I was watching Deadliest Catch on the Discovery channel the other day and saw a commercial for Whale Wars to be aired on Animal Planet. The snippets in the preview caught my attention right away. I have to admit, am not a huge whale lover as I just started learning more about whales (thanks to this show). However, am an animal lover in general and any crude methods used to kill endangered species bother me.I'm also not usually into watching shows on TV at length as my 2 year old son keeps us busy with his channel (Noggin) or wants us to play with him while he is not watching TV (which is great any day).
Whale Wars - Considering the fact that it is a reality show tailored to gain the utmost emotional response from audiences, it was still very interesting. I had no idea such a thing existed till I watched the first episode. It was about how a group of environmentalists are trying to protect these endangered species. A rough group of 15 passionate conservative enthusiasts team together to travel to Antarctic waters (yep, freezin' Antarctica down South) and help protect the whales from the Japanese whalers. The group is called Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which is a non-profit organization headed by Paul Watson.
According to the Japanese, whaling is legal for two main reasons - a) Japanese are on a scientific mission to assess whale stocks and b) It is perceived by many as a threat to Japanese culture. According to its defenders, eating whale meat is an old and impenetrable Japanese tradition. "No one has the right to criticize the food culture of another people" - Japan's Fisheries Agency. I'm personally bothered by some the tactics that Japanese were using to kill this endangered species. Eventhough Japanese have their reasons, many believe that their research debate is just to cover up their commercial whaling business.(Lets be honest, no one would need to kill 900+ whales in one season to perform a research)
Based on the interest gathered from this show, I did some research on the controversy and interestingly found a different perspective from the Japanese. Here is some information on the controversial standpoints between US and Japan.
Traditionally, the Japanese have always had whales as food. Due to the Buddhist beliefs, people didn't eat meat of the "four-legged animals" until the middle of the 19th century. However, since whales were regarded as fish and had no legs, they ate whale meat.
The U.S.'s stand is paradoxical. Its policy is anti-whaling. It asserts that any commercial whaling cannot be allowed even if the whale stock condition and humane killing practices are improved (High North Alliance, 1994). On the other hand, the U.S. allows the Alaskan Inuit to take truly endangered bowhead whales. The Scientific Committee of the IWC ruled that bowhead whales cannot stand hunting at all (Misaki, 1996).
Like any other Controversy, this one also has two sides and I'm certainly not here to define who is right or who is wrong. International organizations (particularly IWC) are trying hard to figure this out. I personally condemn such barbaric acts regardless of the motive, Individuals go to any extent to justify their acts. I was intrigued by the passionate group who put their life on the line to protect something that they strongly believe in and kudos to their bravery & belief.
Whale Wars - Considering the fact that it is a reality show tailored to gain the utmost emotional response from audiences, it was still very interesting. I had no idea such a thing existed till I watched the first episode. It was about how a group of environmentalists are trying to protect these endangered species. A rough group of 15 passionate conservative enthusiasts team together to travel to Antarctic waters (yep, freezin' Antarctica down South) and help protect the whales from the Japanese whalers. The group is called Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which is a non-profit organization headed by Paul Watson.
According to the Japanese, whaling is legal for two main reasons - a) Japanese are on a scientific mission to assess whale stocks and b) It is perceived by many as a threat to Japanese culture. According to its defenders, eating whale meat is an old and impenetrable Japanese tradition. "No one has the right to criticize the food culture of another people" - Japan's Fisheries Agency. I'm personally bothered by some the tactics that Japanese were using to kill this endangered species. Eventhough Japanese have their reasons, many believe that their research debate is just to cover up their commercial whaling business.(Lets be honest, no one would need to kill 900+ whales in one season to perform a research)
Based on the interest gathered from this show, I did some research on the controversy and interestingly found a different perspective from the Japanese. Here is some information on the controversial standpoints between US and Japan.
Traditionally, the Japanese have always had whales as food. Due to the Buddhist beliefs, people didn't eat meat of the "four-legged animals" until the middle of the 19th century. However, since whales were regarded as fish and had no legs, they ate whale meat.
The U.S.'s stand is paradoxical. Its policy is anti-whaling. It asserts that any commercial whaling cannot be allowed even if the whale stock condition and humane killing practices are improved (High North Alliance, 1994). On the other hand, the U.S. allows the Alaskan Inuit to take truly endangered bowhead whales. The Scientific Committee of the IWC ruled that bowhead whales cannot stand hunting at all (Misaki, 1996).
Like any other Controversy, this one also has two sides and I'm certainly not here to define who is right or who is wrong. International organizations (particularly IWC) are trying hard to figure this out. I personally condemn such barbaric acts regardless of the motive, Individuals go to any extent to justify their acts. I was intrigued by the passionate group who put their life on the line to protect something that they strongly believe in and kudos to their bravery & belief.
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