Delegates at the International Whaling Commission have voted in favour of a resolution endorsing a return to commercial whaling.

The meeting on the Caribbean island of St Kitts backed the declaration by a majority of just one.

This is the outcome that Japan and its pro-whaling allies have been working towards since the meeting began.

But anti-whaling countries have indicated that they will challenge the legality of the ruling.

Step closer

The motion, tabled by St Kitts and Nevis, called for the Whaling Commission to declare its commitment to normalisation - code for moving towards an eventual return to commercial whaling.

Brazil and New Zealand immediately contested the legality of the vote, while Japan declared it a historic day, the first step towards the eventual lifting of the global moratorium which has been in place for 20 years.

Japan will have to build its coalition much further to achieve that - it needs three-quarters of the Whaling Commission to vote in favour - but there is no doubt that commercial hunting of whales is a step closer.
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What the hell?!

WTF? Is the whole f*cking world trying to re-establish the whaling industry. They're almost exinct as it is.

This movement towards whaling is horrifying!

Why do we even need to hunt whales any more? Just let them be, for pete's sake.

OMG my country has tried to put a stop to this!!!! why arn't other countries doing the same??? one day there won't be any more whales

mind you its not just Japan, but also Norway, Denmark etc who RELY on the industry

My stomach really hurts now. Although Japan has been hunting whales despite the law, calling it 'research', instead of 'hunting'. They make me sick.

Of course, we all need the whale oil to light our lamps, don't we? It's just a matter of $$$$. A whale makes a LOT of sushi.

First, Japan has the terrible shark finning industry...Now whaling!

What can we do to voice our protest ?
Surely a site like this which has thousands of members can do SOMETHING

I read an article on this by David Attenborough today and he said "if we could hear Whales scream we'd never do it " Personally i'm not so sure ...the older i get the more cruelty i see.

I propose that the Site Administers organise a petition that we could get everyone to link to other sites that they're members of...and that we bombard the Embassies of these countries with objections and complaints.....will you help me out here people.....I for one dont want to just sit back and read of this slaughter of Highly intelligent gentle creatures starting again.....if we can do even something small it's a start.....Maybe the internet can be harnessed to produce something good ?.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1090214.ece

Okay since my last post i've sent this letter to the Japanese Embassy in Ireland

Dear Mr Ambassador
I wish to register my dismay and disgust at Japans intention to resume the hunting of Humpback Whales for supposedly "Scientific" research.
As an Irish citizen i would like you to know that this is abhorrent to me and will destroy the high standing of the Japanese people in my eyes.
There are only 250,000 Humpback Whales left in existence ,surely it's time to leave them alone.When will we learn not to cause such suffering to other Intelligent and Gentle creatures ?.
I would be grateful if my concerns were conveyed at the highest level possible.
Yours sincerely
xxxx x xxxxxxxx
Ireland



ALL
HERE IS THE LIST OF JAPANESE EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES WORDWIDE.
Please contact one and voice your concern...please and please link this on to as many sites as you can as i'm going to do

http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

o.k. after reading that NOW its made me more sick i EAT sushi mind you i don't think there is whale meat in it but still that's gross. we don't use whale oil anymore to light our lamps thats was in the 1800's yes it is about greed and money with them

I heard on the news that one of the reasons the Japanese wanted to resume whaling was because the whales apparently damage fish stocks.
Which I find an hilarious excuse, as I have yet to see a whale dragging nets across the ocean floor.

they mean the whales are eating the fish....

the reason whale hunting was banned - along with the fact that they were become very low in numbers - was the way whales were hunted. as it takes 5 minutes (if the whales 'lucky' enough), to actually die, and all the while they are obvisually screaming - though the human ear cannot hear it. if we could, we'd not be hunting whales anymore.



along with dog food, meat for various food purposes, perfume.... ect. a tuna fish can make around four sushi. Sushi is just vinegar'ed rice wrapped in sea weed, the fish or meat are just fillings.

This is beyond sick! Those poor whales.

haha, not the tuna I catch...500 lbs anyone?

I cant believe the reaction to this has been so slow !
Has anyone contacted any of their Embassies ?
I guess that people just really dont give a sh**....if everyone that complained just sent an E-mail to one of the Japanese Embassies or Consulates linked above ,it probably wouldn't happen....
I challenge everyone reading this to send an e-mail to your Japanese Embassy,get at least one other person to do it and link the Embassy addresses to another site with an appeal to others to do the same.......COME ONNNNNNNN

agreed bogeyman my country is heavily against this and is currently campaining against this horrific act against animals

Sushi is made of fish, a whale is a mammal. See how that does not work out? And we don't use whale oil lamps anymore.

Let's just kidnap the whales and hide them under our beds...
The Japanese won't find them there.

I already have a right whale underneath mine

I was being sarcastic. My point is that we DON'T use whale oil lamps, and sushi is NOT made of whale meat. So our (the western world) need of whale meat is extremely limited, if it exists at all. Sheesh!

You're lucky, mine's a blue

I can't, a whale would destroy my ecosystem of mold down there. Thats why I hid mine in my closet.

Dear Consultant General Shigeo Iwatani,

Aloha. I am contacting you personally on behalf of the concerns of many individuals of Hawai'i. Recently I have read articles whose sources are liable stating that Japan is in favor of returning to the cruel practice of commercial whaling. It is also well known that Japan already practices whaling.

In my respected opinion, Mr. Iwatani, I believe that commercial whaling is cruel and foolish. Frankly, any act of killing a beautiful, innocent species born on this Earth is unwarranted, even for the reward of large amounts of money to greedy men.

You must understand that living here in Hawai'i I have many Japanese friends and it is well known and thought that Japanese people are very smart. On behalf of my friends and recent technology advances Japan has achieved I can agree this is true. How can the Japanese hold their reputation if they are in favor of commercial whaling? I am not generalizing that all Japanese people believe the act is justifiable, but I no longer think so highly of them. I know you are Japanese yourself, Mr. Iwatani. On the website of honolulu.us.emb-japan.go.jp there is information about yourself. It states that you graduated from the Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo with a degree in Law. Surely you are a respectable, powerful, intelligent man. Tell me, Mr. Iwatani, is it lawful to kill intelligent, peaceful, wild mammals such as whales in order to gain money? If you think so then maybe you are not so intelligent as I assumed you were.

I ask you, Shigeo Iwatani, to not allow the reputation of Japan to be soiled. I ask you to not allow commercial whaling to continue. You are in a postion where you can consult and influence superiors in your country's government. I am not. Yes, I am asking you a favor. You will be rewarded by knowing that you helped save something living like yourself, a creature that loves like you, a creature that can amazingly sing, maybe not like you, but with a beauty that one can't help but admire!
The Japanese people who continue to kill whales and pursue the disgusting goal to return to commercial whaling cannot hear the whales scream. When they kill these giant, peaceful creatures and soil the ocean with their blood they cannot hear their dying screams because our ears are simply not used to picking up sounds that great. Neither are our souls. I hope when they sleep at night they will lie awake and know what they did, and in their dreams hear the screams of the whales.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Individual