Japan Hunts Humpback Whales.

[eightbore]

Yes, you Swedes and your firearms...a fine tradition! :eusa_clap I'm sure many sheep and cattle ranchers in Wyoming would be happy to send you some wolves. I also know quite a few hunting outfitters who charge $17K USD for wild sheep hunts who are tired of losing a percentage of their lambs every year to wolf predation. How many puppies would you like?

Best,

eightbore

P.S. I couldn't find any photos of elephant in pajamas but I did find a rhino is sexy underwear.

 

[Rooster]

"I once shot an elephant in my pajamas..."








dean

Weren't they a bit small for the elephant?

 

[LocktownDog]

P.S. I couldn't find any photos of elephant in pajamas but I did find a rhino is sexy underwear.

Aw, c'mon. He's just a little confused and experiments a bit. Doesn't really mean anything. Although I hear his mother is heartbroken ... those were her favorite pair.

Richard

 

[Twitch]

The baffling thing is that any products to be gleaned from the renderings can be obtained as cheaply, certainly easier, in synthetic form.[huh]

 

[BegintheBeguine]

True. Even ambergris smells good to me in synthetic form.
Now, everyone go to the public library and borrow a Marx Brothers video.
And the book Caps for Sale. Those two quotes made my day, deanglen.
Ashley

 

[deanglen]

True. Even ambergris smells good to me in synthetic form.
Now, everyone go to the public library and borrow a Marx Brothers video.
And the book Caps for Sale. Those two quotes made my day, deanglen.
Ashley

Glad to be of service!




dean

 

[BellyTank]

I'd like to shoot every single bald eagle i see. I think they'd make great meat.

Weak, ugly and physically uncoordinated humans also make good meat.

Soylent Green, anyone?

bk

OK- I'll bite.
BK, I'll eat you, then please shoot me- feed me to these guys.

Those Welsh deserve all they get.
Especially the Hunchback ones.

Bite
me.

 

[eightbore]

The baffling thing is that any products to be gleaned from the renderings can be obtained as cheaply, certainly easier, in synthetic form.[huh]

I thought this was a meat hunt?

 

[eightbore]

BK, I'll eat you, then please shoot me...

That will be an interesting trick. Will you eat BK and the revolver whole so with his last breath he shoots you from within? [huh] Really, if you just poison BKs tissue with something that is fast enough to spread through your tissues before death, we might poison a lot of subsequent people with your corpse.

 

[BellyTank]

Mind your own Beeswax!

B
T

 

[eightbore]

I am philosophically opposed to harvesting beeswax as I find it exploitative of the bees.

 

[Ben]

Check out the elephant stats in countries that allow sport hunting relative to those that don't. The most stark contrast is between Zimbabwe and Kenya. Even in an extremely unstable political and economic environment, Zim has a workable safari industry (sport hunters paying $20K plus for elephant) and has seen its elephant population swell to MUCH more than it knows what to do with. Why? Because they can effectively fund conservation. Kenya hasn't allowed sport hunting in over 30 years and has seen its elephant population dramatically decline. This of course hurts their revenue and conservation even more. Why go on a photo safari to Kenya if you won't see the big five? Forget the abstract ethical issues when it comes to whaling and elephant hunting...if it pays, it stays (and flourishes!).

eightbore

First off, let me say, I am very, very, very skinny. There is no meat on me, so I am not worth eating.

Second this may be a case of correlation does not equal causation. Things like presence of water and food, other animals, and climate are big factors in animal populations.

While I am inclined to believe that conservation can be aided by approrpriate use, I can't find any numbers to back up the assertion that populations in countries that allow hunting are a) larger, and b) that that is due to hunting. Can you offer up any links?

 

[Valhson]

It tastes nothing like chicken

no kidding, I once had mucktuck when I was living in Alaska. Nasty stuff.

 

[The Captain]

The Norwegian Pirate Whaling Fleet

In April of 2005, the Norwegians sent out 30 harpoon boats out to slaughter 797 minke whales.

Norway kills almost 800 minke whales each year.

Norway's activities are in direct violation of the moratorium established by the International Whaling Association (IWC) in 1986 that prohibits commercial whaling activities.

This year, another violation was committed. Norway is allowing the hunts to take place without a government inspector aboard to monitor that the kills with explosive-tipped harpoons are humane.

The whale meat is consumed by Norwegians but the blubber is considered worthless. The Norwegian whaling association has destroyed hundreds of tons of stockpiled blubber. This year the whalers have been ordered to dump the fatty blubber back into the ocean.

