Thanks for your insightful post! I think the message is basically that animals suffer in the industry which I completely agree with. It's one of the things consumers should be aware of and then decide accordingly.
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Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA
So, what do you feel about whaling? Is this, indeed, a hot topic in Norway?
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Whaling is not a hot topic at all in Norway, it's just another hunt like there is on moose or ptarmigan (okay, with a small industry). People who are against hunting should of course be against whaling.
A problem with discussing whaling on the net is that there are tremendous amounts of fanaticism and misinformation out there, both about whales and whaling. Are you sure your numbers are correct by the way? Your catch number looks like two times the quota (~1000 I
think) so they should be incorrect. Maybe you got the number for the total catch of minke whales worldwide?
Anyways, anyone supporting whaling openly on an international forum is likely to get death threats, at least I did the last time I did it and I wasn't even being supportive towards whaling - I was just trying to be a little factual. I've actually discussed whaling with Lars Walløe who used to be Norway's representative in the IWC (been to his lectures), but I don't really discuss it on forums anymore.
What I can say is that Norway stopped whaling and did extensive research on the minke whale population and after a while they decided that whaling could be resumed because the population was large and healthy and no ecological problems were predicted. Minke whales are now hunted in very low numbers because there's little market and, as you say, it's mostly for cultural reasons. There's a lot of international pressure and I believe it's managed rather well (quotas are well within the "safe zone"). Thus, the problem with norwegian whaling is not ecological - no species are going extinct - it's if it's right or not to kill minke whales for food and to preserve culture. That's what people should make up their minds about.
I expect you know this, but it's a little info for those who don't. :p
If anyone wants to discuss it, feel free to send me a PM!
edit :
By the way, I'm just curious - are polar bears hunted in the US? I've lived up in the arctic and I've seen pelts from Canada, but I'm a little unsure if they're hunted in Alaska or not.