Whaling

[Guest]

Just pulled this out of my email

 

Dear friends,

In one week, the International Whaling Commission will hold its final

vote on a proposal to legalize commercial whale hunting for the first

time in a generation.

 

The outcome rests on whose voices are heard most clearly in the final

hours: the pro-whaling lobby -- or the world's people?

 

More than 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales --

but it's time to reach 1 million! At the whale summit in Morocco, an

Avaaz team is setting up billboards, front-page newspaper ads, and a

giant, constantly-updating petition counter -- all to ensure that

delegates, from the moment they step off the plane until they cast

their votes, will see from our explosive numbers that the world will

not accept legal whale slaughter.

 

Let's soar past a million. Click to sign, and then forward this email

to everyone you know:

 

Thanks to the worldwide outcry, many governments have already pledged

to oppose the proposal. Each time the Avaaz whale petition added

100,000 signatures, it was sent again to the IWC and key governments

-- and some, like New Zealand, thanked all of us who had signed on.

 

But pressure from the other side has been relentless -- and now other

 

Click on link below

 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_last ... hp?CLICKTF

 

P.S.: Despite the ban, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have continued

whaling -- and are now pushing to make the IWC proposal as lenient as

possible. Expecting permission to catch more whales than ever, Japan

is reportedly planning to buy its largest whaling ship yet. Click here

to sign the petition against commercial whaling:

SOURCES:

 

"IWC whaling proposal 'offensive'", New Zealand Herald:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10640398

 

"Conservationists condemn 'peace plan' allowing for limited whaling", Guardian:

http://www.avaaz.org/guardian_whales

 

The other side: IWC Chairman defends whaling proposal

http://www.avaaz.org/commercial_whaling_support

[Tim C 23]

Now many of you have shown just how opinionated you can be, about many different topics!

I hope lots of the regulars and visitors have visited and signed this. This is important.

There's a special place in Hell for those that sit on the fence...

[wheels 543]

Now that is hardly fair Tim. While I don't like a Whale being killed, I also don't believe I have a right to tell others they can not kill to eat one. If they killed a whale or any animal for that matter just for sport and left it to rot, then that would get me angry. But to hunt an animal for food, well how can you tell someone they can not. What is the difference with killing a Horse, or Dog, or any animal. To me, Bull fighting is far more discusting.

'Now what I do think is wrong, is if the Japanese are going into a Internationaly recognised Whale Sanctury, then that is a whole different matter and Japan should be held accountable for breaking international law. Can someone tell me if that area is an International Sanctury??

What I do get very angy with, if the blatant Propaganda that ones like Sea Shepherd put out. They show Pictures on TV of Sperm Whales when these are not the species being hunted. They show old footage of other species being harpooned and electrocuted. But they do not show the small Minkie Whale which is the one that is actually targeted. That is just wrong and they don't get my support because of that.

[Guest]

What is the difference with killing a Horse, or Dog, or any animal.

 

Horses and dogs have never been an endangered species.

[Fish 0]

There's a special place in Hell for those that sit on the fence...

Are you actually BS?

[wheels 543]

Horses and dogs have never been an endangered species.

Neither are Minkie Whales

[Guest]

Yeah bu tthe way the human race is going the oceans are going to end up dead very soon. I could almost give up fresh fish it's so disgusting.

[Battleship 100]

Have you had a look at the site wheels?

It is quite clearly nothing to do with the sea shepherd idiots.

 

like yourself I am also quite happy for the Japanese to eat Whales, but only if they catch them in Japan. Going down to the southern ocean Whale sanctury to kill them is just a bloody disgrace.

[Guest Dry Reach]

Where are greenpeace, when all the "hundreds" whales beach themselves on coasts of the world every summer?

 

Are these whales not worthy of their "marketing / media profile" and there money / resourses?

 

Whales should be protected... All Whales!

 

all animals should be protected... except sustainably farmed ones and over populated ones!

 

lets start eating rats, opposums, dogs, cats, rabbit, and those pesky humans

[wheels 543]

I just want to make this clear once again. I am NOT for the killing of any whales, or even Dolphins. I find it disgusting. And please, I am talking about the killing of a what I consider a very intelligent animal species. I am not coming from an endangered species point of view. My use of Horse and Dog as an example was because many of us care about those animals also. But some countries consider them as food. It is purely our culture once again. I am trying to describe here a "point of view" only.

If we as individuals ever think we can change those countries point of view simply by complaining and protesting, we are simply fooling ourselves. Just like the Bull fighting in Spain. I and I know many others here think it repulsive. But the Spanish culture see it differently and just laugh at the rest of the worlds attitude toward it.

Japan is the same. No amount of complaining will change that. They view animals and even Human life for that matter, very very differently to us, due to Cultural and Religous beliefs.

Just as an example and PLEASE read this as an example. I can give two point of views in just the Christian belief for a stater. There are some Christians that believe that because one commandmant says "Though shalt not Kill" that this means we should not kill any living thing from Human to Animal. So they are Vegiterian. Then there are others that read the verse that says God gave us dominion over every living Animal, and therefore we can kill for food and eat what we want. Both the same religouse belief, both very different views.

What has to change is International Policy and Law and the actions by the International community on the breaking of that law.

If there is an Internationaly legal sancturey down there, then that should be policed and controlled by international law and if Japan are killing in that area, why are they not being prosicuted for it. I don't understand why not, unless that area is not legally recognised.

If the species of Whale they hunt is outside of the Minkie Population and they target protected species, they need to be prosicuted under International Law for that also. It is only places like the UN or whoever is the chief organiosation for this, that can weld the power required to hold these countries to account over breaking the law.

