A whale of a request
 

I am hoping someone might be willing to let me send them $$ and then send me a package with a few cans of whale.

I had a Japanese foreign exchange student living with me a while back who, at my request, had his family send us some. It was DELICIOUS!!!

-Claps- Yeah, you tell them!

I'm not into eating whale either, but, I think you should consider different arguments as to why it's not right because;

Why would anyone want to kill a cow, let alone eat it?
As a rule, they don't go around killing people, let alone eating us.
Even killer cows seem not to go in for that kind of thing.
Please reconsider your POV and consider finding something else to eat, like bacon.

or

Why would anyone want to kill a carrot, let alone eat it?
As a rule, they don't go around killing people, let alone eating us.
Even killer carrots seem not to go in for that kind of thing.
Please reconsider your POV and consider finding something else to eat, like pickles.

or better yet

Why not consider eating humans?
As a rule, they do go around killing other people, and sometimes eat them too.
Especially killer people seem to go in for that kind of thing.
Please reconsider your POV and consider finding a person eat, like lean murderer.

muahaha. James. good one! i take my hat of to you :cool:

is it really tasty? i know taste differs from people to people but still. is it like salmon? or is whale not so much as a fish but more like some sort of animal meat?
im not big on fish. usually eat only grilled salmon or fresh cured/smoked sea bass with some salt, dill and a beer. just perfect. :rheart:

i saw a movie, about icelandics i think, where they prepared a whale as a delicacy by letting it rot outside for like a month. but i must admit that the meat looked fantastic - beautiful and white...gave me the "munches"? correct? Brazilians and stoners say that... :D

it is not point less to play "what if game" because each of his points were actual, valid points. except for the carrot since as far as we know it has no intelligence and you stressed that part.
if most people on the planet liked whale meat it would be the best thing ever for them. look at animals most people eat - cows, pigs, chickens. non of them face extinction because they are demanded. there are more chickens in the world than there are people. if everyone started eating pandas and whales then mass breeding of those animals would start and the threat of extinction would no longer exist.

so. if you want to save a species then simply get people to eat them :cool:

I do not think the OP is trolling. Just because you think that certain animals should be taken off the menu because you believe they are something special does not mean people who do not hold that same belief are somehow trolling because it offends you. Perhaps the notion does not even occur to them.

Personally I do not like whale meat either, but if a person or culture considers them to be a food source etc, I have no right to stop them as long as they are hunted responsibly. No matter what you say whales are not on an equal rights level with humans, but then again what is the point, logic and reason does not work with animal rights activists because they just think with their emotions anyway. Anyhow this is another one that has been argued into the ground and I have no desire to carry it further, since it will not change anything (as far as what I think). I just wanted to say it for the record.

I saw some joint in Shibuya that served whale one night; I went somewhere else instead with the intentions of going back later that night but ended up not doing it. When in Rome, I figure.

But I agree with the others. Whale is only as extinct as it's demand for it.

Shark isn't too terrible...if it's done right. I perfer calamari.

Whale feeds entire Eskimo villages in Alaska, Though I think they also supplement that with seals and fish.

In response to the rebuttal using cows, carrots, and humans the main point, I believe, that was missed was the "No offense, but AFAIC all whales are intelligent endangered species." so I'm not sure it is a very good comparison to use the cows, carrots, and humans but I agree that different viewpoints exist with this topic.

You live in Japan right James?? Is whale common over there as a menu item? In the old days (help me out here people I'm working on a story I heard) they hunted whale for food out of necessity since Japan is an island country so this is where the hunting stems from. That is probably the reason it's still on the menu??

It's a good topic point regardless of if it's a "troll" or not because it's a touchy subject and it's interesting to see the different viewpoints on it. Especially with people like James (i'm assuming you live in Japan) who were born in one country where eating whale may have been taboo and living in another where they do eat whale. Has your perspective been changed I wonder or not at all? Just curious!

Whaling has very limited cultural history or value except in some fairly specific areas. If you wanted to use the cultural part as justification to continue whaling then why do they not hunt the whales in traditional waters around the Japanese coastline? Why do they hunt the whales in the southern ocean around Antarctica? Is that part of their cultural heritage?
Demand for whale meat is pretty low. From all accounts there are huge stockpiles of frozen whale meat that they struggle to sell. They've tried making it a compulsory part of lunches in many schools but that doesn't seem to have gone down too well. Overall whale it an aquired taste (I've had some) with limited appeal. The industry is heavily subsidised by the government as it is not profitable at all. In my own opinion the government continues to support the industry purely for political reasons and nothing whatsoever to do with scientific or cultural reasons.

I'm twelve years old.
What stupid decreased the whale sharply?

Beer is an aquired taste as well Gonative..yet it seems to be pretty popular.

I'm not disagreeing about whaleing persay, I'm just saying.

Sure but I don't believe the government has to subsidise the beer companies to keep their industry going does it?
The whaling industry is heavily subsidised. If it wasn't it would have gone broke many years ago.
You have to ask the question why is the government propping up this industry that doesn't really employ all that many people anymore and causes such international condemnation?
It doesn't make good economic sense at all. The domestic market for the meat is only very small (much smaller than the amount they catch) and is declining. Culturally there are only a few towns that could say they have a long history of whaling and I doubt any of them would be devastated if the industry were to discontinue. The current industry isn't like some indigenous culture maintaining a hunting practice that has huge cultural significance. If it was about that they'd be hunting whale in their traditional hunting grounds wouldn't they?
The only reason to continue whaling I can see is a political one. Primarily I think it's an easy way for the government to appease the ultra nationalists.

I very much like your points GoNative.