Norway has engaged in illegal killing of whales since 1986. That is the year that the IWC invoked a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

Whereas Japan sneaks around pretending to kill whales for "scientific research," the Norwegians have blatantly defied the moratorium with commercial hunting. Like Japan, they have raised their own quotas year after year.

Unfortunately, the member nations of the IWC have refused to sanction Norway . The United States has refused to uphold the Packwood-Magnuson Act and the Pelly Amendment against Norway. As a result, Norway is now engaged in an illegal mass slaughter of these intelligent and social animals.

 

[Smithy]

While I am inclined to believe that conservation can be aided by approrpriate use, I can't find any numbers to back up the assertion that populations in countries that allow hunting are a) larger, and b) that that is due to hunting. Can you offer up any links?

The Norwegian levels of minke since the resumption of whaling have stabilised, and grown (there are estimated over 100,000 in Norwegian territorial waters and this year around 550 were caught). Also (and just as importantly) look at what has happened with herring and cod stocks in Norwegian waters since the resumption of whaling, both species have increased in number back to levels which rival those of the early 20th century. Many people don't know how much a single pod of minke devour of herring and young cod. If left to breed without check (and no real natural predators) minke would eventually strip these waters of herring and cod which would subsequently lead to the minke declining in number due to a lack of natural food resources for them.

There is a balance in nature for a reason.


EDIT: just interested Captain, but how much time have you spent in Norway and fishing in Norwegian waters?

I would also dispute your assumption of catching annually 500 to 600 whales of a species which numbers currently over 100,000 is damaging the species survival. I also suggest that you have a look at what had happened to cod and herring stocks in Norwegian waters before Norway resumed whaling in 1993.

 

[Rooster]

The Norwegian Pirate Whaling Fleet

In April of 2005, the Norwegians sent out 30 harpoon boats out to slaughter 797 minke whales.

Norway kills almost 800 minke whales each year.

Norway's activities are in direct violation of the moratorium established by the International Whaling Association (IWC) in 1986 that prohibits commercial whaling activities.

This year, another violation was committed. Norway is allowing the hunts to take place without a government inspector aboard to monitor that the kills with explosive-tipped harpoons are humane.

The whale meat is consumed by Norwegians but the blubber is considered worthless. The Norwegian whaling association has destroyed hundreds of tons of stockpiled blubber. This year the whalers have been ordered to dump the fatty blubber back into the ocean.

Norway has engaged in illegal killing of whales since 1986. That is the year that the IWC invoked a global moratorium on commercial whaling.

Whereas Japan sneaks around pretending to kill whales for "scientific research," the Norwegians have blatantly defied the moratorium with commercial hunting. Like Japan, they have raised their own quotas year after year.

Unfortunately, the member nations of the IWC have refused to sanction Norway . The United States has refused to uphold the Packwood-Magnuson Act and the Pelly Amendment against Norway. As a result, Norway is now engaged in an illegal mass slaughter of these intelligent and social animals.

I assume this a cut and paste from the HSUS site?

 

[dr greg]

starbuck

As an australian who lives in a part of the world where the migrating humpbacks go past about 20 minutes from my front door, I'm deeply and emotionally opposed to whaling. :rage: :rage:
There was a long history of it here, but like the sardine industry in the Americas...they f****d it, virtually wiped them out, because humans are generally greedy and stupid unless given boundaries. So the government and the people woke up to what they'd done and banned it and this country has been a leader in trying to save cetaceans in general ever since.
That southern ocean population is still a long way from being fully restored, and we can produce all the stuff we used to hunt them for synthetically so there is NO REASON to hunt them.
The Japanese cry about tradition, well in this country we used to shoot the original inhabitants out of hand, but we don't anymore because we moved on, we developed and matured as a society, and it just ain't CIVILISED to do so!
If they want to hunt whales in their own territorial waters, well that's one thing, but they come down here into our whale sanctuaries to hunt harmless and magnificent creatures for no good reason other than their own stubbornness and national arrogance. I send money to SEA SHEPHERD whenever I can afford to because at least they try and sink the b*****ds, and all power to them. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Smithy]