As Kiwi's, we personally may find killing whales repulsive. But it is just our view. There are other countries that veiw what we kill and eat as repulsive also. I can't hink of an animal example, but I know China view drinking a Glass of Milk to be the same thought we would have of drinking a Glass of Spit. They just get totaly repulsed by the idea. We think nothing of it and laugh at them.

I close in saying once again, I don't like it either, but we have to see it in their veiw and realise our current ways of protesting are not doing anything and if anything, is making it worse because they are fighting this due to pigheadedness.

[Guest Dry Reach]

If you were "GOD" and you had to cull something from the planet to bring the enviroment and ballance of "animal life" into equilibrium there would be one easy decision to make!...

 

The humans are the problem!

 

We Cull all the wrong things and protect stupid things.

 

All other animals live in a ballanced harmony!

[wheels 543]

Hmmmm, I can think of the odd time when some would have happily placed you at the front of the line DR

[Guest Dry Reach]

Hmmmm, I can think of the odd time when some would have happily placed you at the front of the line DR

 

 

Be boring if we were all the same and all agreed!

 

Beware of the guys who pat you on the back! There's a knife hiding away somewhere!

[Guest]

I actually agree with DR here, too many people, we are like a plague.

[Grinna 2]

I can understand the cultural whaling argument.

 

For instance, in parts of Italy there is a very very long tradition of eating horse and donkey. Florence, one of the centres of the rennaissance and birthplace of sophistication, art, music, culture is also smack in the centre of traditional horse consumption. The markets of Florence have meat stalls that sell horse meat (they also sell cows faces, udders, uteruses, hooves, trachea, lungs, 4 different types of cow tripe, bulls bits, etc, but that's beside the point).

 

Now, I can admire horses ... they look kinda cool in a paddock and they're a terrific way of getting rid of carrots and apples, but that's about as far as I go with horses. I sat on one once, and for something that was stuffed with hay it was bloody uncomfortable. Anyway, I don't have a problem with a bunch of Italians tucking into GG stew for lunch, or enjoying a Mr Ed sandwich or Phar Lapp hotpot or whatever. My friend, however, who is mad for horses was absolutely horrified when I told her and wanted to start a campaign to stop the slaughter of poor innocent horses in Italy.

 

The Japanese (and Norwegians, Eskimos, a few Pacific Islanders, and one or two Asian nations) argue that they've got a history of whale harvest and consumption and that its a part of their culture, tradition and general way of doing things. Let's face it, if you're scratching about for good quality mammal flesh and a bunch of whales are stooging about in the bay, you're going to start hatching a cunning plan aren't you.

 

So a bunch of "enlightened" bods come along and tell you that whales are marvelous and mystical beasts who can solve quadratic equations in their heads and that what you've done for generations is wrong and that you must stop it now (from the luxury of large areas of arrable land and substantial sheep and beef farming agriculture). Chances are you'd tell them to piss off too.

 

The difference with the Japanese of course is that they're not just clobbering the odd whale that strays into Osaka Harbour, they're travelling half way round the world to a whale sanctuary to nobble themselves a bunch of meat. Not exactly cricket.

 

Hard to see an easy solution to be honest.

[Guest]

Well, I’ve had my say. I have always been against Whaling as a moral stand. I agree that the Minkie is not as endangered as some would have you think, in fact quite the opposite. I do not agree with the Nips being down south Whaling however I also bear in mind that what they are doing is actually not Illegal, I don't support them but I also don't condemn anyone doing anything if it's legal even if I think it is wrong. (how’s that for fence sitting I hope it's warm down there)

[Guest Dry Reach]

I can understand the cultural whaling argument.

 

For instance, in parts of Italy there is a very very long tradition of eating horse and donkey. Florence, one of the centres of the rennaissance and birthplace of sophistication, art, music, culture is also smack in the centre of traditional horse consumption. The markets of Florence have meat stalls that sell horse meat (they also sell cows faces, udders, uteruses, hooves, trachea, lungs, 4 different types of cow tripe, bulls bits, etc, but that's beside the point).

 

Now, I can admire horses ... t.

 

The difference with the Japanese of course is that they're not just clobbering the odd whale that strays into Osaka Harbour, they're travelling half way round the world to a whale sanctuary to nobble themselves a bunch of meat. Not exactly cricket.

 

Hard to see an easy solution to be honest.

 

Speaking of cricket...

 

whats the difference between whale (can insert other things in here) meat and a cricket bat?...

 

 

if you dry hard enough, you can eat a cricket bat!

 

As for a solution.... Farm them!

[Guest]

People eat just about everything somewhere in the world, I have zero problem with that even if I personally won't eat some things mainly due to I just don't like them. Hey, NZers eat fungus that grows in cow sh*t and other equally weird crap.

 

I have no problem with the Japanese and the others eating whale.

 

I do have issues with knocking off 100's in a sanctuary under the guise of science. That's total bollix.

 

I would prefer to see NZers bitching about all the foreign fishing fleets raping our waters. If they don't stop soon we'll be forced to follow Japans lead if we want a feed of fish and chips.

[Guest Dry Reach]

People eat just about everything somewhere in the world, I have zero problem with that even if I personally won't eat some things mainly due to I just don't like them. Hey, NZers eat fungus that grows in cow sh*t and other equally weird crap.

 

I have no problem with the Japanese and the others eating whale.

 

I do have issues with knocking off 100's in a sanctuary under the guise of science. That's total bollix.

 

I would prefer to see NZers bitching about all the foreign fishing fleets raping our waters. If they don't stop soon we'll be forced to follow Japans lead if we want a feed of fish and chips.

 

 

That should be Feesh and Cheeps. and i agree.

 

NIWA have developed farming of Salmon ($330 million a year exported from NZ) and now Kingfish.

Wee need to do more of this in farms and leave the oceans to replenish!

[Guest]

Those farms kill the local environment so are far from as squeaky clean as they like to appear.