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"Japanese increase whaling quotas"

[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4436231.stm[/URL]

It's simply unbelievable that this scale of whaling is allowed to proceed at all. I don't understand how the Japanese can so blatantly flout international laws under the pretence of conservation research.

Shock horror! Government in legal loophole scam!

What exactly is the main source of indignation here?

Cheating government breaking rules?
People eating animals we don't think of as food?
Or people killing animals we consider 'rare'?

Maybe it's a bit of all three, but what's the main one?

Obviously the cheating government point is pretty bad (from the Japanese government), but when you compare it to the mass slaughter of civilians based on trying to pick a convoluted line of warped logic and assumption through a couple of UN reolutions, it's pretty small scale.

People eating animals we don't consider food. Obviously there's potential for an element of cultural narrow-mindedness, but I think that'd be a little bit of an injustice to dismiss the argument at that.
There has to be some kind of common ground for a hierachy of animals - in terms of trying to avoid eating the good ones.
Eg, Cod = food
Whale = Grey area
Dolphin = Intellectual equal of a Middlesbrough chav, except with better personal conduct. Grey area again :^D

Killing animals we consider rare.. if the population is stable, why not try to get a bit of use out of them? If of course, I'm not too familiar with current whale numbers.

*Barbaques chavs ready for lunch*

"Right, we've got to map where these whales are. And we've finished for the day."

"There's some over there, cap'n."

"Damn, I'm tired. Just harpoon it, then there's none over there. Sorted."

I now hate the Japanese, in my generalised aspect of things. And I was just beginning to like them after Lost in Translation.

Or, more likely:

"okay, today's count:

estimated total minus one, minus 2, minus 3, minus 4...."

:-D

RoJ wrote:
> "based on Japan's argument that there is a need to increase
> hunting activities in order to analyze the ecosystem of the Antarctic
> Ocean"

Ahaha.
How does that go then.

"FIRE HARPOONS!"

*thunk*
*scream*

"I think we got something!"

*2 hours later, whale finally dragged onto tiny little bost*

"Yup, it's a whale alright. So there are whales in the ecosystem after all. Thank the Lord for that! Let's go home."

"..."

"What?"

"Well, I was thinking ... what if it's just a 1 off?"

"That's true. We'll need to identify a lot more whales before we can say for sure."

*group of whales surfaces beside the boat, breaking the surface and spouting and making generally obvious whale noises*

"There's some more!"

"Hmmm ..."

"What now?"

"They looked more like fish to me. Massive, groaning, water-spraying mammalesque fish."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes indeedy. But we better take a closer look just to make sure. Get some more harpoons!"

"Yessir. We sure are analysing this ecosystem good, captain."

"It brings a tear to my eye. Now get me those harpoons - and a nice blubbery sandwich if the barbeque's still going."

In that case, I'll take the flamethrower.

There's not that many Sumo wrestlers.

Let's go and hunt some down in the name of conservation.

I bags the harpoon gun.

Kill them all I say.

Bloody Welsh

"based on Japan's argument that there is a need to increase hunting activities in order to analyze the ecosystem of the Antarctic Ocean"

What a load of tosh. The sneaky Japs are as you say using the pretence of scientific research to continue hunting. It's a disgrace.

[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4436231.stm[/URL]

It's simply unbelievable that this scale of whaling is allowed to proceed at all. I don't understand how the Japanese can so blatantly flout international laws under the pretence of conservation research.