Animation Source Forums

Has anyone seen this show on Animal Planet and if so do you support their efforts to stop the killing of whales in the waters off the coast of Antarctica?

I personally support their efforts and hope that one day the Japanese whaling fleet will be put out of business.

problem is international law is rarely enforced and it is up to individuals to take the law into their own hands to force the Japanese to stop their illegal activities.

Yes I watch this show regularly, I support the crew on the Steve Irwin, and Hope that they stop the japanese from killing the whales For good!, Its horrible what they are doing!

I'll speak from the Japanese perspective just to play devil's advocate.

Whaling is a part of some Japanese cultures. Telling them to stop is like telling Americans to stop celebrating Thanksgiving. I agree that it's bad that they're killing whales in inhumane ways, but at the same time we do have to realize that it's a cultural thing.

I tend to disagree due to the fact that the Japanese aren't claiming to catch and kill these whale because it's their culture they have said many time they're doing it for 'scientific research' nothing more nothing less and that’s the joke about it because we know this is not the reason. That’s what annoys me everyone knows what they’re really doing it for but they won’t admit this and just claim ‘oh no we need to kill 100 whales for scientific research.’ You can check this fact if you want but it's true this whole thing was huge in Australia and this card was played many many times.

It was quite huge over here in Australia during their 'hunting season' and to put it plain and simple the entire process disgusts me. Now before anyone plays the card that ‘inhumane’ only refers to people (humans) I want to take a stand against that in the way that all animals need to have respect, respect for their life, and respect that they are living creatures sharing this world with us and deserve to be treated with respect. Spearing any type of animal whether it be a whale or not then dragging it into a boat with it still being alive and then mercilessly tearing it apart again whilst the poor thing is still alive is absolutely disgusting and if animals had any type of rights this would be banned. Animals feel fear and to hunt down these animals and kill them in such a horrendous way in today’s world is awful, we don’t do this to cattle or chickens then why must we do it for whales? What really hit home was when in the height of this video footage was shown with the whalers dragging onto their boat a mother and her calf, yes a mother and baby what in the world could you say about killing a mother and child? There are no words for this act of horror. As you can probably tell this is a subject I feel very strongly about.

Oh boy Kaynight Do I ever Agree with you (I would have quoted by my computer is being a tard)
but yes I can see how it can effect you in such a manner, with you being in Australia and all your right in the middle of all this...

I'm not sure how anyone can side with the japanese when it comes to this.. I admit that I admire the japanese for alot of things but this isn't one of them.. they are playing "Oh we're doing if for Science" so your saying You have to kill 900 or so whales EVERY YEAR for that?.. I don't think so, they are playing if off..

and Yes the fact that they Speared a baby whale Just so they could get the mom whale is Horrible, that alone makes me want to cry..

Its Inhumane and I'm sorry but animals have just as much right to live as we do...

I agree that it is Japanese culture, but if that is what they're doing, why don't they just say it and stop hiding behind the whole "research" facade? I remember seeing the Yisshin Maru, the Japanese factory ship. Painted RESEARCH in big white letters on the side, people standing next to a half-gutted whale holding up signs saying "We're taking tissue samples." I'm gonna be brutally honest here.

How stupid do they think we are? They say the Yisshin Maru and the other "research" vessels are that. Let me clue you in, especially on the Yisshin Maru... Research ships don't have blood cascading out of the f***ing portholes! And I appluad the men and women aboard the Steve Irwin for actually doing something about these illegal whalers, unlike other organizations (see under PETA) who just sit on their ****s claiming to be helping to save the whales when they, in fact aren't doing jack ****** about it! And anyone who's got the cojones to actually fight for what they believe in, no matter what the cost, is OK in my book. And all those people saying "oh, they don't get the JAPANESE side of the story!" **********! They've taken video coverage of Japanese news stations and intereviews with Japanese AND Australian officials, and it's not like the UN's gonna do a ***** thing about it! Face it, the UN and the US government won't do anything unless it benefits THEM!

You can tell I feel VERY strongly about this subject, and I just need to blow off some steam before I kick someone in the mouth.

Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just a subject that really gets on my nerves. I just can't stand people who defend things like this.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who will defend the practice itself. I don't know if you're referring specifically to this topic with that statement, but it appears that no one here attempted to defend the practice.


I think it's sick and gruesome what is done to the marine animals for food or otherwise, and some of the examples provided are disturbing. I think the practice should be rooted out altogether, and some sort of regulatory measures imposed on fishing. (Overfishing is a problem too, but I won't get into that here.) After having said that, I hope no one misinterprets what I'm about to say.

It's easy to resent whalers themselves for this practice, but I don't really see that as 100% justifiable. Whaling should be looked at from a larger perspective. The practitioners are likely just happy to have a job and in a position to feed their families and pay the bills. They probably don't like what they do, most likely they completely resent it. There's that chance that they have been desensitized to the whole practice, which might paint the picture that they don't care/hate whales/etc. I don't think they are entirely to blame for this. If I had a family to feed and a household to support, and the whaling industry was the only option, more likely than not I'd take the job.

It's important to look at Japan's economy and start high, with the executives(for lack of a more specific term) of the whole whaling process, and then work down to the actual practice itself. I think the reform should start there for several reasons. I know for a fact that one of Japan's largest industries depends on the ocean, so abruptly ending the practice of whaling may affect the economy....but more importantly, if the practice is put to a dead stop, then that's probably a lot of jobs lost and a lot of families that will go hungry. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for ending whaling as soon as possible, but I think it needs to be a steady process instead of a sudden leap. That said I do believe that the whalers are responsible, just not fully responsible. Not trying to defend the practice, just some of the ones involved.

Also, I don't think the conservation groups go about this kind of abolition in the right way. They are all too willing to tell a country "You need to stop doing x". What they don't do (as far as I'm aware) is give suggestions of a y to replace x. I get a newsletter from WDCS, which is the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Admittedly, they are kind of a pain and I may remove my email from their mailing list. Their strategy is to write up a big speech and have people sign it, and from there send it to key figures that they believe can stop whatever situation they feel needs stopping. If I were a key figure, I would not read something that is not personalized. If I were to get sent the exact same text from a ton of people, it would have as much of an effect on me as getting one. If I got a bunch of letters or emails that were hand tailored by each individual, I would be far more inclined to read and consider what they had to say. If people really cared that much about stopping this stuff, I'd imagine they could take the time to write a decent letter. But that's just one example of the flawed methods used by some of the conservation groups. Not knocking WDCS, just identifying some flaws that could possibly hold them back from achieving their goals.

Yes, I understand you feel strongly about it. However, the language was not necessary. Plus, the tone is on par with flaming.

This is not for heated flaming. You have been warned.

I meant people all over the world, even in the U.S., who defend the Japanese whalers using research as a shield, albeit a poor one, for these actions.