Whale Wars Worth Watching

Anti-Whaling Conservationists

Although I suspect the anti-whalers of  The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are liberals, I still enjoy the television series "Whale Wars." The Conservation Society operates a couple of ships that track the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic, attempting to interfere with the whaling ships and prevent the killing of whales.  They do this by blasting the Japanese ships with a water cannon (and suffering return fire from the Japanese), by befouling the whaling ships' props with tow lines, by inserting speed boats between the whalers and the whales, and by throwing Butyric acid missiles at the whaling ships.

Butyric acid is found in rancid butter and stinks to high heaven.  Lately the conservationists have been throwing it at the "slide" on the processing mother ship, the ramp where the dead whales are hoisted on board.  They hope to make the dead whales stink like rotten butter, making them less commercially marketable.

I must admit it, I always root for the conservationists.  I love animals, and whales are magnificent beasts.  Yes, I know it, I'm a flaming hypocrite:  I eat beef.  I eat fish.  I eat poultry.  I eat pork.  However, if I had to kill everything I eat, I'd become a vegetarian.  I'd be up to my neck in chickens, cows and pigs, all of them with cutesy names and probably fitted with knitted sweaters.  If I owned a whale, I'd name him Joe.  Why?  Why not?

Japanese Sushi Recipe Research Ship

The conservationists object to Japan's annual whaling quest, wherein the Japanese generally kill around 1,000 whales.  Whaling is now prohibited by international treaties, but Japan gets by with a loophole that allows them to kill whales "for research purposes."  Their big processing ship has RESEARCH painted on the hull in big, broad letters.  Any whale meat that isn't used for research can then be sold as a delicacy in Japanese food markets.  How conveeeeenient!

Research?  Yeah, sure.  The only "research" the Japanese whalers are involved in is new recipes for sushi.

Go conservationists!

Read latest news here:  Japanese Whalers, Activists, Clash Off Antarctica.