Why do the Japanese hunt whales?

Whaling.

Japanese Whaling History







Japan has a long history of whaling. Half a dozen towns can trace their whaling history back hundreds of years, to when whales were driven into nets, harpooned repeatedly and then dispatched with either a long sword or a wooden plug driven into the blowhole. Hand harpoons dating as far back as 10,000 B.C. indicate an even longer tradition of whaling in Japan.







At the turn of the 20th century, Japanese coastal whaling received a boost with the introduction of steam ships and grenade-tipped harpoon guns. However, it wasn't until 1934 that Japan expanded its whaling to Antarctica. Whales helped keep Japanese citizens fed both during and after World War 2. In 1947 whale meat made up almost half of all animal protein consumed by the country. Nearly 20 years later, whales continued to make up nearly one-quarter of the Japanese diet.







Japanese Culture and Pride







This history is an important part of why the Japanese continue to hunt whales. Attempts to stop the nation's whaling are 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," said Matayuki Komatsu of Japan's Fisheries Agency.







A sense of pride also fuels Japan's commitment to whaling. To some, the words and actions of those who oppose Japanese whaling are "culturally arrogant" and unnecessarily harsh. This only serves to strengthen the country's resolve to maintain its whaling, according to some.







The Principle of Sustainable Use







Minke whales, though not at historic levels, remain plentiful. A population of 761,000 exists in the Southern Ocean, according to Japan, though some claim the number is closer to 268,000. Regardless, they exist in enough numbers that a return to commercial whaling of this species can likely be supported, assuming strict management of stocks and reasonable annual catch limits.







Japan says that its whaling research over the last two decades has paved the way for long-term, sustainable use of this "renewable marine food resource." Why not hunt whales if they can be hunted sustainably? And if the principle of sustainable use is compromised on behalf of one animal, what's to stop a "domino effect" from happening that in time would limit Japan's use of other animal resources that it relies so heavily upon?







Adapted from http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/whaling/why-japanese-hunt-whales.html

What does Japan think about the pro-whale movement?

Unwilling to Bow to Cultural Differences



Some groups and nations support a moratorium on all forms of whaling — not just the commercial kind — and propose protecting all whales, regardless of their abundance and conservation status. Japan is not among them.



In March 2008, then Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura stated, "There is a need for us to avoid cultural debates and rather show respect for our respective cultures and calmly discuss the issue based on scientific evidence."



Japan's main complaint with the pro-whale movement is that its attacks on the country's research whaling are based on an emotional response to killing whales, rather than a scientific evaluation of the benefits or drawbacks of the practice.



Pro-whaling but Not Anti-whale



Little love is lost between Japan and the pro-whale movement, but Japan's involvement in controlled whaling doesn't necessarily make it anti-whale. The country's government has stated its commitment to some of the same causes that motivate the pro-whale (or anti-whaling) movement.



"If the protest [of anti-whaling groups] is along the lines of 'protect the endangered whale species,' we are on the same ground. Japan strongly supports the international protection of endangered whale species such as blue whales," reads a policy statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



The country says it does not take any endangered species as part of its research whaling, so it sees its whaling activities as sustainable and separate from the issue of species conservation.



The undeniably rocky relationship between Japan and the pro-whale movement stems from irreconcilable views of whaling. Pro-whale advocates basically regard whaling as poaching. Not so for Japan, which sees it as legal research activities authorized by Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the treaty created "to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry."



With the Law on Their Side



The Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), the nonprofit research organization that conducts whaling activities under the legal authority of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, does sell meat from whales that it takes. Pro-whale groups often cite this fact and say that Japan's research activities are actually commercial whaling in disguise and that it uses a loophole in the International Whaling Commission's convention to conduct its whaling.



But Japan points out that section 2 of Article VIII of the convention states that "any whales taken under these special [scientific] permits shall so far as practicable be processed and the proceeds shall be dealt with in accordance with directions issued by the Government by which the permit was granted."



So, Japan's response to criticism from the pro-whale movement is that selling whale meat (and all of its whaling activities) is above legal reproach.



At the end of the day, the legality of whaling isn't the issue that divides Japan from the pro-whale movement. The pro-whale community views whaling as wrong, while the country sees it as no different from sustainable hunting or fishing. With these opposing viewpoints, don't expect to see a reconciliation between Japan and the pro-whale movement soon.



