The BBC ran an “article”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6355593.stm four days ago about an upcoming conference to be held in Japan aimed at overturning the global ban on commercial whaling. Since the ban, which went into effect in 1982, Japan and other countries have continued whaling under the auspices of scientific research. Environmental groups have been trying to close this loop hole of “scientific” whaling, pointing to the fact that whales captured for scientific purposes are sold on the same markets that used to sell commercially hunted whale. The practice of whaling was one of the first successful bans in the ecological movement and it’s hardly a wonder to anyone with a brain why it should be banned. These creatures tend to not have more than 1 calf every 2-3 years and it takes 15 years for a single humpback to reach maturity. Clearly this is one link in the food chain we can’t afford to lose.
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Since that article ran a Japanese whaling ship in the Ross Sea, the Nisshin Maru, caught fire and has refused the help of nearby Green Peace ships in towing it to port. “More on that”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6363741.stm
* Posted later on Duenos: “Harpooner”:http://duenos.net/article/362/Whalehuntingerrresearchinggame, a Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator.