The Japanese, of course, are one of the few other whaling nations. While I will stand at the forefront of saying that endangered animals should not be hunted, we have to consider the Icelandic, Japanese and aboriginal perspective on this.
If the animal is not endangered (as is the case with some of the whale species that are hunted -- such as Bairds Beak) then how should humanity determine what should and shouldn't be slaughtered? To the Hindu it is offensive to kill the cow. The Jew and Muslim eschew the pig. Canadians slaughter seals which causes outrage because they are cute. Koreans and Chinese (some, not all) eat dog. The Jain are the strictest of the vegetarian lot, wearing masks so that they accidently don't inhale insects.
Thus, besides the environmental perspective, people can oppose killing of certain animals based on religious taboos, appearance, apparent intelligence, ability to feel pain, domesticity or whatever else you can conjure.
Hope this leads to some soul-searching among those who have knee-jerk (or choking reflex) reactions every time they hear about a whale being killed.
Since this is anonymous, I can admit that I actually ate whale (including fried whale testicles and whale brain sherbet) for a story many years ago to find out what all the fuss was about. Once in a whale (I mean while) I do have some kujira sashimi these days.
OK, I expect this post should generate some comments. Fire away.
2003.08.15
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