Adapted from http://http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/japanese-whalers/japan-pro-whale-movement.html

Is whale meat popular in Japan?

Whale meat sashimi is served at a whale meat eatery in Tokyo, Japan in May 2007. According to a recent Gallup poll, males 40 to 49 are the most likely to enjoy a piping hot plate of whale meat, followed by men between 50 and 59.

Whale meat is still somewhat popular in Japan, but whether you like it or not depends largely on your demographic. According to a 2006 Gallup poll conducted by the Nippon Research Center and commissioned by Greenpeace, males 40 to 49 are the most likely to enjoy a piping hot plate of whale meat, followed by men between 50 and 59. The numbers aren't too surprising considering whale meat was served frequently in school lunches in the years following World War II, likely making it a sentimental favorite of children of that generation.

Survey Says

If a man is in his 40s, there's an 11.6 percent chance he eats whale meat "sometimes." For men in their 50s, that likelihood drops to 7.4 percent. When it comes to females, however, poll participants between 30 and 39 years of age have acquired less of taste for the marine mammal. Not one answered "sometimes" when questioned about whether they ate whale meat, and only 10 percent said they ate the meat "very rarely." A whopping 21.7 percent reported that they had "never" eaten whale meat. When Gallup polled an even younger group -- females age 15 to 29 -- 51.3 said they had "never" eaten whale meat.

A fourth option, "have not eaten in a long time" was the most common response. Females between 15 and 29 were still the lowest, coming in at 39.5 percent for this category, but the rest who answered affirmatively fell between 46.2 percent (males, 15 to 29) and 79.8 percent (females, 40 to 49). In fact, everyone above 30 answered "have not eaten in a long time" at least 57.1 percent of the time.

All in all, some 95 percent of the 1,047 poll respondents reportedly ate whale meat very rarely, had not eaten whale meat in a long time, or ate it not at all. So while it might seem easy to assume how Japanese people feel about whaling in general, the poll results may surprise you. For example, 34.5 percent of the poll's participants thought commercial whaling should resume, and 39.2 percent "neither agreed nor disagreed" with the idea. With their taste for whale meat, males aged 40 to 49 were the most in favor of it (63.4 percent), while females 15 to 29 were the most opposed to it (47.4 percent). Females 30 to 39 ranked the most ambivalent to the idea (51.7 percent), while males 40 to 49 were the least ambivalent (only 29.6 percent) and the least likely to be against commercial whaling (10.7 percent).

Other Studies

Other sources, such as the book East Asian Cultural and Historical Perspectives, show varying degrees of support. In a small study conducted in 1996, respondents overwhelmingly defended whaling as a cultural right. This finding contrasted with a 1991 Nippon Research Center study that found 64 percent of the respondents were against whaling, and 79 percent thought eating whale meat was not necessary.

At least one Japanese scholar, namely Jun Morikawa of Rakuno Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan, also disagrees that whaling is still as popular as some people claim. Instead, he thinks that whaling as a fishery, while important to some local Japanese cultural groups, lacks large-scale support at the national level. According to Morikawa, whaling's popularity is largely a myth promulgated by, among others, certain governmental bodies and major players within the whaling industry.

It's hard to determine who's correct in all this, but one thing is for sure: Even with scientific catch limits downsizing the amount of whaling that's done each year, Japanese people don't always eat all the meat that's caught. According to the Guardian, of the 1,873 tons of whale meat processed in 2001, 70 tons went unsold.

Adapted from ">http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/japanese-whalers/japan-whale-meat-popular.html

Overharvesting

Passenger pigeon.

One of the factors that cause species extinct is overharvesting. Before we go into our discussion, I would like to bring you some past events that prove human had over hunting certain species till they become endanger species. So, let us look at a classic example is the extermination of America passenger pigeon that once a upon a time lived in eastern North America with large population of them (population between 3 and 5 billion of them). It accounted for about one-quarter of all birds in North America. In spite of this vast abundance, market hunting and habitat destruction caused the entire population to crash in only about 20 years between 1870 and 1890. Sadly, the last existing passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died in 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo. As a result, the existence species of bird has now become a history and just a story that begin with ‘once a upon a time’.



So, what kind of moral lesson that we have gained from this story? We might start to think that we shouldn’t repeat the event of ‘once a upon a time’ on the animal in the earth. So that, next time, we don’t have to bring our grandchildren to go to the museum to see the specimens of the Malay Tiger, Sumatera rhino, and Orang Utan as examples because we couldn’t see them lively in the national parks, zoos, and forests. Think about it when our grandchildren ask you a question why are there extinct? Start from now; how would you to answer to this serious question? It is a question about ethical, moral and humanities question.



Before that, let us see the world today, we realize people are harvesting all the resources of the earth for example fisheries, and whaling. For instance, according to a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimate, over 70% of the world’s fish species are either fully exploited or depleted. United Nation. 10 Stories The World Should Hear About. http://www.un.org/events/tenstories/06/story.asp?storyID=800



You might also refer to the following website to get the pie chart about the status of the marine fisheries:



http://earthwatch.unep.ch/oceans/oceanfisheries.php



The modern fisheries using large weighted nets to catch fishes. The large weighted nets not only catch all marine life in midwaters, whether targeted or caught incidentally, but also cause severe seabed habitat destruction. Sea creatures living on the bottom are crushed, buried or exposed to predators, and clouds of sediments rise, altering seabed biochemistry. Trawler bycatch represents between 17-39 million metric tones of fish discarded unused each year (McAllister, 1998). Ecosystems, such as continental shelves and slopes, are more affected than other areas; they naturally suffer less disturbance (by storm waves for example) and have evolved for slower growth and other biological processes, which means that recovery takes places over a longer period of time (Watling et al., 1998). United Nation. 2006. Earth Watch. http://earthwatch.unep.ch/oceans/oceanfisheries.php



As a conclusion, overharvesting is one of the factors that is responsible for depletion or extinction of many species. Efficient endangered species management and biodiversity protection are needed to protect the species.

"The Andrews"

Animals Asia Welfare Awards -"The Andrews" Animals Asia has created a set of awards to recognise those organisations and individuals who are making outstanding contributions to the advancement of animal welfare in Asia.

Over the years, we have seen many selfless supporters, celebrities, government officials, corporations, campaign partners and students helping to improve the plight of wild and domesticated animals throughout Asia. We're sure you know of many more. Animals Asia plans to launch the awards at the region's foremost animal-welfare forum, the "Asia for Animals Conference 2011", which we will host in Chengdu in June. Please help us to recognise these unsung heroes by nominating a deserving individual or organisation for an award in the following categories:

Animals Asia Welfare Awards: Categories

Media: Outstanding contribution by a journalist or media outlet Corporate: Outstanding contribution by a corporation Government: Outstanding initiative supported or instigated by a government department or body Individual: Outstanding contribution by an individual NGO: Outstanding achievement by an NGO Political: Outstanding lobbying by an NGO or individual Public: Outstanding initiative to raise public awareness Student: Outstanding contribution by a young activist Community: Outstanding contribution to a community-based programme or campaign Volunteer: Outstanding contribution by a volunteer

Please download our nomination form and submit to afa@animalsasia.org or fax to us on + 852 2791 2320.

