I don’t know much about Japan in this case. I should clarify that I’m trying to see this from a European perspective, focusing on whaling in the Atlantic.
Please, come right out and tell us that you don’t have a clue about the subject – like the rest of us.
BUT there is this new invention called, let me get this straight, the inter…something. Handy for detail, facts and figures, that sort of thing.
I’m not familiar with whaling regulations. I don’t think the process of killing animals per se is any more nice than you do. I like fishing and will probably take up gamebird hunting some day, owing mainly to the fact that I enjoy the general nature / hunting experience and getting food straight from the wild. The act of killing in itself does not appeal to me, but I see it as a (brutal) part of life.
Indeed, and someone has to do the killing – but they need to do it in an humane fashion. I believe within hunting there are rules that say you don’t kill a nursing female. You want the animals to still be there for you next season you don’t kill the breeding females, and certainly not the young. Unless you are researching how quickly you can bring that animal to the brink of extinction.
I think hunting wild animals for food is more natural in itself than taking whatever comes out of the abattoirs. Speaking of farm animals – what about their quality of life? Stress levels in the moments before they’re slaughtered? Medication? Meat quality?
Good idea – but there are billions of mouths to feed: where are you going to get all those wild animals from? In this day and age taking individual animals from the wild feeds a minuscule few comparatively, so there has to be farming, cultivating animals for food. But research – not from the Japanese – shows that whales and dolphins are aware of what is happening, they can communicate and feel terror and stress when being hunted, the survivors carry the trauma for a long time afterwards.
Shooting an unknowing elk which has lived a good and healthy life in the wild doesn’t seem that bad to me compared to the abattoir.
You would say that, but then you are not an elk. Tell us how much fun it is when they have the opportunity to shoot back…
You don’t think the various populations are being monitored?
Researchers can count the number of birds in a measured area and claim that there must be – give or take a percentage – X number of that species. You can’t do that in an underwater environment as easily, logistics and all that. It is estimated that there are little over 100,000 Minke whales left – apparently a good number, when compared to other whales, but we don’t know if they have been able to keep up their numbers when you extract those killed by whalers, etc. We know that the calf’s stay with the mother for at least two years, and that they die if their pod gets attacked by whalers and the mother is killed (obviously) or loses her calf in the melee.
We know that, in general, whales are a species in decline due to pollution and hunting but that there is no real interest from those nations that do still hunt whales despite the thought that their governments might have an interest in not feeding their people whale meat containing very high levels of mercury… But no.
Again, I know little about the Japanese activities. Logic tells me they don’t intend to do away with the very foundation of whaling (or hunting or fishing) in general: Always making sure to maintain a strong and sustainable population of whatever species you’re after. I trust that e.g. Norwegian authorities know their stuff regarding minke whales in the Atlantic.
Then research it. Logic and trust doesn’t always enter into it… (mutter, mutter, mercury poisoning, mutter)
Look, I’m quite fond of whales and animals in general. General animal welfare and conservation of wild species means a lot to me. I also believe in the responsible and sustainable harvesting of what nature has to offer. I don’t have a complete oversight, but I’m more worried about some other species (e.g. Amur Leopard, Mountain Gorilla) than the minke whale at the moment. Perhaps the resources being used to try and keep some minke whales from getting killed could benefit more serious conservation efforts elsewhere. I just fail to see the logic here.
??? There are laws; they are not/cannot always observed. There are problems with leopards and gorillas which can involve poachers – what is the difference between whalers and men stalking around forests shooting gorillas or leopards for the meat and fur? Clue: it is easier to deploy and army to watch over gorillas and ignore whales…
Harvesting to me implies industrial methods of farming the animals for slaughter – you cannot maintain whales like that, not in the wild. Logic says we need to really know how many there are and just how sustainable – to life! – they are without taking thousands out and hoping that there are some there next year.
Tip: If you ever get the chance, consider trying some grilled and properly marinated minke meat with a fitting sauce.
A fitting sauce? Maybe something made from effluent and containing mercury…?
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