| tl;dr; Just let the Japanese and Scandanavian countries catch a strictly limited and monitored number of Whales for domestic consumption. Stop this fig-leaf of scientific research and make it legitimate under an international agreement. Whales are long part of those countries diet and have a part in their history. If there is a case for stopping the hunt it should come from within their own culture. Personallly I wouldn't like it if the Japanese went around causing trouble trying to get me to stop eating Kangaroos. The process of whaling is undoubtedly gruesome and one that turns my stomach. But I've no doubt we do things in my country that the Japanese find abhorrent. Of all the problems in the world, both diplomatic and environmental, the tiny harvest of whales is not the one that should be receiving anywhere near the amount of attention it does. But as the article says, truth is always the first casualty in a war. Think of all the other fish and crustaceans that get harvested every day. Who is protesting for them? |
Also, "Tradition" is the worst reason to carry on a pointless activity with mainly negative consequences.
As for 'Roos, they're hardly endangered. There's so many of them they're almost a pest.