Outrage over Japan's plan to slaughter humpback whales

Yes?

Last Update: Friday, December 30, 2005. 5:38pm (AEDT)

Naval ship 'counterproductive' in whaling stand-off

Australia's environment minister has ridiculed calls to send a naval ship to the Antarctic waters where a stand-off has developed between Japanese whalers and conservationists.

Both the Australian Greens and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are calling for an Australian observer ship to be sent to the area.

Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace are engaging the Japanese fleet in separate campaigns.

Senator Ian Campbell says only four countries in the world recognise that part of the Southern Ocean as belonging to Australia.

"These are regarded by the Japanese as international waters," he said.

"Sending any Australian government vessel down there to effectively spy or harass the merchant vessels of another nation would be counterproductive (and) set the cause of whale conservation back a decade."

The Greens say it is a major blunder for the Australian Government to do nothing.

Sea Shepherd's leader Captain Paul Watson says his ship will intervene to try to stop the killing.

"I've made no statement about damaging their property, Japan is the law breaker on that, I wish that the Australian Government would recognise that and take action," he said.

Greens leader Senator Bob Brown has repeated his call for an Australian naval ship to be sent to the region.

"Where's the backbone in the Minister for the Environment - you know we need somebody with a backbone, not a jellyfish."

Neither Greenpeace nor Sea Shepherd has reported any whaling over the past few days. .. <cont>

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1539904.htm

Strangely quiet on the news front. Nothing new to pass on to you from the Southern Ocean on this new year's day. But I'm hoping no news is good news. I certainly sounds as though Greenpeace & Sea Shepherd are giving the whalers a run of their money!

Here's an article that was featured in my paper this morning. This incident occurred 2 weeks ago.:

Whale rider makes defiant stand on killing
January 1, 2006/the AGE


Mikey Rosato rides the back of a minke whale after it was killed by Japanese whalers last week.
Photo: Kate Davison

Among the crew of the Greenpeace ships in the harsh waters of the Southern Ocean, he is known as the whale rider.

Australian activist Mikey Rosato's defiant action of standing on the back of a harpooned whale has inspired the protesters to continue their defiance of the Japanese whalers.

"I jumped onto the whale because I wanted to show the Japanese crew that, just because the whale was dead, the protest at what they were doing was not over," Mr Rosato said.

The drama in the ocean unfolded a fortnight ago as two Greenpeace ships dogged the Japanese scientific whaling fleet in Australia's territorial Antarctic waters.

"We were out in an inflatable boat and for 31/2 hours we put ourselves between the whalers and three whales, one of which was just a baby," said Mr Rosato, 33, via a satellite phone on the Arctic Sunrise icebreaker last week.

"They finally got a clear shot and hit the larger of the whales. Once they harpooned the whale it dived for 10 minutes and when it came up it was dead.

"I managed to jump on to it. I didn't see what I did as brave or courageous or even risky," said the Adelaide-born activist.

As Mr Rosato held up his "stop whaling" banner, the Japanese crew on board the whaling ship turned their water cannons on him. .. ,cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/whale-rider-makes-defiant-stand-on-killing/2005/12/31/1135915725364.html

Yes, that was a dead minke whale he was standing on ... <sigh>

What an idiot.

Go not just away cjhsa? You haven't the remotest interest in this issue.

Minke whales or whatever they are are fair game. Hunter harrassement is a felony where I come from. It amazes me the idiocy that passes for "political correctness".

Where are the hunters anyway? Criminy, even farmerman outsources the kill.

What a joke.

You're all gonna starve.

I can't be bothered with this, I honestly can't .....

Why not just start another gun thread & get it all out of your system there? Sorry, cjhsa, I just find this incredibly tedious. If anyone else is in a bickering mood they might engage with you. I'm not.

Like I said, minkes are fair game.

Was this guy practicing for snowboard season?

Just a suggestion for all of you animal rights types. If I were you, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. You might step on an ant or something. And the bugs living in your bed might get hungry.

Rave on, cjhsa, rave on ....

You're the one who posted an article, and a picture, of some guy surfing a dead whale. Must have been quite a thrill.

Not biting, sorry!

So, whadya have for dinner msolga?

Here's wishing you & yours a happy & peaceful 2006, cjhsa! I mean it.

Ok, back at ya!

We'll agree to disagree.

Thank you!
It's 2006 here already.

msolga, Happy New Year!

...and to all good pirates everywhere! :wink:

Olga, Don't let CJ get to you. He thinks it's cool to hunt things to extinction, and there's nothing you or I can do about it. I would just ignore his posts and not let it worry you. We're making it extrememly tough for these whalers to get their ships filled up, and as long as we're doing that, they are wasting fuel and paying costs while making no money doing it! Sooner or later they have to move on, or kill someone, Either way we win. If they move on, we follow them, if they kill someone, they have authorities to answer to and that will definitely hamper their season. Just keep the pressure on. CJ has motivated me to send our folks some more money! I think I'll do that tonight in honor of CJ ... just for him!!

Anon