Posted on 02/12/2006 5:51:21 AM PST by Cornpone
LONDON (Kyodo) Antiwhaling organizations in Britain are highlighting the use of whale meat in Japanese pet food to champion their cause.
They claim that using the meat in pet food shows that Japan is having difficulty shifting "the hundreds of tons of whale meat piling up in Japanese warehouses."
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said it found a Japanese Web site selling whale meat in a dried form for pets. The company extols the health benefits for pets in eating the meat.
The group also claims that Japan has tried to sell its surplus stocks by subsidizing the inclusion of whale burgers, whale ice cream and whale meat on school menus.
The latest protest follows massive media coverage generated by a stranded whale in the River Thames last month, and the antiwhaling lobby is keen to keep up interest in this issue.
The Times of London gave the story prominent play Friday with the headline, "Giant of the sea used as pet food -- Japanese lose the taste for whale meat so they're feeding it to dogs."
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said Japan's stockpile of whale meat has doubled in the past decade as more animals have been killed.
The organization said the stockpile was 4,800 tons last year, and predicts it could rise by another 1,700 tons this year. The organization claims that because of the stockpiles, the value of whale meat has plummeted. It says the price of Bryde's whale meat has fallen to almost half of what it was in 2000, minke has dropped in value by two-thirds in the same period, and sei meat has dropped by almost a third since 2002.
"Whaling is a cruel activity and the fact that Japan in killing these amazing animals to produce dog food is shocking," said Mark Simmonds, the group's director of science. "We have heard many arguments from Japan over the years about why whaling is necessary to them, but they have never stated that they needed to kill whales to feed their dogs."
Andy Ottaway, from Whalewatch, a coalition of more than 140 animal welfare organizations, said, "News that the Japan Whaling Association is sourcing new markets to promote their surplus whale meat proves to the international community that there is no significant demand for those products."
Well, obviusly the "Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society" must issue a death decree to all the Japanese dog food manufacturers...
Hey...it works for islam...
Just because the kooks are against whaling doesn't mean it's a good thing. I'd have to say I'm against it, too. Obviously this is not a good economic choice if there is no market. It's worse than subsidizing farmers to grow crops that no one wants.
Remember that old WWII song "Whale meat again"?
kind regards
Who cries for the Krill?
Everyone knows th dolphin is better suited for pets.........
Whale ICE CREAM????????
I won't talk about how dolphin in Buffalo sauce can be such a wonderful appetizer...
I won't do it.
Ewww.. sounds like something you'd see made on Iron Chef lol.
Now I don't eat whale myself and I'm not ethnically Japanese, but could someone provide a reason (apart from the standard Greenpeacey environment talk) why Westerners left and right are opposed to whaling?
because I suspect that whales are just as intelligent as we are, and that makes me think it is too close to cannabalism.
I can't speak for anyone but myself, but IIRC whales are endangered and they seem like such interesting creatures that it would be a shame to lose them.
In addition, part of this is purely emotional, similar to why in many countries people don't eat horses or dogs, even though there is no threat to their existence.
I'm not opposed to hunting or fishing, I've done a fair amount of fishing myself, but I think that a hunter or fisherman should eat what they take. If they are hunting or fishing professionally, then they should have a market for what they take.
Furthermore, whether profession or sport, one ought to be intelligent enough not to overhunt or overfish. If the population is dwindling, you are eventually going to be without anything to hunt or fish. Kind of a career-limiting move for a professional.
MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......yummy!
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