Killing Whales, Why?

[somebody]

Eating meat or not, but i do agree that whales should not be killed especially when we do not know much about them.

few weeks ago i was watching PBS and they did their special on whales. They clearly stated that there is very little know about these creature, about thier life cycle, mating and etc. So eating chicken, cow, fishes, etc... is ok since we know how to raise them but killing whales isn't a choice . Japanese or anyone else don't know jack about how to raise these large mammals.

[Michaelangelica]

The Sea Shepard sets sail today aiming to disrupt Japanese whaling by any means possible.
A Sea Shepard spokesman said the Japanese Whalers were criminals so anything goes.
The war is on.
I will keep you posted of anything in Australian news bulletins

THE SEA SHEPHERD'S BATTLE AGAINST WHALING

7.12.2006 14:44:31

The stage is being set for an eventful whaling season this summer in the waters off Antarctica.

The Japanese whaling fleet has left for the southern ocean but also getting ready to set sail is the Sea Shepherd's Farley Mowat. Armed with what it calls its 'can opener' welded onto the side of the ship and four-barrel goo gun, the crew is determined to shut down the Japanese whaling fleet.

The black ship has an ominous presence and, like notches on a gun barrel, proudly lists the ten vessels it has sunk over years of protesting against whaling. Sea Shepherd’s actions are controversial, drawing the ire of governments, the IWC as well as other conservation organisations like Greenpeace.

Radio programme at
SBS Radio - World View

Japanese whalers leave for slaughter mission

Andrew Darby

November 15, 2006 - 10:16AM

The Japanese whaling fleet is leaving for the Antarctic under closer control of its Government, in a toughening of its stance ahead of this summer's battle with environmentalists.

The factory ship Nisshin Maru and three chasers are due to leave Shimonoseki in southern Japan later today on an expedition to kill up to 935 minke whales and 10 fins, environmentalists said.

They sail south for the first time after the fleet's holding company, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, was shifted from Japanese fishing corporations to the Government's Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR).

The move is said to emphasise Tokyo's commitment to whaling, and might mean a harder line against Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace in what is shaping as the fiercest contest yet between their forces.

Up to four protest ships will attempt to take on the fleet, which should begin whaling south-east of Australia in mid-December. Last summer the direct action resulted in three ship collisions and severely disrupted whaling for several weeks.

The ICR on its Japanese-language website is calling for public support in condemnation of what it describes as "dangerous terrorist behaviour".

This year both environment groups said they would have ships fast enough to keep up with the fleet for the first time. They were withholding details of their movements before they reached the far south.

The shift in fleet ownership followed consumer pressure on Western subsidiaries of the major fishing corporation, Nissui. The president of Sea Shepherd, Paul Watson, said the transfer out of commercial hands would make the fleet more aggressive.

"The Government will be more stubborn and more intractable,"

Captain Watson said. "I think things will be much hotter down south this summer."
. . .
"Japan considers this an issue of national policy and national sovereignty.

It's a question of positioning themselves ahead of the next International Whaling Commission meeting."

Japan is whaling under the "scientific research" provision of the IWC's treaty while it campaigns to overturn the moratorium on commercial whaling in place for the past 20 years.
. . .
2007 the whalers will start hunting humpbacks which migrate along the Australian coast in winter, with a self-allocated quota of 50.

Japanese whalers leave for slaughter mission - Whale watch - Specials

ea Shepherd confirmed it intended to take two ships south. With Greenpeace also likely to take two ships, a small navy of protesters will be engaging the whalers in the troubled polar waters.

Protesters to step up bid to stop whaling - National - theage.com.au

Last Update: Friday, December 15, 2006. 4:09pm (AEDT)
Senator Campbell says he is happy to be judged on his credentials of trying to save whales.
(Reuters)

Environment Minister dismisses whalers' criticism

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has rejected allegations from Japanese whalers that he supports eco-terrorism.

The Japan Whaling Association (JWA) has accused Senator Campbell of offering support from Australia's Antarctic bases to the conservation group Sea Shepherd when it takes on Japanese whaling fleets in the area.

The JWA is also allegedly angered by the closeness of Senator Campbell and the group's leader, Captain Paul Watson, describing the Senator's actions as showing contempt for the International Whaling Commission.

But Senator Campbell has dismissed the accusations.

"I'm happy to be judged on my credentials of trying to save whales versus the Japanese credentials of slaughtering them, seeing them dragged backwards through the sea, seeing blood pour out of them, seeing them asphyxiated over a period of 10 to 13 minutes," he said.

"All I want to do is make sure that Captain Watson and Greenpeace stay safe and respect the law of the sea."

Senator Campbell says he has spoken with Captain Watson but denies he supports eco-terrorism.

Environment Minister dismisses whalers' criticism. 15/12/2006. ABC News Online

[Cedars]

Do you know if anyone has tried capturing the screams of the dying whales and re-broadcasting them in the waters ahead of the whaling ships?

Or would they come to try to help the distressed whale?

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Do you know if anyone has tried capturing the screams of the dying whales and re-broadcasting them in the waters ahead of the whaling ships?

Or would they come to try to help the distressed whale?

They do have an underwater communication system and it would be a good idea to exploit it if we knew how. I don't know if we do.
(Then the Japanese might then use it to attract whales?)
There are some suggestions/theories that beached pods of whales start from one whale being stranded and others comming to help.
The leap/splashes are also communication too iI am told.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

They do have an underwater communication system and it would be a good idea to exploit it if we knew how. I don't know if we do.
(Then the Japanese might then use it to attract whales?)

I was also thinking later that there are probably many variables in whale language between n. and s. hemisphere (for example) that may make a single recording useless to other pods. We've seen this with other mammals such as monkeys.

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

There are some suggestions/theories that beached pods of whales start from one whale being stranded and others comming to help.
The leap/splashes are also communication too iI am told.

Oh Thats Right!

OK back to the naval blockade and accidental collisions.

[InfiniteNow]

If the distress call idea has merit, then perhaps it's source could be located far away from the hunters, such that the whales increase their distance from them...

[Cedars]

hmmm...

Just a thought.

There have been things in the news about sonar driving whales to beach themselves. There must be a frequency that will drive the animals without inflicting the damages being reported. That would be easier than trying to break whale language.

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by somebody

So eating chicken, cow, fishes, etc... is ok since we know how to raise them

Okay, sorry for going off-topic but frankly I wonder how much we know about raising chicken, cattle, and even fish. I read so much about how badly animals are being treated from they are born to the day they are slaughtered. A farmer might do as best she can but when animals are put in cages that are barely large enough to stand upright in, something is horribly wrong.

As for whales - I once read that their sounds could be heard halfway around the globe. Can anyone help me qualify that statement?

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by Tormod

As for whales - I once read that their sounds could be heard halfway around the globe. Can anyone help me qualify that statement?

In an episode of Cosmos (the show w/Carl Sagan) he stated that whales USED TO be able to have their song heard half way around the world, but since the exponential increase of our ships and submarine insertion to the waters, complete with their sonic and exploratory regalia, that whales can no longer hear each other for more than a few hundred miles... "Topic: The disturbance of whale communication networks by humans."

[Tormod]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

In an episode of Cosmos (the show w/Carl Sagan)

A ha! Thanks for that. I knew I had heard it somewhere. I have the Cosmos series on DVD.