whaling Fleet Sets Sail - Scientific Whaleburgers anyone?

[DorothyB]

OK, this really winds me up

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4417462.stm

Despite a global restriction on commercial whaling, the Japanese propose to kill around 1000 whales in the antarctic in the name of "scientific research" and "conservation" in addtition to their other "scientific" whale hunts.

[Dibble]

No thanks, I'd prefer meat from something less intellegent please.
(moose-meat...? ...na they are way too smart for me.)

Let's not forget other thickies who gobble Whales i.e. Norway.

[starburst]

Yeah it sickens me too. It really has to stop, but they're trying to do that for a long time.

[idontlikeyou246]

It's their culture. To criticize is to risk charges of racism.

I have no problems with the killing as long as they believe the population can sustain the deaths.

[2ndtimearound]

I don't quite understand what you're arguing there. Are you asserting that it's racist to criticise anyone from a different culture? Are you saying that to criticise destructive behaviour which is culturally ingrained is racist (e.g. killing endangered rhinos for their horn may be wiping out the population, but pointing this out is racist). Or are you saying that if we point out that sidestepping a worldwide ban on commercial whaling by spurious claims of scientific research is wrong, that crazy people who abuse the word "racist" might acuse us of it.

I'm not being confrontational (I know it's sometimes hard to tell over the internet) - I really want to know if you're actually arguing that it's racist (in which case I have to disagree with you) or if you're pointing out that false claims of racism could be raised against states who pressure Japan (in which case you may be right - it happens all the time in the States whenever anyone questions their support for Israel).

[JudyG]

Moosey, I know you are not a confrontational moose, you know we animals have to stick together!

I mean the latter. It is obvious that some cultures are better than others. However, if you criticize anyone who does not have fair skin, hair and eyes, you are a "racist." Note the extreme difference between the reaction toward Norway (with the wrong skin, hair and eyes) and Japan (with more politically correct skin, hair and eyes). Norway=whining, boycotts, and protests on MTV; Japan=yawn.

Thus, the inherent problems in criticizing Japan's actions.

Myself, I have no problems with the killing. I understand man is an animal and is top predator and as such a killer. However, I do not believe it is within our best interests to wipe any species off the face of the earth (saber tooth tigers, short face bears, and those giant meat eating birds from South America to be the exceptions).

[Badster]

Obvious to who? Which cultures are you talking about?

So you're saying that there is racial prejudice against Norwegians?

[borabora2go]

Sorry, but that is a pretty dumb statement. What makes one culture better than the other ??? I really don't see it in a context of which one is better. All culture is different, that's what makes it interesting. Pointing out differences is much easier than finding common ground. Ok, it is a problem that some cultures do clash or have different viewpoints on how to handle whaling for example. The point of the whole discussion is to convince these people that it has to stop.

If there is a healthy population of animals then hunting a certain percentage of them wouldn't really be that much of a problem. But us humans do have a tendency to not know when to stop.



This does not relieve us of the responsibility to ensure that all these animals survive. That is what separates us from animals, we can understand what actions influence the environment and manipulate it in either a good or a bad way.

Being the top predator is no excuse for wiping out whole species of animals.

Don't get me wrong, hunting is what man has done throughout history... and I really don't have the illusion that we'll ever live in a world without it. And if it is done on a scale we can control, with healthy populations of animals then I've really got nothing against it. I too love meat...

[JakubG]

Whaling in Japan is an odd one at best. Only the older people will eat the meat, they actually starting trying to put whale meat in school lunches because they were worried that not enough young people were eating whale meat to sustain the industry. Also, they are supposed to be whaling only Menke whales, but someone supposedly smuggled out a few cans and found meat from endangered species.

When you come down to it, whaling is outdated and unproductive and in most of the countries that still practice whaling, it is heavily supported by their governments. Barring perhaps the occasional Inuit traditional hunt, I can't understand why all countries aren't banning whaling.

[vicky_edmond2000]

Some cultures are better than others is not a dumb statement. It is a correct one. The cultures of the Nazi, Communist or Taliban are inferior to the free cultures of the West. I am saying that it is not racist to state this fact just because these cultures have people in them that do not look like me.

Yes, there was a bilge of racism against the Norwegians years ago when Norway resumed whale hunts. I am old enough to remember the filth on, e.g., MTV.