Also, I'm curious. How is whaling considered cultural heritage? That may seem vague, but it's hard to explain. Like... what part of whaling is cultural? It's not unique to Japan... all it includes are some boats and some big factories... I just don't see what part of it is considered cultural.

I may be looking at the word 'culture' the wrong way, but I just don't see how that's a valid reason, plus the other points you said.

I would have thought whaling was cultural if they were catching them with bamboo spears, nets and via traditional means (not trying to sound racist lol).

Well, whatever the reason, it's legal for Japan to hunt whales. So we have no right to stop them.
For some strange reason I don't really care if the whaling continues even tough I love whale as an animal, not food.

Other countries have every right to ask Japan to stop whaling. Just like they ask China to respect human rights. Of course in both cases these requests can be ignored ;)

It's like bullfighting in Spain. There are those who say it's animal cruelty and those who defend it because it's part of the national heritage/culture....

-.- That is not a good argument, it's like saying it is ok for Germans to kill Jewish people just because that's what they once did.

Animal cruelty is more or less the same thing. In the case of japan, if the demand is really low (as someone mentioned), then they ought to stop, since they are simply misusing resources and threatening ecosystems just 'because'.

I know it's hard for Japanese people to change their cultural behavior, however in this case they should at least breed their own whales, so it doesn't affect that much the ecosystems.

That is not the same. Killing people is not part of any countries' national cultural heritage (and by this, I mean arts and entertainment).

The Roman's killed people as part of thier arts and Entertainment, So did several Arabian cultures. Europeans had public witch burnings in the middle ages. France had public beheadings of royals barely 200 years ago.

If this is directed at what I said:

Exactly, I would consider bullfighting culture because it's unique to / originated in Spain, and Matadors still wear the costumes they have been throughout the ages.
But what I'm saying is, I don't see how whaling is cultural to Japan. It's not unique, nor does it reflect traditions throughout the ages. It's just get on a boat, shoot some whales, process them and sell them.

And hunting the whale down in the waters around Antarctica at the southern end of the world is hardly part of the cultural heritage! ;)

Let's face it the cultural argument doesn't hold up at all. The scientific argument is a complete sham. The economics of it makes no sense at all. There is only one valid reason why the industry continues and that's politics.

Agreed. Maybe the government doesn't want to look like they're giving in to Sea Shepherd and seem weak :L

If I were the Japanese government I certainly wouldn't give in to terrorists.. :/

Terrorists!
If putting pretty much only yourselves in danger is being a terrorist then the guys of the Sea Shepherd crew are bad as they come!! LOL

Anyway I think it has llittle directly to do with Sea Shepherd. It's about not giving in to any international pressure on this issue. This is how they appease the nationalists and the Yakuza who appear to be linked in with the industry.

I think I understand what you're trying to say, but I view the world; animals, humans, nature etc. as a whole. Don't forget where we come from; Humans are part of nature, humans are also animals. Chickens and cows aren't intelligent, but that's not a reason to start killing them for our burger. They are not worth less than intelligent animals beceause they aren't smart... Thinking you have a right to kill chickens and cows doesn't make you any more enlightened than whale hunters. I agree with you that is isn't exactly "right" to kill an other intelligent being. But as I've stated, humans are also animals. So it actually is a gray area.

LOL! A whale of a request! I didn't know it was gonna be a bad joke. I love stuff like that.

From my point of view as a vegetarian,eating fish,eating beef,eating frogs' legs,even eating dog,it's all mostly the same to me. They're all living creatures,they used to be alive,now they're dead. People are eating them when they don't technically need to but who am I to judge? That said,I can see how whales are more intelligent. It's not an easy topic,the whale hunting. Creatures like whales, cows,sheep and fish that don't hurt us,I especially don't see why you would want to eat. I mean at least sharks,they eat people! It is gonna be hard in Japan but I'll just have to find the other vegetarians. There are enough positives about Japan for there to be any point going there though,I think.

If the guy has taken a liking to whale,the guy has taken a liking to whale.
Like I said,I don't see much of a difference. And also, if you have all these ''degrees'' of vegetarianism,of what animals some people will eat and some people won't then the Japanese(well actually,the rest of Europe isn't great for this sort of thing) will (perhaps continue to) expect all vegetarians to eat fish and maybe some other animals as well. The reason why I say Europeans, I once asked if there was anything vegetarian on a boat and the French woman said ''There is fish''. In her defence I did eventually get something and a lot of the European places I have got something,it just hasn't been particularly fantastic all the time. I suppose the only real place we aren't in trouble is in India.

Yakuza is irrelevant to the whaling issue.
Yakuza doesn't do the work that doesn't make a profit.

The international problem to which yakuza lies is a human rights issue.
Okinawa, Ainu, Japan in korean and this Douwa etc.
Yakuza blackmail the local government and make money.

I agree with GoNative.

I mean, I really wouldn't put Paul Watson on par with Bin Laden. I know there can be lesser forms of terrorism, but c'mon. They don't hurt anyone, and don't intend on hurting anyone. And that's not terrorism. All they want to do is taint some meat and cut some lines.

Well people aren't having a whale of a time in here! I think this topic's jumped the shark!

You know how violent they are towards the hunters right? But anyway, a more precise term is Eco-terrorism.

Eco-terrorism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And maybe whaling hás something to do with culture:

Japan to arrest anti-whaling activists, newspaper reports ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Well, I guess I can't disagree with the definition there.

But about the culture part. Sure, they can say it's their whaling culture all they want, but what part of it is cultural? That's what I don't understand. What do they have to back it up?

lol @ whale of a request .. it WAS / IS a bad joke right!?

lol @ "there is fish" ! Love it!