As an australian who lives in a part of the world where the migrating humpbacks go past about 20 minutes from my front door, I'm deeply and emotionally opposed to whaling. :rage: :rage:
There was a long history of it here, but like the sardine industry in the Americas...they f****d it, virtually wiped them out, because humans are generally greedy and stupid unless given boundaries. So the government and the people woke up to what they'd done and banned it and this country has been a leader in trying to save cetaceans in general ever since.
That southern ocean population is still along way from being fully restored, and we can produce all the stuff we used to hunt them for synthetically so there is NO REASON to hunt them.
The Japanese cry about tradition, well in this country we used to shoot the original inhabitants out of hand, but we don't anymore because we moved on, we developed and matured as a society, and it just ain't CIVILISED to do so!
If they want to hunt whales in their own territorial waters, well that's one thing, but they come down here into our whale sanctuaries to hunt harmless and magnificent creatures for no good reason other than their own stubbornness and national arrogance. I send money to SEA SHEPHERD whenever I can afford to because at least they they try and sink the b*****ds, and all power to them. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

And I think that's the crux of the matter Dr Greg. How the Japanese hunt whales is unsustainable and deplorable. My main problem is when people translate this argument to the North Sea, and lump the Norwegian whaling industry in with the Japanese. Man has been hunting whale in this region for thousands and thousands of years and this has been responsible for keeping a natural balance which means that other species than whale can survive. If minke were allowed to eat indiscriminately they would wipe out fish stocks in this region and thereby destroy their own numbers.

 

[eightbore]

Second this may be a case of correlation does not equal causation. Things like presence of water and food, other animals, and climate are big factors in animal populations.

While I am inclined to believe that conservation can be aided by approrpriate use, I can't find any numbers to back up the assertion that populations in countries that allow hunting are a) larger, and b) that that is due to hunting. Can you offer up any links?

It's not a matter of populations being larger (though the populations are) so much as its a matter of most countries that allow hunting generally witnessing increasing populations over time while nations without organized safari industries (or more importantly those outright prohibiting hunting) have seen their populations decline without exception. Obviously, issues like climate, water, food, etc aren't going to have changed dramatically in the last three decades.

Elephant populations
Country 1981 1989 2002 2006
Zaire (D.R.C.) 376,000 103,000 7,667 2,447
Central African Republic 31,000 27,000 2,977 109
Congo 10,800 25,000 402 431
Gabon 13,400 92,000 0 1523
Kenya 65,000 18,000 22,036 23,353
Tanzania 203,900 75,000 92,453 108,816
Sudan 133,700 21,000 20 20
Botswana 20,000 58,000 100,629 133,829
South Africa 8,000 8,200 14,071 17,847
Zambia 160,000 45,000 12,457 16,562
Zimbabwe 47,000 49,000 81,555 84,416
Namibia NA NA 7,769 12,531

Out of the above, the only countries with any major sort of organized safari industry are Tanzania, Botswana, RSA, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Look at the disaster in the others. Note: I can't find data for Chad but it's populations have likely also plummeted absent organized hunting and the tusks are for sale all over the bazaars of North Africa. To continue, it appears as though Tanzania had some issues initially but has got its act together and it seems Zambia really shot itself in the foot but may have learned from past errors too. Now check out Zim, Nam, and RSA and especially Botswana...dramatic success coming from market based hunting. If one is skeptical of my thesis given the above relative failures of Zambia and Tanzania, it might be proper to believe that an embrace of the market approach to conservation yields a 66% chance of success.....its abandonment yields a 100% chance of failure. Frankly, in the developing world, a 66% success rate of any program is pretty darn good and beats doing nothing any day of the week.

Best,

eightbore

 

[The Captain]

The Norwegian levels of minke since the resumption of whaling have stabilised, and grown (there are estimated over 100,000 in Norwegian territorial waters and this year around 550 were caught). Also (and just as importantly) look at what has happened with herring and cod stocks in Norwegian waters since the resumption of whaling, both species have increased in number back to levels which rival those of the early 20th century. Many people don't know how much a single pod of minke devour of herring and young cod. If left to breed without check (and no natural predators) minke would eventually strip these waters of herring and cod which would subsequently lead to the minke declining in number due to a lack of natural food resources for them.

EDIT: just interested Captain, but how much time have you spent in Norway and fishing in Norwegian waters?
There is a balance in nature for a reason. However the Japanese whaling campaign is harming this balance.

You stating that, without slaughtering the minke whale, the herring and cod would be depleted and "lead to the minke declining in numbers due to a lack of natural food resources for them", is so convoluted it is (almost) laughable. How humane! As if the natural world couldn't survive without the whalers killing - oh, excuse me , catching hundreds of minkes. The point is, that the IWC has placed a moratorium on commercial whaling and what Norway is doing is no different than what Japan is doing. Trying to capture the higher moral ground is disingenuous at best. As far as your question about me ever being in Norway, the answer is no, but I've been there in spirit with the ships and crew of the SEA SHEPARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY.