Iceland declared Tuesday it was issuing licenses to hunt about 40 fin and minke whales in the year ending August 2007.
Japan on Wednesday welcomed Iceland's decision to resume commercial whaling, saying Iceland's catch will "in no way endanger the whale population." The Japanese government plans to kill 1,070 minke whales in 2006, as well as a total of 170 Bryde's, sei, sperm and fin whales.
If you, dear reader, think that Iceland has made the wrong decision, you must consider this:
- The International Whaling Commission, provides information on whale populations -- you will see that Iceland's action will in no way endanger whales.
- Controlled whaling is environmentally sustainable and a right of whaling communities -- a 'collective human right' to uphold cultural tradition and support those communities that were built around commercial whaling. (further down you can read about collective rights)
- That prior to the hunting ban 20 years ago, humans - not Iceland in particular - had endangered many whale species. That in the past 20 years, the population of big whales grows more slowely than that of small whales.
- That today, these small whales dominate the sea, eat too much and stand as a threat to our most valuable resource - fish.
- That while roughly one sixth of the world's population, or one billion people, suffer from malnutrition, whales eat more than five times the amount of fish humans do per year.
- That controlled whaling is necessary for us to sustain our environment and tradition.
- That if Iceland does hunt whales, we will increase our food production and support the lifestock of other animals in the sea.
- That if Iceland does not hunt whales, our most valuable resource will gradually diminish and the problem caused by small whale species will grow exponentially.
Come on!
Iceland's Ministry of Fisheries issued a press release regarding the new permits. The International Whaling Commission has published its response.
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