Japan Keeps On Killing
Here we go again !!!
Japan's whaling industry just dont seem to get it ???
[quote]Delegates at a whaling conference in Japan are expected to begin discussing how to reform the International Whaling Commission on Wednesday, even though more than half the organization's members were boycotting the meeting.
Critics contend Japan plans to use the conference to push for a resumption of commercial whaling, and the boycotters -- only 34 of 72 IWC member nations are represented at the meeting -- included anti-whaling countries Britain, Australia and the United States.
Minoru Morimoto, Japan's IWC representative, said at the opening of the conference that the boycott made it "almost impossible" to have a worthwhile discussion on reforming the IWC, which Japan argues should manage commercial whaling rather than ban it outright.
"The possibility of achieving normalization of the IWC is also being lost," Morimoto said.
A global moratorium on commercial whaling has existed since 1986, but Japan kills hundreds of whales each year under a scientific whaling program conducted within the commission's rules. The meat from the program is sold as food.
Tokyo maintains that whaling is a national tradition and a vital part of its food culture, and argues that whale stocks have sufficiently recovered since 1986 to allow a resumption of limited hunts of certain species.[/quote]
it makes me sick every time i see these people pushing for a resumption of commercial whaling and makes me DAMN mad.
[quote]Following the devastation of World War II, food was scarce, consequently whales, being a cheap source of protein, became a larger part of the Japanese post-war diet.
In 1982, the International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling. While Japan initially intended to oppose the moratorium, they in submission withdrew due to the threat of economic sanctions made by the United States. Japan continues whaling today under a scientific research permit.
Studies with several species have shown that whale meat often contains dangerously high levels of environmental toxins such as PCB, mercury, and dioxin. The highest concentration of EDC's Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ever found in any animal was measured recently in the blubber of a minke whale, a species commonly hunted by Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters. These toxins are particularly dangerous for pregnant women and growing children, which calls into question the practice of providing whale meat lunches for school children. This is common in whaling areas but it is also on the increase in parts of Japan that do not engage in whaling[/quote]
what i find amusing about the situation is the lack of support the Whaling industry is receiving in Japan especially in the younger generations who are becomming more and more repulsed by the thought of killing creatures of such natural beauty and gentle nature.
I dont really understand why Japan refuses to stop killing whales prhapse they dont like their songs but the tactics Japans whaling industry are using are irresponsible and worthy of condemnation on every level.
Japans latest tactics basically they are saying if you refuse to bow to us then we will leave the IWC, personally i believe that when Jap whalers invade southern waters their fleets should be met by a pacific armarda of military ships, if they with draw from the IWC then sanctions should be imposed.
