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Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

bbc.com

51–60 of 111 posts

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#52
post #11

I see nothing wrong with sustainably farming whales like any other animal. Certain species have been endangered and those should be protected, but responsible consumption of traditional foods is an important way to preserve culture.

Ultimately its a preference, whoever can force the other side to follow (persuasively or physically) will be the winner.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#53
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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Regarding point 2, I don't know... the whole "I'm not better than anyone else" should be only part of your sentiment. If you think "I'm not better than anybody, including the least educated parcel of the populace, I don't have better ideas, better judgement, better views... well I guess then I sould go run for office", I doubt you'll be much good for the rest of society. You should be humble, and be able to truly check yourself when in a position of power. But the history of human societies is plagued with terrible beliefs and ideas about the world, and yes, better beliefs and ideas came about. We should hope that they continue to win over the bad ones.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#54

I had hoped when there was an exposé about whale meat, poisoned with heavy metals, being fed to students that this would discourage the practice in Japan: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-whalemeat/whalemeat... Sadly no. (I also got the impression that people didn't want to eat whale meat, which was why it was being foisted onto kids.) Do the countries that hunt whales test the whale meat systematically?

""I'm a bit nervous but happy that we can start whaling," one whaler told AFP news agency before setting sail. "I don't think young people know how to cook and eat whale meat any more. I want more people try to taste it at least once.""

I don't know that whale meat is economically viable.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#55
post #11

I see nothing wrong with sustainably farming whales like any other animal. Certain species have been endangered and those should be protected, but responsible consumption of traditional foods is an important way to preserve culture.

We, as a species, are also any other animal. At the moment, there's very little we can tell about the exact make up of their intelligence. Imagine, with your current intelligence, growing up in a world where you can move in three dimensions which has poor visibility but carries sounds very well. There are no fixed spots, so there is no "here". You also have no opposable thumbs, so you will never create tools or writt…

Humpback whales have been known to protect other species (eg seals or gray whales) from orcas. Also, not all 'killer whales' are created equal: Some populations restrict their diet to fish and don't hunt mammals at all.

It's not impossible that some animals besides humans could be capable of moral reasoning at that level. On the flip side, let's hope intelligent life forms from an environment totally alien to us never arrive here and get a taste for human flesh...

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#56

While we are at it, let’s pay some attention to the overfishing of other species: for example, the cod fishery in northwest Atlantic collapsed in the last century, and stock of bluefin tuna has fallen by over 70%, according to Wikipedia. I am not suggesting that whaling is not harmful to the environment. But for me overfishing of tuna etc is much more dangerous because of its scale and economic impact. We need to fin…

As they say it’s not “but”, rather “yes, and” so I agree with that and would add that the likely sentience of whales is a huge factor here.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#57
I strongly believe that any wildlife hunting/fishing should be prohibited, no matter if it's recreational or for selling.

If it isn't grown specifically for farming/hunting/fishing on a farm/elsewhere, then hard no. Wildlife just doesn't has any chance against modern technology.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#58
post #10

Faroe Islands and Norway catch more whales than Japan [1] but for some reason don't receive nearly the same level of outrage. [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whales_Nordic.png

It should also be noted that the majority of the whale meat produced by these countries is sold to Japan.

Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#59

While we are at it, let’s pay some attention to the overfishing of other species: for example, the cod fishery in northwest Atlantic collapsed in the last century, and stock of bluefin tuna has fallen by over 70%, according to Wikipedia. I am not suggesting that whaling is not harmful to the environment. But for me overfishing of tuna etc is much more dangerous because of its scale and economic impact. We need to fin…

As they say it’s not “but”, rather “yes, and” so I agree with that and would add that the likely sentience of whales is a huge factor here.

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Re: Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years

#60
post #57

I strongly believe that any wildlife hunting/fishing should be prohibited, no matter if it's recreational or for selling. If it isn't grown specifically for farming/hunting/fishing on a farm/elsewhere, then hard no. Wildlife just doesn't has any chance against modern technology.

>I strongly believe that any wildlife hunting/fishing should be prohibited, no matter if it's recreational or for selling.

In some cases, culling of certain wild animal populations is actually beneficial to the ecosystem, e.g. in the case of invasive species, or certain native species whose populations have become unsustainably fast-growing due to external factors (habitat changes; predator or prey population changes, etc.).

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