Japanese scientists are worried that climate change is making whales skinnier. But they killed 4,500 whales to get the data, in defiance of international opinion. What do you think? Does the end justify the means? And is it good use of resources to butcher those whales and sell the meat?
The Save the Whales movement has been fairly effective, but so-called "scientific" whale hunting by the Japanese has been the most hated loophole. Now we have some actual, useful scientific results, but at a very high cost.
Some scientists have argued that the research results shouldn't have been published, because it was unethical to collect the data through sham research that was thinly disguised commercial whale hunting.
Whales have been the subject of heated debate for centuries, including a raging controversy in the early 1800's over whether or not a whale is a fish. What seems like a biological question blew up over religious implications and lucrative taxes on fish products.
Now will we see whales at the center of another culture clash, the global warming debate? For the sake of whales, I hope not. Tweet
48 comments:
Hhhmmm, I'm no scientist but pretty sure if I disposed of 4500 Japenese whalers I would be closer to understanding Global warming than killing 4500 whales and probably better liked for my efforts too.
Complete crap that this is in the name of science, must give out degree's in cereal packets, take the blubber off the menu and watch how the patrons of Japanese Tepenyaki bars complain about the lack of science on their plates.
I like the whales. They're my friends!
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im from indonesia.and in my country have many many fish...but i never to see whales in my eye.wowow.. cool.:D
I am with thegreymadness on this one. The loophole in the whale legislation is BS. It is there to appease the Japanese gov't. Their science claim really gets lost at the whale burger fast food stop. I bet if we killed all the whalers then the whales would not have to swim so much to escape the harpoons and in turn would put on some much needed body fat.
That's so ridiculous it's nauseating. That's all I can really say about that without a pointless, wide-ranging rant. Thanks for posting this!
Yes, That's unacceptable, the solution is reducing japan industrial activity, an convert to enviromental friendly industry, not to kill the whale for experiment.
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i love fishing..;)
actually we have save the whale species also..
dont make our next generation fail to know about whale..
you know how many whales killed per year by Japanese...
Japanese said this is their culture, and they become 'clever' just because alwasy eat whale...
#$%&$&$^%$&^!!!
Hello
i'd want to see japanese whaling ships bombed...
In general, they are just a very unethical race, look at what they did in world war 2.
they even kidnapped the protestors that tried to stop them... they should just die
I mean we can't just kill them... but i certainly would stop buying japanese fish related products... if every 1 had done the same it would surely put a break on whale killing
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Whale meat is not widely available within Japan. It is considered a delicacy - not because of its taste but because its just not available. Much of the meat sits in warehouse freezers because of anti-whaling groups and never makes it to market. There just isn't enough circulation to go through all those whales, so where do all the newly killed whales go? Would some of you change your mind if you found out that people in S*m*l*a could have a chance at hunting whale and feed entire villages?
im all for learning, but not so much for killing the whales.
however, since they are already dead, don't you think the results should be published? what is the official update on that?
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I care too. Count me in.
Looks great. I like your story. Very informative.
You know, for a country that boasts some of the most intelligent technology, some of the brightest minds in the world, they must be pretty slow to have to kill 4500 whales to determine they are losing weight.
Despicable.
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Whales are such neat animals. There are better ways of studying them than killing 4500 whales. That sounds a lot like abuse of the system.
Thank you for this post. Oddly enough, I would think they could have come to the conclusion that the wales are losing weight without slaughtering that many. I really enjoy your blog.
So mean thaey kill them and eat them thats not nice. They are my friends!
That's not fair! Even though they have good intentions, they shouldn't be killing whales to do that! I love whales. STOP KILLING THEM!
Before long there will be no whales, no salmon, no fish. . . We will either be vegetarians or cannibals. Humans seem unable to control themselves.
Jim
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.....i think they ate them.
What an awesome blog! I'm so glad you got blogs of note!! People have to DO SOMETHING about the oceans, global warming etc, or it will all be gone, and so will we! this is NOT A JOKE!!!!
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I think that maybe some people here have taken this blog post as an opportunity to slander the japanese, which I think is a little immature. As for releasing the data, I agree that it shouldn't be done, simply because it sends out the right message. Maybe some people feel that if it isn't released, those whales will have died for nothing, but if a stand is taken against this kind of scientific research, their deaths will have had some purpose at least. Finally, I don't understand how a whale being a fish has nyhting to do with whether or not they should be caught or hunted. Personally I just think they're an endangered species and the balance of life on earth depends on their survival and existance; that should be reason enough to let them be. Labelling an animal something just so that we can feel more comfortable with killing and consuming it's flesh has never really gone down too well with me. For the record, I'm not a vegetarian or anything like a hardcore (or even softcore, for that matter) animal rights defender, I just think it's good to see that it's in our nature to kill animals of all kind to sustain ourselves. Actually it goes beyond sustaining ourselves, we have the luxury of choosing almost anything we would like to eat. But in the interest of the continuation of our species, I think we need to consider our actions and their global consequences a lot closer before it's too late.
they are still killing whales, so no i dont think the end justifies the means. im sure there are numerous ways to find out that climate change makes or is making whales skinner. they dont have to kill so many in order to find that out.
This is horrible! I just heared that they EAT whales! WHAT!?! I don't know, I heard it from somewhere. That's awful. I LOVE whales.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uohgm83VPts
What do we do? I am a U.S. citizen. We don't have any right to tell another sovereign what to do. So, are we to boycott certain organizations? (Economic pressure seems to work, right?)
what is the difference between other mammals and whales?
i find it intriguing that people make so much fuss of dying whales, while eating McDs. (while looking sideways ar African starving children.) Just how many cows have we been killing so far, and how many people have been ignored?
i bet if someone wrote about poverty in africa, your comments would barely reach 10.
Congrats on getting into the Blogger Blog of Note! Perhaps I will get in it too some day. :)
Congratulations on being a Blog of Note! Great postings.
Right,scientific experimentation. What more do we need to know. Tag and release to find habitats, ok, but the basic biology of whales (i.e. anatomy has been known for years.) The last "frontier" as it were on whales is their sounds and the meanings of their "songs." Hard to produce when they are dead. This is a shame.
P.S. Whales are mammals by the way...
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its really sad to see our species acting out its madness in a way that directly impacts such majestic creatures as whales. i sincerely hope this stupid loophole is closed. GO WHALES!!!!!!!!!
It sounds like a poor excuse to hide the killing of whales.
I would say everyone makes some points. While whales are cool and probably necessary to the environment, they are nonetheless animals and therefore open for hunting. And I am sure that the whale meat will not be wasted. If it does, then we need to put pressure on the Japanese. For the record, I am not a vegetarian nor an evironmental activist, although I respect those who are. It is very easy to see that whale hunters are probably the main beneficiaries of the study and it is a thinly and poorly disguised scam. I think the rest of the world should respond by closing up that dangerous loophole.
Japanese are cool. They have good foods.
that not a right idea after all..
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I like watching whales thy are so huge..but killing them is not good.
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For the sake of whales
Complete crap that this is in the name of science
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