http://www.animalsasia.org/

5 most endangered species in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Five of the 10 animals and plants most threatened by the illegal wildlife trade are in Malaysia.The tiger, Asian rhinoceros, elephant and orang utan are included in the top 10 list released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, together with a red and pink jewel-like coral species, Corallium borneense. All are found in Malaysia.
"Malaysia’s global position in providing habitat to some of the most charismatic and endangered flagship mammal species, such as the tiger, Asian elephant and orang utan has to be recognised and emphasised," said WWF-Malaysia’s National Programme Director Dr Arun Venkataraman.
The list was released ahead of the annual Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, to be held from June 3 to June 15 in The Hague, the Netherlands.Representatives from 171 countries are expected to attend.
The tiger and Asian rhino have been threatened for decades because of poaching and illegal trade.
Others, particularly marine species, are on the list because their populations have declined drastically in recent years.
According to WWF-Malaysia, tigers are at risk because of a loss of habitat and forest conversion. And an old threat has re-emerged which could sound the death knell for the species — the reopening of tiger farms in China.
The population of Asian rhinos has been devastated by the trade of their highly prized horns. An upsurge in poaching has put the last remaining populations at risk, said Venkataraman.
"The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is already extinct in Malaysia," he said, adding that WWF-Malaysia was working with government agencies and the corporate sector to protect the near-extinct Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatranus), the only rhino species remaining in Malaysia, and the one most threatened by poaching.
The poaching of elephants and illegal international trade in ivory is stimulated by rampant ivory sales in some countries, particularly in East Asia.
In Sabah, government agencies are working with WWF-Malaysia to reduce the threat to the Bornean pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) through AREAS (Asian Rhino Elephant Action Strategy) and the Heart of Borneo programme, which aims to connect fragmented lowland forests using corridors, said Venkataraman.
Wild populations of great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and orang utan) are declining because of a combination of the illegal trade in live animals (usually for pets), poaching for meat, disease and habitat disturbance, fragmentation and destruction.This includes Malaysia’s only great ape, the Bornean orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus).Red and pink coral (Corallium spp.) is the most valuable of all the precious corals. Pink coral has been extracted for over 5,000 years and used for jewellery and decoration. Over-harvesting and the destruction of entire colonies by bottom trawlers and dredges have led to dramatic population decline.
"At least one species, Corallium borneense, is found in Malaysian waters. Malaysia also imports coral from Taiwan and Japan, which is made into jewellery and then re-exported to the United States," Venkataraman said.Other species on the list are the Porbeagle (Lamna nasus), a powerful, medium-sized shark highly valued for its meat and fins; the Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias), a smaller, slender white-spotted shark also known as rock salmon, used in fish and chips in the United Kingdom and eaten smoked as a delicacy called Schillerlocken in Germany.
The saw fish (Pristidae spp.), whose distinctive saw-like snouts are sold as souvenirs and ceremonial weapons while other body parts are used for traditional medicines; is also on the list, as well as the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), for which there is significant international demand, both for adults whose meat is highly valued and live juvenile eels (shipped from Europe to Asia) for rearing in aqua-culture.
The Bigleaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), a highly valuable South and Central American rainforest timber species, is also endangered because of illegal logging.

20 Ways You Can Save Our WIldlife

Some "dos" and "don'ts".

1. Do not buy bones, skulls, teeth, trophies or feathers of wild animals.
   To obtain these product, animals have to be killed and you are encouraging the wildlife trade.
2. Do not think of our wild animals (such as wild boar and deer meat) as exotic food.
   If we continue to eat these animals at the current rate, there will soon be none left. There is plenty of beef, chicken, fish and other meats available.
3. Don't think of wild animal parts as having medicinal value.
   For most of the times it is not true. A simple fact - the rhino horn is made of the same stuff (keratin) as your finger nail. Therefore, if you have a fever, would you cook and eat your finger nail?
4. Do not think of hunting for wild animals as a sport.
   It may be a sport to you but it is certainly not a sport for the animal.
5. Do not hunt for sale or trade in wildlife.
   Commercial sale of our animals reduces the tourism potential and regeneration potential of our forests, and is bringing some species close to extinction in Sarawak.
6. If you have no other sources of food and are allowed to hunt animals for subsistence, do not hunt any protected or totally protected species. These are so rare that if they are hunted, they might become extinct.
7. Do not poison the rivers when you go fishing.
   Poison kills almost everything in the rivers. Besides, it is illegal to do so.
8. If you are fishing using jala (cast nets) or jaring (drift nets), do not use nets with small mesh sizes. We encourage the use of bigger mesh sizes as this allows juvenile fish to escape capture.
9. Do not fish near the shore, especially in the mangroves. The mangroves are critical breeding grounds for most fishes and prawns.
10. Do not keep wild animals as pets. This includes birds like mynas, hornbills and parrots. By discouraging the pet trade, you are helping to eliminate the harvest of animals from the wild.
11. Do inform the National Parks and Wildlife Service if you encounter illegal activities concerning wildlife. Examples of some illegal activities are : hunting inside national parks and hunting or keeping protected or totally protected species without a licence.
12. Do learn about ways to conserve our animals. Subscribe to a wildlife magazine and watch nature programmes on TV.
13. Make education your objective when you next visit a wildlife centre.
14. You can contribute to wildlife conservation. Donate to a nature society or club. The contributions are often tax deductable. GIVE to SAVE!!!!
15. Be a volunteer for a nature society or club. Your efforts are valuable.
16. Encourage your school, club and friends to have talks and debates on the values of wildlife conservation.
17. Do take photographs of our wonderful wildlife. Show them to your friends.
18. Encourage your friends and family to respect Wildlife. The animals contribute to your well-being.
19. If you have the option, think of wildlife conservation as a career. It is extremely rewarding.
20. Finally, remember this saying, "In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught." Bring a friend to a Wildlife Centre and learn more about Wildlife conservation.