Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: Hadrian on 10/05/2006 19:56:36
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Aftenposten: Wednesday May 10 2006
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1288008.ece
Whaling begins amid protests
Norway's controversial whaling season is underway, and another international protest has been launched in the hopes of halting it. Norwegian officials acknowledge the protests, but have no plans to stop the slaughter.
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.activity4life.com%2Fphoto%2Fwhal.jpg+&hash=39cb93f8c68cfb3ce80bf65f122125a7)
The season officially started April 1, but most whalers don't begin the hunt until early May. A letter of protest signed by representatives of 11 nations was delivered by a representative from the British Embassy to Norway's Foreign Ministry late this week, just as whaling along the Norwegian coast is warming up.
Around 30 boats will participate in this year's hunt, and they have authority to kill 1,052 whales, 250 more than last year.
The hunt seems more symbolic and seeped in tradition than backed by commercial reward. The market for whale meat is small, and it's not the staple of the Norwegian diet that it once was. The market for whale blubber is also restricted, and exports are limited.
But Norway decided to defy an international ban on whaling in the early 1990s and has stuck to what it sees at its right to harvest local waters. Others disagree.
The written protest delivered to the foreign ministry is backed by Great Britain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. British officials claim Norway's decision to boost its whaling quota was taken hastily and isn't based on the best scientific evidence.
Britain's fisheries minister said it was "disappointing" that the Norwegian government pressured scientists into trying to justify an "unnecessary" hunt.
A Norwegian foreign ministry spokesman said the Norwegians, meanwhile, were equally disappointed that countries opposed to whaling weren't making a greater effort to find a compromise within the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
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Costing the Earth
What stance will Japan take if it assumes effective control of the International Whaling Commission in June?
Thursday 18 May, 9pm or again Friday 19 May, 3pm on Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/costingtheearth.shtml
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
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The problem is that, understandably, there are many countries that feel the IWC has abandoned the purpose of its creation, and has thus acted contrary to the purpose that its members originally signed up to it for.
The IWC was set up in order to conserve whale stocks so that future generations could continue harvesting that stock. What has happened now is that many members of the IWC are trying to create a situation where whaling can never be resumed, no matter how well the stock receiver. This was clearly not what the original treaty was about, and what the members originally signed up to.
Such an act in effect brings into doubt that any treaty to conserve stocks of anything for future generations has any meaning, since people may doubt that future generations will actually ever be allowed to utilise those stocks. The same will very probably happen with other parts of the fishing industry, which many people are arguing need to be conserved if future generations are to have any future in the industry; but the reality is that once the fishing industry is wound down (as the whaling industry was), it will never be allowed to restart.
George
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Perhaps you are right maybe there should be a new body to protect all ocean going mammals from being killed. On the other hand can't such bodies evolve?
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
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if fish could only scream!
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The problem is that one side (call them the liberals) has thrown its lot in with the godless religion of political correctness, as they can position themselves as all momsey and apple pie and welfare state, which appeals to a large voting segment. The problem is that political correctness is not science, it is a religion, and thus, a lie. They have no problem with this except that the opposition (call them the republicans) are better liars than them. So they are like the monkey with his fist in the jar of peanuts, they can't get their hand out without letting go of the goodies. So the whales and everybody else suffer because no constitution demands that only scientific truth can prevail.