Japanese Hunters Evade Sea Shepherd, Kill Hundreds of Whales

[WhiteTara]

http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-hunters-evade-sea-shepherd-killing-hundreds-whales-181305339.html

Where on Earth are the whalers?

That question is vexing activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who have failed to locate the Japanese whaling fleet during this season’s hunt for minke whales in the Southern Ocean.

Every year over the past decade, Sea Shepherd vessels out of Australia have shadowed the Japanese fleet to monitor the annual hunt and interfere with the killing of whales. But not this year. The whalers have managed to evade Sea Shepherd by expanding their hunting grounds.

“They have dramatically expanded their hunting area threefold, moving eastward towards Chile and westwards towards South Africa,” said Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson. “They could be anywhere.”

Watson said the Japanese deliberately expanded the hunt to elude Sea Shepherd.

[voteearlyvoteoften]

1. Killers!!

Where is Moby Dick when we need him?

[WhiteTara]

2. Not around. nt

[ladjf]

3. Why are they killing whales? nt

[2naSalit]

5. For high $$ delicacies.

Under the guise of
'research" though no publications are forthcoming.

[ladjf]

8. I have read articles saying that the Japanese don't even

like whale meat.

[2naSalit]

11. That may be so

I don't get their fascination for killing all the sea mammals that they insist of murdering each year, it sucks and damages my perception of the Japanese.

[LeftyMom]

15. It's complicated.

Whaling is a state-run program. Nobody wants to have the staffing in their department cut, let alone a department eliminated. It's a personal affront. The port cities that benefit financially don't want to lose it. The current government is nationalist and doesn't want to give in to international pressure on anything, really.

But yeah, there's almost no market for the stuff, so it gets dumped in pet food and given away in school lunches trying to build a new interest. (Norway has the other large scale whaling operation and has the same problem of a complete absence of demand.)

Historically it's a regional thing in a few port cities, and only had a national profile as a post-war protein source of last resort (the first large scale commercial whaling was set up by the US during the post-war occupation) and it has roughly the combination of nostalgia/connotation of poverty/very specific generational appeal creamed chipped beef might for US diners.

Apparently it also stinks to high heaven while being cooked and then is remarkably bland when finished, which is a pretty unappealing set of traits in a food, all other considerations aside.

[2naSalit]

16. Ugh!

Thanks for the explanation. Funny, I know people from Japan, my mom lived there for a few years and spoke of it often but it's one of the countries whose politics I know shamefully little about.

This activity and the dolphin killing I don't get other than them being cultural artifacts with no connection to the present but maintained to avoid embarrassment-?

[Monk06]

12. Not for human consumption. They hunt whales so they don't have to import

tasty treats for their dogs

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10086027/Endangered-whale-meat-sold-as-luxury-dog-snacks-in-Japan.html

[2naSalit]

13. That's even worse......nt

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. Shit! And they don't have any real reason to kill them.

Hate it.

[WhiteTara]

7. It's crazy, isn't it.

[2naSalit]

6. More info at SSCS...

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/sea-shepherd-news.html

[JanMichael]

9. it is for research. lighten up. oh and do not moan about whales then eat beef.

note - this only applies to our meat eating friends of whales.

[Doremus]

14. A lot of that "research" ends up in dog food

Such important "research" includes the selling of the "research subjects" by the pound in the grocery store.

[JanMichael]

17. "research" was sarcasm. that is their excuse. it is commercial killing. nt.

[restorefreedom]

10. FUCK YOU, NASTY KILLERS!!

and i do not eat meat, fwiw