Whaling - why it should stop

Of late, these are some of the reasons Anthony seems to have used in support of his argument:

People shouldn't whale because the Irish are against whaling. People shouldn't whale, since Japan can not be trusted because they are evil (WWII as evidence)

I'm sure there were a few other real crackers in there which I must have missed.

To anyone else who is anti-whaling - for the sake of your cause, you had better come in to this debate, denounce Anthony as the numbskull he is, and actually put up some valid arguments to support your cause. I don't know how many passive readers are in this NG, but you can bet they will not have been impressed by the approach shown by Anthony.

Just to give a few reasons why whaling should be permitted: - The IWC's function is to regulate whaling, set catch quotas to ensure whale populations are preserved as well as provide for the development of the whaling industry. - There is nothing wrong with eating whales - they are historically a source of food. Eating a whale is no different from eating cows, fish, sheep, chickens, frogs, or various other types of animals. They are all animals, and all animals should be granted equal rights.

there's no possibility of taking whales without extinction, and all whales are endangered.

If that were true, there would be no whales at all today. But it can't be true, because in fact there are whales.

How can the grey whale be endangered and at the same time be so overpopulated that they are eating themselves to death?

Howe can 2 million sperm whales be endangered?

How can hundreds of thousands of minke whales be endangered?

Anthony, you are babbling again.

All life on earth is endangered because the sun will blow up in a couple of years. Therefor we may not kill anything living any more no matter what common sense say.

Fine, elegant and trustworthy logic...

Wrong.

Also wrong.

Was that the best you could do? Guess we'll just keep on whaling then.

Nearly a million, iirc.

Hmm, for some reason I didn't see Anthony's post, which is sad for I was looking forward to it with great anticipation.

Honestly, where did he get this idea?

If lightweight responses like that is the best he can come up with I feel very sad for his cause.

Bugger, I seem to have missed Floyd's post as well... must be something wrong with my news server

Depending on who you believe

Heheh. You sounded *exactly* like Anthony right there

Over the years, Japanese whalers have killed thousands of whales in the name of scientific research. But this has merely been a cover for commercial whaling aimed at satisfying Japanese eating habits, in defiance of a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling that Japan itself signed. Japan, Floyd, Lund and debiddo are now using the same argument to justify the hunting minke, Bryde's and sperm whales. The State Department should threaten to block Japanese imports under an American law authorizing penalties against any nation that violates a marine conservation treaty. Though minke whales are relatively plentiful, sperm and Bryde's whales were nearly wiped out in the 1980's, before they came under the protection of the moratorium. As I have stated many time inthe past Japan's actions pose a major threat to their survival. I personally think The United States is justified in invoking the so-called Pelly Amendment, which authorizes trade sanctions. The rest of the international community should follow suit. The Japanese say that the West is culturally arrogant in asking them to abandon whale meat. But whale meat is not a staple there, only a luxury food. The Japanese can afford a small culinary sacrifice to preserve these majestic animals. This is not a emotional argument, but one clearly based on fact, logic, and reason.

One problem: The Japanese are not violating a marine conservation treaty. They are doing scientific research in *exactly* the manner prescribed by the IWC agreements they and the US has signed.

You are advocating that the US break a treaty.

Your ignorance is showing.

There are roughly 2 *million* Sperm whales, making it one of the most abundant of all whales. That is perhaps 2.5 or more times as many Sperm whales as there are Minke whales. Bryde's Whales are not any where near 'wiped out'. There certainly are an abundance of them and there is no reason to suggest they are endangered or that the Japanese take is in any way threatening their existence.

And, as in the past, you don't have any idea what you are talking about. That statement is false. Japan's action pose *no* threat at all to their survival. The IWC agrees that no such threat exists.

It is a luxury only because we don't allow them to take enough whales to feed many people. There *is* a simple solution for that...

The facts are that whether the Japanese make such a 'sacrifice' or not has nothing to do with preserving whales. They are not endangered, and Japanese whaling is not a risk. Your logic is also clearly flawed in such areas as whether whale meat is a staple or a luxury, where you have confused the cause and the effect. Your reason seems to be nothing but emotions built on falsehoods.

whales are killed in a most imhumane way it somtimes takes up to and hour and a half,also whales are extremly intelligent animals and mourn the loss of their families
hope this helps

You are totally right, Tiptac! It is a shame to see that there are people who are make the slaughter of whales look like it is not something inhumanely cruel.