Worth Repeating

 Artist credit: Eva M.Sakmar-Sullivan

In the continuing debate over the issue of Japanese whaling and the war between them and Sea Shepherd, I believe it is time to repeat a couple of things I've shared here on my blog in the past.

First, Surfers for Cetaceans Universal Declaration of Marine Mammal Rights:

CHARTER ONE: CETACEANS (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises)

1.All whales, dolphins and porpoises are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

2.Every whale, dolphin and porpoise is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind such as species, sex or other status.

3.Every whale, dolphin and porpoise has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

4.No whale, dolphin or porpoise shall be held in slavery or servitude, slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

5.No whale, dolphin or porpoise shall be subjected to fortune or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

6.No whale, dolphin or porpoise shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

7.Every whale, dolphin and porpoise has the right to freedom of movement and residence in the sea and the right to return unhindered to it home territory.

8.Every whale, dolphin and porpoise has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

9.Every cetacean has the right to a clean environment for the health and well-being of self and family and the right to the bounty of the ocean, ie food.

10.Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms said forth herein.

Second, lets not lose sight of the fact that Japan doesn't give a crap about the whales, only money.  Paul Watson shared this previously:

"You know what the Japanese delegate Tadahiko Nakamura said to me at the 1997 IWC meeting in Monaco? He said he didn't care if all the whales died. He said his duty was to his family, his company, his country, and that it was his duty to harvest all the whales they could before they were all gone. 'Realize maximum profit from them before they go extinct' are the words he used."

  Third, in the wise words of Carl Sagan:

“The Cetacean hold an important lesson for us. The lesson is not about whales and dolphins, but about ourselves. There is at least moderately convincing evidence that there is another class of intelligent beings on Earth beside ourselves. They have behaved benignly and in many cases affectionately towards us. We have systematically slaughtered them. Little reverence for life is evident in the whaling industry - underscoring a deep human failing...In warfare, man against man, it is common for each side to dehumanize the other so that there will be none of the natural misgivings that a human being has at slaughtering another..."

 OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has declared Australia's relationship with Japan is too important to risk over whaling. In other words, money talks.  The Australian government continues to blow a lot of hot air, threatening legal action but at the same time, are unwilling to really do anything because of their trade relationship with Japan.   In other words, it's business as usual and everything else is just for media posturing.

One writer thinks Captain Watson is a sanctimonious blowhard (to paraphrase.)  You can read his critical and cynical point of view here:  Sea Shepherd Lacks Moral High Ground

Protesters in Chile call on their government to take a stand on Japan's whaling.  Chile's Anti Whaling Coalition Calls on Govt. to Act Says Silence on Japanese Whaling Implies Complicity

Meanwhile, if New Zealand and Australia decline to go after Japan legally for destroying the Ady Gil, Captain Watson is threatening citizen arrests. 

"Whaleman" Duncan Murrell is a wildlife photographer and quite adept as a kayaker and getting *thisclose* to a whale and snapping amazing photos.  Check this out:  Humpback Whales: Astonishing Pictures

Another point of view on the debate regarding classifying dolphins and/or whales as "non human persons."   Make Way for Non Human Persons

How 'bout this ... they aren't quite human, but they aren't quite "animal" either?  Some people actually believe our marine mammal friends are extraterrestrials sent from another planet to spread the messages of peace, love, and harmony.

On that note, I bid you adieu until later :-)

Mahalo,

Dolphin