[minminRW]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Factory farming I agree is quite brutal also and I hope that it may become outlawed. However that is another issue entirely.
As for ethical hunting... hunting with the wellbeing of the eco-system in mind is ethical at the very least.

Your explanation is not clear enough. I think whaling by Japan fits with wellbeing of the eco-system.

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Certainly sustained hunting can take place. Commercial hunting is a different matter though.
Canada has already left the IWC... but maintains a ban on commercial whaling.

It is not the matter whether a certain whaling is Commercial or not.

USA hunts Bowhead Whales (classified "Endangered" by red list) as non-commercial whaling every year.(IWC allowed it!)
Japan hunts whales as research but these are classified "Least concern".

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

First of all, countries do not have rights other than those set out by the UN charter.
Considering that Japan does not own the pacific ocean, and considering the ocean is a valuable resource for all countries in East Asia, the pacific and the Americas, then if Japan acts against this consensus by hunting whales Japan is violating the "rights" of other countries who utilise the ocean.

First, Japan does not act against World consensus but just stay minor.
Almost countries do not have culture of eating whales.
Japanese whaling do not violate the rights of these countries.
Though, I agree to your viewpoint taking whales as "resources".

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

That's a huge assumption.
The very reason for banning in a single uniform way is because there are too many potential risks to the eco system. Also we can't trust the private sector and considering whaling activity is likely to increase if commercial whale hunting were allowed, the cost of monitoring Japanese whaling operations would also increase.

We have not discussed about monitoring costs...it may not be a big problem.
Anyway, whaling must be controlled and we can do.
It is easier than that of CO2.

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Speak for yourself. It's only the perspective of Japanese conservatives and nationalists. In fact oppurtunism is what the small but powerful Japanese whaling lobby is doing by trying to envoke nationalist sentiments in the Japanese population with regard to this issue.

Speak for yourself, Natural activists have got huge donation from financial establishments of USA and Australia. They include some group of lobbyist that wants to take chance of increasing meat export to Japan with blaming whale hunting.

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

Let's keep this discussion rational.

Likewise.