Wendee has not mentioned the charismatic aspect of whales, not the cuteness
of baby harp seals and pandas, but their intelligence. Like the great apes,
whales appear to be very intelligent and we tend to feel more protective of
intelligent animals than of worms and anemones (our attitude towards killing
other humans is an exception to this).
Of course rats and mice are also quite intelligent, but they are another
exception to the rule.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wendee Holtcamp" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: domingo, 18 de Abril de 2010 5:35
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] IWC proposal on whaling/New paper published: whales and
fisheries
Since Lyne brought up whaling I'm curious whether anyone has a
(professional
or personal/professional) opinion on the International Whaling Commission
upcoming vote on opening the world oceans to whaling again. Are people
aware
that this is on the table this June's IWC meeting in Morocco? It hasn't
received much press. It surely will if it passes! Apparently the US is
supportive. Yep.
But this is the thing. Save the Whales has been touted as perhaps the most
successful environmental campaign of all time. Most people loathe the
thought of killing the gentle giants. But we eat all kinds of other
creatures. So... if some species of whales have sufficiently recovered
(have
any? It seems they have recovered, if not to the numbers they once were
pre-modern era) then is it actually a possibly viable idea to hunt them IF
it helps better regulate things like the "scientific" whaling of Japan?
I'm at the beginning of my research here, but it's quite an interesting
topic. What do whale ecologists think? Would it be good or bad for the
marine ecosystem? Hunting and hunting enthusiast passion has helped to
save/manage many species of terrestrial animal (ducks and elk comes to
mind)
but whales?
Wendee
