Why the Japanese whaling "scientists" are batshit (1 Viewer)

[Kwayera]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23339764-2,00.html

AN official scientific review of Japan's bizarre experiments with test-tube minke babies and attempts at cross-breeding cows with whales has exploded the claim whale slaughter is "research".

Scientists have analysed the 43 research papers produced by Japan after 18 years of killing whales and concluded they are useless, strange and esoteric.

Some of the experiments involved injecting dead minke sperm into cow eggs, others attempt to produce test-tube whale babies and thawing frozen whale sperm to see if it remained fertile.

Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research also injected cow and pig egg cells with minke cells as part of its whaling program.

Australian delegates to this weekend's London meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will argue the "scientific research" loophole in the worldwide ban on commercial whaling that allows Japan to hunt the sea giants should be closed.

The head of Australia's scientific delegation to the IWC, Dr Nick Gales, said the research not only lacked credibility - it was downright strange.

"(The research involves) really bizarre and very strange experiments with sheep and pigs and eggs. It's totally esoteric, very strange research," he said from London.

Dr Gales also said the number of papers the lethal "research" produced - a mere 43 over 18 years - was incredibly small for a government-funded organisation.

"It was an incredibly low publication rate," he said.

More than half of the papers were dedicated to establishing whale mortality rates, but failed to do so.

"The amount of variability on these estimates means that the mortality rate remains unknown," Dr Gales said.

The findings of Australia's review show research objectives for the second phase of Japan's scientific whaling program, known as JARPA II, were unachievable, he said.

"They haven't changed any of the methodologies, Dr Gales said.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the scrutiny of Japan's research proved its whale hunt was about money.

"I challenge anyone to look at this sort of research and say it's necessary, to say it requires killing over 7000 whales," he said.

"This is why we say what is happening is not science, it's not necessary - it's commercial whaling."

Scientists originally analysed the first stage of Japan's whaling research in 2005 and published their findings in the renowned science journal Nature.

The scientists have updated this in the past two years since Japan released more papers on the subject.

This will be part of Australia's argument at this year's main IWC meeting in Chile, that killing whales is not generating any useful science. Japan has slaughtered more than 7000 whales during its 18-year "research" program.

 

[boris]

Yes ... so... how about another A bomb to tow them into line.

 

[Omium]

This is real science kiddies, not your Stupid BS chemistry crap where you mix 2 chemicals to cause bubbles

 

[boris]

Srsly though, about that A bomb. If it's now clear that they're not using whales for science, WHY are we still pandering to those lowly NIPS?

 

[chicky_pie]

Global warming is a myth.

Japanese hunting whales, is also a myth.





.......Conspiracy theorists should be shot.

 

[Zrap]

Nah we need Japanese people for samsung appliances.

 

[boris]

Nah we need Japanese people for samsung appliances.

China provides a cheaper product of equal quality.

 

[boris]

FIXED.

Thank you. I shall edit for factual integrity.

 

[chicky_pie]

China provides a cheaper product of equal quality.

And they'll poison us all while they're at it.

 

[A High Way Man]

stevo is a whale hunter in disguise

 

[Captain Gh3y]

but guys australian is hunting kangaroo because human is cruelest of all animal

japan victim of racist abuse by hypocritical australia

 

[chicky_pie]

but guys australian is hunting kangaroo because human is cruelest of all animal

japan victim of racist abuse by hypocritical australia

 

[RogueAcademic]

Nah we need Japanese people for samsung appliances.

Samsung is Korean.

 

[youBROKEmyLIFE]

Q: Do you support the right of nations to hunt whales which are not endangered?

 

[wootwt]

greenpeace type people are against whaling in general, even if the species is non-endangered, rite?

in that case, how's killing a (non endangered) whale more inhumane than killing a cow

edit: i can't spell

 

[Kwayera]

Why is it more inhumane? Because of a few reasons:

• Whales are not cows; obviously, but in the sense that they don't breed easily, prolifically and quickly. You can farm cows, which are obviously not endangered; you can't farm/domesticate whales.
• Cows are killed humanely - quickly and as painlessly as possible - as per regulation; usually by a bolt or shot to the head. There is no humane, quick or painless way to kill a whale. None.
• Any "predatory" (i.e. commercial) pressure on whale populations will induce an endangered status, even on currently unendangered populations (that currently aren't economically viable for hunting, although the economic viability of ANY hunting is dubious). Whale "recruitment", to use a biological term, is just not high enough; some estimate that it takes 20 years post-reproductive age for a female whale (which are coincidentally called 'cows') to replace herself with one mature, breeding offspring. Whales that were hunted before the moratorium have shown little recovery since - 0%-1% in blue whales, a little higher in others.

 

[Kwayera]

Q: Do you support the right of nations to hunt whales which are not endangered?

And no, I do not support this, for the afore-mentioned reasons. I do, however, partially support small native subsistence whaling, where the flesh is a true major and necessary part of their diet; unfortunately, their killing methods are rarely less inhumane than currently employed by the Japanese.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

[*]Cows are killed humanely - quickly and as painlessly as possible - as per regulation; usually by a bolt or shot to the head. There is no humane, quick or painless way to kill a whale. None.

nuclear weapons

 

[youBROKEmyLIFE]

Whales are not cows; obviously, but in the sense that they don't breed easily, prolifically and quickly. You can farm cows, which are obviously not endangered; you can't farm/domesticate whales.

But until they actually do become threatened/endangered this doesn't seem to be a problem, as for their difficulty with birth... while they're obviously not as prolific as cows, my understanding is that it depends on your whale.

Cows are killed humanely - quickly and as painlessly as possible - as per regulation; usually by a bolt or shot to the head. There is no humane, quick or painless way to kill a whale. None.

A lot of animals are not killed humanely and we live with these killings, while we allow these to continue I do not see how we are justified in targeting japanese whalers.

Whales that were hunted before the moratorium have shown little recovery since - 0%-1% in blue whales, a little higher in others.

True, but perhaps also because many of them are still being hunted anyway?

 

[boris]

Having grown up in a rural area (and partaken in the killing of the odd cow and sheep), I can honestly say that cows and sheep are killed quickly and swiftly.

As Cat said, you can't shoot a whale to kill it instantly. You can't gas it, you can't give it a needle. It's brutal and inhumane.

Re: Chadd
What reason do nations have to kill whales, endangered or not? Recent reports in Japan have contradicted the idea that it's a tasty animal. They're not doing research.

The only reason I would support it is because of overbreeding or overpopulation, something that I don't think (as far as I know) is happening with any whale population.