Weez, I agree that it’s wasteful and stupid and I’m totally opposed to this moronic practice as well.

But, this is also one of those rare times when I’m disagreeing with you on a couple of things. People don’t make anywhere near as much noise for any other species that is endangered, why are whales so special?

From an animal rights perspective, it’s a no-brainer. 1 whale in terms of meat = around 300 cows. 300 innocent lives versus 1. Cows AND whales have vested interests – their right to freedom and life. We (whether we’re Japanese, Aussie or American) rob them of these rights.

In terms of waste, the cattle “industry” clears so much land world wide each year that it is one of the major causes of deforestation. Water usage to “grow” the cattle is also a huge issue. It does far more damage than the few morons who insist that whaling needs to continue. What’s more, it’s ignored by a majority of us.

Whaling sucks, but so does killing any other animal food or “research” – whether you’re looking at it from a rights or environmental perspective.

People don’t make anywhere near as much noise for any other species that is endangered, why are whales so special?

Disagree. There’s numerous groups and individuals who advocate for preservation of a number of endangered animals.

From an animal rights perspective, it’s a no-brainer. 1 whale in terms of meat = around 300 cows. 300 innocent lives versus 1.

Oh, so we should kill whales instead of cows because you don’t have to kill as many? I don’t get your point.

Cows AND whales have vested interests – their right to freedom and life. We (whether we’re Japanese, Aussie or American) rob them of these rights.

Cows and whales don’t have rights. Rights are a human construct, for humans.

I don’t know why you use alarm quotes around “industry” as it refers to cattle. It IS an industry.

Cows are good food. If we have to clear some land to have tasty burgers & steaks, fine. Waste from the industry can be better managed- you can make some dandy methane fuel from cow poo if it’s all captured.

I don’t see any problem at all with killing some animals for food. They wriggle around too damn much when you throw them on the BBQ if you don’t kill ’em first.

Plus, my BBQ is only big enough for small pieces of cow. The cows like it better if they’re dead before you remove their steaks.

Thanks for the reply Weez.

Yep, there are numerous groups who advocate for other endangered species, but the general public or those groups don’t kick up as much stink for those other endangered species. That’s pretty clear from a quick squiz at the media and those groups’ websites when it’s whale hunting season (or indeed in between each whale hunting season).

My point was that looking at it from a preservation of life and meat eating perspective, many more sentient lives are ended by killing 300 cows rather than one whale. It seems like much more of a waste of life killing more than less. It’s a simple utilitarian principle really – more loss of life is worse than less loss of life.

If our meat eating industry was set up to eat whales, I suspect that people wouldn’t give a damn which whales were endangered and which weren’t. We eat plenty of shark in Australia, but people don’t really seem to care about the species of shark that are endangered due to over-fishing. It’s a double standard. Because whales have this fake “oh the majesty of the whale” thing going on, people care more about them. Cows, sharks and pigs aren’t as “sexy” or “in” or “majestic” so people don’t care. What’s the base difference in killing any of these sentient creatures who all possess central nervous systems? There isn’t one – apart from the fact that in “our” culture, you eat cows, pigs, chickens and fish. This was demonstrated during the 2002 world cup when people were appalled at the fact the host nation Korea was serving dog. A dog is “special” in “our” culture. In India, a cow is “special” in Hindu culture. We pick certain species and eat them. There is no real justification for it. It’s a construct as well. Whales aren’t any more special than chickens, fish, dogs or cows.

Rights are a human construct, granted. Therefore, as a construct, they can be applied to other animal life forms, not just human animals. If a creature is conscious of their surroundings and can feel pain, then it’s not much of a stretch to apply some sort of rights construct to them as well.

I applied quotes to industry because it is using life as a commodity for profit. In this vein, if industry can profit from commodifying one form of life, then why not another (whales) even if it is propped up by the government? Many pointless exploitative industries are propped up by government – again, why are whales so special?

Again, I agree – cows are good food. That’s not the point, though. Even though eating whale is not popular in Japan anymore for a number of reasons, Whales are good food too. Why not eat them? When you think about it, most animals make for good food – humans as well. Why not eat all of them? We apply the double standard all over the place.

Clearing the land for growing cows and waste from the cattle industry are two separate matters. The clearing of land for cattle growth causes massive deforestation, and there numerous serious ramifications of that. Water usage by the cattle industry is alarming, particularly given the increasing scarcity of water around the world. Cattle might make for great steaks and burgers, but the industry from which they are spawned causes much more environmental damage than whaling.

As for waste generated by the cattle industry. I agree – it should be better managed, just like the waste from most industries. We agree on that. 🙂

Damn – we might not be able to talk about this “sensitive” issue if Conjob gets his way. 🙂

Cocknob of the week: Glenn Inwood

Pete, Kev- NAVY. NOW.

Check the SSCS video: No bow wake from Ady Gil- no forward motion. Obvious that Shonan Maru 2 makes an abrupt right turn to line up a collision, then cuts left after impact.

Note paint scrapes on Ady Gil– the bow of Shonan Maru struck Ady Gil 2m forward of Ady Gil’s bridge. Shonan Maru was aiming for the PEOPLE manning Ady Gil. SSCS’s claim of ‘attempted murder’ absolutely has merit.