“The idea of Japan resuming commercial whaling is horrifying:”
This is how the Guardian puts it in a recent opinion piece. Over the years Japan has threatened to quit the International Whaling Commission so as to be able to resume slaughtering whales. Now, it has done so. Even now, Japan slaughters ~300 whales (~200 of them pregnant) a year under the unsupported guise of doing “research”.
The Guardian’s article states it well: “Whales are among the most intelligent beings on Earth. They have what experts define as “culture”; they learn knowledge as individuals and share it with others; sperm whales talk with local dialects; orcas appear to grieve for their dead offspring – a few months ago, one grieving killer whale carried her dead calf on her back for more than two weeks. They are thinking, caring, complex animals. Japan’s decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resume commercial whaling should, then, horrify us all.”
More, whales are a vital part of ocean ecosystems, of the oceanic web of life. As with all life, whales have intrinsic value and inherent worth, independent of any human use or desire. As with all wild life, it is simply wrong to kill them.
Now, do something about it! Communicate your revulsion at the resumption of this barbaric practice to the Japanese. Write or phone the Japanese embassy and tell them that you will boycott all things Japanese, as fully as possible, including cars and travel, of course. The contact information in Canada follows:
The (Barbarian) Japanese Embassy contact data (in Canada):
Telephone: (613) 241-8541
FAX: (613) 241-4261
EMAIL: infocul@ot.mofa.go.jp
consul@ot.mofa.go.jp
Contact your own national government and request that Japan be denied access to your country’s territorial waters for fishing or any other use as long as they are slaughtering whales.
Read more here, and here, and here.
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