Whales - part 4

Commercial whaling has been banned since 1985, even though Japan kills whales and pretends that it is for 'scientific research'.

Iceland decided they'd resume commercial whaling, violating the ban. Their first victim was an endangered Fin whale.

See - BBC News


Hvalfjordur, Iceland

For more kitty thoughts, check out Camilla and think well wishes for her.

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Nothing much happened today unless you count napping and eating.

Whales - part 3

Firstly, I wish to apologise for my topic yesterday about Paris Hilton. My human told me that he couldn't believe that I had stooped so low to even consider that bimbo as a topic of discussion. You know, he was right. I'm very sorry.

Now for much more meaningful matters.

I've previously written on two occasions about whales.

It is very sad that the Northern Bottle-nosed whale which made its way up the River Thames didn't survive the rescue attempt. There must be so many disappointed and crest-fallen Londoners who were hoping for the whale to be saved.



See - BBC News

In 1988, three California Gray whales were trapped by the Arctic icepack near Point Barrow, Alaska. The whole world watched (assisted by a media circus) and after millions of dollars spent, the whales eventually reached open sea.



More recently, Greenpeace has been trying to thwart the hunting of whales in the Southern Ocean by Japanese whalers undertaking "scientific research". If the world cares about one whale in London, and those three in Alaska which needed to be rescued/saved because of accidental navigation, then what about those being hunted?

People should be concerned about whales all the time and not just when it makes a nice story in the media.



My human was surprised but pleased to see someone he knew on the TV news heading the Greenpeace campaign to stop Japanese killing whales.

We may not always agree with Greenpeace's methods, but nobody else is doing anything about this travesty.

LINKS
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific
- Greenpeace International

*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.

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Today was very hot again. I spent most of the time napping and staying still. I even forbade my human to do his chores, especially using the vacuum cleaner as that darn machine generates even more heat blowing hot air out.

If only we could swap about 15 temperature Celsius degrees with Moscow.

keisercat@wildmail.com

Whales - part 2

A month ago, I stood on my soapbox with all my paws to write about whales.

Since then, the International Whaling Commission has met in Ulsan, Republic of Korea.

Thankfully, the agenda of the Japanese Government fell short of their expectations and the commonsense of most members prevailed.

That said, we should address the claims of the Japanese Government, purporting to support their right to kill whales. This is what the Japanese Government said in their press kit under the guise of the Institute for Cetacean Research for the IWC meeting:
The total protection of all whales irrespective of their stock status as promoted by some members of the IWC and some environmental and animal welfare organizations is contradictory to Japanese cultural values where whales are viewed as a food resource and where whales are still revered through religious ceremonies and festivals. This is particularly so for those communities where the local peoples lives have depended on whaling activities.

I trawled through the press and only found one article in support of Japan's position - see Japan Times article - by Melanie Burton. Ms Burton provides very lame arguments in support of the Japanese government's position, one particularly spurious one on environmental grounds - the production of animal protein (beef cattle production vs whale meat).

I didn't engage in the cultural rights argument last time I wrote about this, but I will now.

Going back to the 'we've done this for thousands of years' argument, just because something was done a thousand years ago, or indeed twenty years ago, does NOT make it right. There were many cultures which engaged in cannibalism, some even recently, but that does not make it a cultural right or culturally acceptable.

Whales, just like Antarctica, do NOT belong to a single nation, for them to do as they wish.

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My human stayed home today with me. He's still unwell, but seems to be a little better. I napped on his lap most of the day (except when he got up), and at one stage we both had an afternoon nap. So nice, I wish he could do this everyday. Today was also a cold, wet and miserable day as well.

keisercat@wildmail.com

whales - my soapbox

All kitties love fish. And chicken, and lamb, and beef, and pork (all farmed and domesticated animals bred for consumption).

But we don't eat whales. There is no reason to eat whales. Or hunt them.

There are reports that Japan wants to increase their "scientific" catch. See news report:
BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4574451.stm

If you disagree with whaling, you may wish to ask your human to write to the Japanese Government.

Japanese Embassy in Washington DC
Japanese Embassy in Canberra

I could engage in a debate about cultural rights blah blah blah. But that doesn't help the poor highly intelligent creatures who are going to be dead.

If the Japanese want to keep eating whales, I think it is time that Australian humans start eating koalas.

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I napped on the dining chair most of the day listening to the radio. Last night I was so cold I snuggled up close to my human all night. I love and I hate winter at the same time!

keisercat@wildmail.com