Under pressure from Australia and the U.S., the Japanese agreed not to hold their annual hunt for humpback whales near Antarctica.
I guess my question would be this: Why in the world are any nations still hunting animals which may be smarter than some of my neighbors?
All kidding aside, it’s hard to understand why whales are still being killed. In the case of Japan’s plans, they were going to kill 50 humpbacks. According to current treaties, they would be allowed to kill whales only in the interest of scientific research. Opponents of the hunt claim “research” is only a thinly veiled excuse, and that the whale meat end up in the marketplace.
I don’t understand all the customs and cultural ramifications of whale hunting by the Japanese or any other nation for that matter. I wouldn’t, therefore, presume to pronounce on the whole matter.
But I’m sure the average humpback whale ranks higher on the intelligence scale than a couple of people I know.
Ah, well, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.
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