International Whaling Summit Ends in Disarray

Oh no, this upsets me..

why do people find it so hard to resist fishing these creatures.. its different from the times when the inuits had to hunt a whale and the entire village would eat.. eat smaller fish .. try meat or beef .. or chicken.. or even vegetarian would be a welcome change every few days..

leave the whales alone..

I hate to be controversial, but why can't indigenous people eat their food of choice?

Whales populations were nearly wiped out for the use of their oil to drive the industrial revolution. Indigenous folk from Japan & Nordic countries had been eating whale meat for hundreds of years prior to this, without endangering the populations.

I have never eaten whale meat & have no desire to. But I don't baulk at the idea of indigenous populations in eating what they have been eating for the past hundreds of years.

I spent the last ten years working in the Livestock Industry & some of the practices used in so called "mainstream" slaughter houses aren't exactly humane.

I struggle with non-vegetarians telling all & sundry to eat beef or chicken, but leave the Whales alone. What hypocrites! Because you deem these meats to be mainstream, so should some Eskimo in Greenland, really? 

Two very playful humpback whales put on an amazing show for us @ the Gold Coast, Australia. I don't understand how anyone could hurt or hunt these creatures. 

Its one thing to eat an animal (beef or chicken) which is controlled and farmed, but to hunt an endangered species which is still recovering its numbers and then to claim they are hunted for scientific purposes is a joke. 

Verity W has contributed a photo to this story.

Verity,

There are laws in place in Australia with regard to the proximity that boats are allowed to approach Whales. I believe it to be 100m!

Let me get this right. Modern Western Civilisation hunts Whales to near extintion, all in the name of greed. We now benefit from the advancements made & ingnorantly consume the products. But indigenous people that had hunted these animals responsibly for hundreds of years, with no detremental effect to their numbers, all in the name of sustenance, should now cease their activities. All because we screwed it up for them? Whether or not this is done under the guise of "Scientific Research" is really irrelevant. We forced them into this situation.

With regard to your ignorance regarding farmed animals. Have you ever heard a pig or cow squeal as it lead to slaughter? Are you aware that Feedlot Cattle & Pigs are fed Anti-depressants in the days prior to slaughter, thus making them more controlable? What about genetically modified Roosters? Specifically bred without one of their claws so they don't damage the hens when they are breeding. Chickens & Turkeys, hung by their feet & having their throats slit in darkened rooms with infrared lighting, to keep them calm. All in the name of humanity the industry claims. Rubbish, it's all in the name of unbruised meat & higher profits!

I don't support the slaughter of Whales. But I'm not a hypocrite either. Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. I refuse to judge!

Bugalugrox, you make some really good points.  I personally have no issue with the indigenous people food hunting.  If the native people hunt with modern exploding harpoons and sell most of their meat on the world market, then I have a problem.  I can't agree more with you about the inhumanity of the modern factory farm.  When people refuse to be mindful of their food choices, whether vegetarian or not, they lose a little of their own humanity.

save the whale