Whale Wars, Sea Shepherd: Heroes or Terrorists? Options

[Wheelimus]

.... You didn't by any chance mean veal there, did you?

'Cause eating veil makes less sense than I do.

Ha, yes, that is of course what I meant.

[Sso02V]

I'd say the big difference bwtween eating veal, and killing whales, is that the cows are being bred as a food source, and barring some kind of catastrophe we're not going to run out of cows. If Japan had carefully maintained whale farms, well... I think people would still be outraged, but maybe not as much if they were being deliberately raised as food animals instead of being hunted down in their natural environment and violently killed.

This post has been edited by Sso02V: Nov 9 2009, 02:34 PM

[The Muse]

I'd say the big difference bwtween eating veal, and killing whales, is that the sheep are being bred as a food source, and barring some kind of sheep flu, or New Zealand suddenly sinking into the sea, we're not going to run out of sheep. If Japan had carefully maintained whale farms, well... I think people would still be outraged, but maybe not as much if they were being deliberately raised as food animals instead of being hunted down in their natural environment and violently killed.

Veal=baby cows.

[Sso02V]

Right, I was thinking of something else. But the point remains, that cows aint goin' nowhere.

[It's San Holo!]

Animals taste better as helpless babies.

[Slander]

2) Someone make sure and bring this back from the grave one more time at the end of the month, when the South Park "Whale Whores" episode is available for viewing online. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-blitz.gif)

It was for a short time, but is no longer. For the record, I thought it was funny.

I'd say the big difference between eating veal, and killing whales, is that the cows are being bred as a food source, and barring some kind of catastrophe we're not going to run out of cows. I think people would still be outraged, but maybe not as much if they were being deliberately raised as food animals instead of being hunted down in their natural environment and violently killed.

Bingo. Cows are sustainable and are killed humanely. Whales are another story. Harpoon ships chase the whales until they're exhausted (with the whales swimming at around 15 knots; by comparison, the Steve Irwin's top speed is 16.5 knots.) Then they fire an explosive harpoon into the whale's chest cavity. Because of the whale's motion and the crudeness of harpoon guns, the actual hit often ends up in the whale's stomach. The explosion isn't typically enough to actually kill the whale because the whalers don't want to risk dislodging the harpoon and losing their kill. At this point, the whale's default panic reaction kicks in: It dives as deep as it can. It doesn't have enough time to take a good breath -and its lungs are likely injured anyway- so it often drowns.

Whether the whale drowns or not, it rises to the surface, where the kill-ship reels it in. If the whale is still alive, its screams carry for dozens of miles. Upon hearing that ghastly cry of pain and terror, most first-time whalers quit their jobs right then and there. People on ships twenty miles away can smell the blood, which forms a slick miles wide. If the whale is alive, a whaler goes to the bow with an elephant rifle and orders to shoot the whale until it finally dies. This often takes around a dozen shots. Sometimes even that isn't enough and the whale is tied to the side of the kill-ship to bleed out and/or drown on the trip to the factory ship.

Tell me that's humane. Tell me you still don't care.

[Remilia Scarlet]

I still don't care. People hunting often wound animals and leave them alive but crippled, and as they approach at a leisurely pace the deer or whatever likes in a pool of it's own blood and in horrible pain. If I'm not going to go into a forest and save some deers, I'm not going to freeze my arse off on a boat to save a giant fish that has the unfortunate restriction of needing to breathe air.

[Asquian]

Mammal.

[Spin-Out!]

I'm not going to freeze my arse off on a boat to save a giant fish that has the unfortunate restriction of needing to breathe air.

It's taking every ounce of self control for me not to go into a long and inane rant about how whales are mammals right now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

[Pigbag]

A lot of ignorance in this thread, I see. Not surprising that many of the people who care the least are the ones who know so little. Whales and dolphins are also among the most intelligent species on the planet, possibly greater than chimps and elephants; animals that have also been severely brutalized by humans.

[Pigbag]

I'm not going to freeze my arse off on a boat to save a giant fish that has the unfortunate restriction of needing to breathe air.

It's taking every ounce of self control for me not to go into a long and inane rant about how whales are mammals right now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

I think Remilia knows that--he/she is just being contrary to demonstrate a lack of empathy.

[Asquian]

I'm not going to freeze my arse off on a boat to save a giant fish that has the unfortunate restriction of needing to breathe air.

It's taking every ounce of self control for me not to go into a long and inane rant about how whales are mammals right now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

I think Remilia knows that--he/she is just being contrary to demonstrate a lack of empathy.

yeah, but getting something wrong on purpose just shows a lack of intelligence...

[Slander]

Keep it civil, guys.

[Slander]

Looks like it might be over, at least for this year:

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/11/13/funding...aling-industry/

[Remilia Scarlet]

I'm not going to freeze my arse off on a boat to save a giant fish that has the unfortunate restriction of needing to breathe air.

It's taking every ounce of self control for me not to go into a long and inane rant about how whales are mammals right now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

I think Remilia knows that--he/she is just being contrary to demonstrate a lack of empathy.

Indeed I am. I'm not convinced that whales are being hunted to extinction in the current numbers that are killed.

Of course it's horrible that things are killed. Of course. But if it keeps a man and his family out of the cold, then it's not my place to take that away from him.

[Nutjob R/T]

Looks like it might be over, at least for this year:

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/11/13/funding...aling-industry/

\o/

This post has been edited by Nutjob R/T: Nov 16 2009, 03:53 PM

[Thylacine2000]

In this day and age, the Japanese whalers are really only in it to be ideologically chauvinist douchebags. The "research" angle is a complete lie, as is the idea that whale-meat is a vital part of Japanese cuisine and culture. They do it because they want to piss off the people who want them to stop. It's like real-life trolling, with extra cruelty. No baleen whaling industry has ever been sustainable anywhere in the world--their birth rate is simply too low to withstand it, and it should be forbidden everywhere. Frankly I can sooner see an argument for subsistence level takes of dolphins and pilot whales and other smallish species, since in some areas like the Azores hunters manage to regularly take a few hundred each year without noticeably depleting the population. I still think it's a dick thing to do, but at least it isn't a 100% lying dick thing to do.

[Dagger]

A lot of ignorance in this thread, I see. Not surprising that many of the people who care the least are the ones who know so little. Whales and dolphins are also among the most intelligent species on the planet, possibly greater than chimps and elephants; animals that have also been severely brutalized by humans.

If they are so intelligent why don't they fight back? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)