Japanese Research
Fictions are often useful to explain to gullible audiences why it is that you are behaving in a manner you should not. When the fictions are so clearly at odds with reality they should become an embarrassment to those who proffer them as reasonable explanations. But not always. Not when those who are offering the excuse that what they do has an explicable and acceptable purpose, are in reality compelled to do so to uphold tradition and perceived entitlements.And so it is with Japan, insisting on proliferating her absurd reason for setting out on a massive months' long hunt for whales, including endangered species. This venture, costly in man-hours and funding, but immeasurably more costly in terms of the esteem with which this country is received internationally, is Japan thumbing her nose at scientific convention and international agreements meant to sustain the existence of slowly disappearing species within earth's great seas.
Japan's whaling fleet is ready to set sail on a four-month-long whaling expedition. The purpose, described as being in the interests of scientific data gathering, but reflecting in reality a long tradition of this ocean-bound country in serious fishing forays to feed a large population eager to partake of the delicacies of the sea goes forward despite the objections of the international community.
The official plan is to harvest up to 1,035 whales, including the endangered humpbacks which they plan to hunt in a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. Garnering them outraged protests from New Zealand and Australia. To defeat the global moratorium on commercial whaling instituted in 1987 by the International Whaling Commission as a result of the recognition of declining whale populations, Japan declares its expedition to be solely concerned with research.
Meat from the whales slaughtered on these expeditions are labelled and sold as "research byproduct". A transparent device of opportunistic blight that fools no one; a flimsy covering for an ill-conceived plan to rob the planet of its dwindling whale populations. The enterprise represents a scourge on Japan's otherwise outstanding reputation as a citizen of the world. And more's the pity.
Labels: Environment, Traditions, World News
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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