Whaling question for Activists...?

Yes, there is a ban on whaling and Japan did sign a treaty saying the would not hunt whales. They have since gone against the treaty and have CLAIMED that they whale for scientific research. They do NO research..this is just a lie to be able to go against a law they promised not to go against. Sorry, but once a animal becomes endangered it is no longer acceptable to hunt and kill. And YES..they are endangered. Changes in the planet means changes in our behavior. We cannot keep depleting the planet of resources that are no longer there! You don't make sense..too frickin bad that people want to be selfish a**holes and continue to deplete the planet. Soon, there will not be any whales left so hunting them will be a none issue. Will you feel sorry for the Japanese then since they will not have any whales left to kill and eat because they wiped them off the face of the earth. Also, do some research and educate yourself because polar bears are NOT increasing at all. Sounds like you have been fed a bunch of propoganda and you are not smart enough to tell the difference. Read actual scientific journals by real biologists that are actually out there studying polar bear populations..who know the truth, not some crap you heard on Fox news or read on some right winged website.

Edit: I agree..let's shrink the human population starting with you! I kind of like the idea of having a "fowl" mouth..I do like birds!

Yes, there is a ban on whaling, to those nations that have signed the International Whaling Treaty. Even then, there is a loophole that allows for hunting for scientific research - I believe this is the premise that Japan uses to justify it's hunts. My understanding is that they only seek out Minke whales, which are not considered endangered and they are limited to a certain quota every season.

As for the projectile thing, I believe (this is what I have been told, so I certainly could be wrong here) is that throwing something at another boat, as long as you're not ACTUALLY *shooting* a projectile isn't considered piracy, at least in international waters. So that's how they can get away with it. That and they stopped physically boarding the Nisshin Maru, which got them all arrested. (That is considered piracy).

Edit:

There is a ban on whaling for many reasons: some political, some environmental. The reason the ban was implemented was due to the larger rorquals' (blue whale, humpback, right whales) numbers dwindling after a century or so of intensive commercial whaling. Minke whales were never really targeted in the commercial market due to their size. They are the second-smallest baleen whale - they reproduce rather quickly (for a whale) and live in areas that most modern ships don't transverse. They don't have much commercial value, unless you are a small island nation like Japan that will take whatever meat they can get. (Not to mention it's a traditional meat in their culture).

I guess I don't personally understand the depths these people go (no pun intended) to prevent the hunt. I mean, I don't like seeing any wasteful hunting, but...this isn't wasteful. And it's legal technically. And the species in question isn't endangered. So I guess it's just an emotional thing with some.

Also...not to sound violent or anything but if it had been an American boat, Whale Wars wouldn't have made it halfway through season one....

@Birdgirl Minke Whales are not an endangered species.

I watch Whale Wars too. I can't believe that the whaling ships don't have machine guns mounted on the decks to repel pirates. So I guess you couldn't really call me an activist against whaling. The Japanese are operating well within the laws that ban whaling. A certain number can be taken each year for research purposes, and then it would be a terrible waste to just dump the whales back into the ocean. I haven't really seen any published results of their research, but maybe they are doing a real long term study.

Ohh save the whales.. wahh wahh Its not like they do anything on that show anyway. I almost cried of joy when the japs sank the hippies boat.

People suck.