In aanloop naar Wereld Walvis Dag op 18 februari a.s. bracht Animal Petitions gisteren een verhaal over de jacht op deze wonderlijke, slimme en mooie dieren. Aan de hand heeft deze organisatie een aantal vragen voor haar leden.

Wat betreft het gebruik van walvissen, waren een paar zaken voor mij een ontdekking. Zo worden walvissen o.a. gebruikt in cosmetica, biodiesel en golfballen!! 

Zoals je ongetwijfeld weet, is Japan één van de landen, die nog steeds de barbaarse en uiterst gewelddadige walvisjacht blijft uitvoert……… Wat ik dan weer niet wist is het feit dat Japan jaarlijks ook een groot aantal zwangere walvissen vangt en vermoord……..

Walvisvlees is (goddank) erg ongezond, bevat onder meer PCB’s, kwik, DDT en landbouwgif en wordt zelfs door restaurants in de VS en Canada geïmporteerd……. Overigens kunnen de Nederlandse oranjedwazen die voor de Olympische Spelen in Zuid-Korea zijn, ook daar walviskadaver eten……..

De smerige moord op walvissen moet nu eindelijk eens helemaal verboden worden, laten we de landen die walvissen jagen boycotten, om te beginnen Japan! Made in Japan? Niet kopen!

Educational
Series: It’s 2018 and Countries are Still Killing Whales

Japan
recently set out on their annual whaling mission to kill hundreds of
minke whales in the name of scientific research. On these excursions,
whales are shot with a grenade harpoon that is connected to a moving
ship, causing them to die a slow and painful death.

In
2016, 200 of the minke whales killed by Japan were pregnant due to
the fact that they perform these hunts during the whales’ breeding
season. Japan is only one of three countries that continues hunting
whales after a moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place by
the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The IWC was set up in
1946 to protect whales from extinction and to regulate the commercial
whaling industry. They set catch limits for certain areas and
species, designate areas as whale sanctuaries, protect mother whales
and their calves, and control the types of methods used when hunting
is allowed.

In
1986, the IWC, after observing a steep decline of whale populations
due to hunting, created a moratorium for commercial whaling
dramatically decreasing the number of whales killed every year.
Norway, Iceland and Japan have all sought out workarounds in order to
continue their own personal whaling industries. Whaling is extremely
detrimental to whale populations due to long reproduction cycles, and
Japan’s hunting season aligning with breeding season makes that
even harder. Japan uses the scientific research loophole to allow
them to kill hundreds of whales every year, claiming that their
mission is to perform “research for the purpose of studying the
ecological system in the Antarctic Sea”. Norway and Iceland both
whale under an objection to the moratorium, and they self regulate
their own quotas.

The
international community is not blind to Japan’s abuse of the
loophole and has been meeting to solve this problem. The European
Union, along with Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica,
the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, New Zealand, Panama, Peru and
Uruguay have all come out against Japan’s abuse of the system,
pointing out that these hunts are not based on science and provide no
new scientific value. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has
agreed that they are merely hunting whales for their meat. In 2015,
the ICJ’s ruling prevented Japan from slaughtering whales during
that year’s hunt, and their crews were only able to take skin
samples and head counts of the whales, but by the next year, they
were back at it killing over 300 whales.

Whaling
is not only unsustainable and cruel, but their meat is also extremely
unhealthy and can be dangerous when consumed. Top predators such as
large mammals like whales accumulate large amounts of heavy metals
and organochlorines of the smaller fish they feed on. These toxins
bond easily with fat, making the high blubber content of whales the
perfect storage place for them. Metals like mercury and
organochlorines such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB’s) and
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT’s) are the most dangerous of
the toxins found in whales, and they can cause major health problems
in humans when consumed in higher quantities. PCB’s have shown to
cause nerve damage, reproductive and developmental disorders, immune
system suppression, liver damage, and endocrine disruption. DDT
exposure has shown to cause certain types of cancer, as well as
neurological and reproductive disorders. Mercury consumption can also
cause neurological and developmental problems.

The
most contaminated meat comes from fish or mammal eaters such as
dolphins, sperm whales, and beaked whales. Minke whales are known to
feed lower on the food chain, making them safer to consumer, but they
still contain unsafe levels of PCB’s and pesticides. Even worse for
those consuming whale, studies have found that dolphin or beaked
whale meat is often sold under the name of “kujira”, claiming to
be minke meat.

Japan,
Norway, Iceland and Canada are the biggest consumers of whale meat,
with Japan serving it in schools and hospitals to encourage the
practice. But, the whale meat industry as a whole has been on the
decline in recent years. It is no longer a sustainable business
unless heavily subsidized by their governments. A large portion of
the meat is being frozen and stockpiled, while some of it is actually
making its way into US and South Korean restaurants. In Denmark, it
is suspected to be found in farm animal food. But it isn’t just the
food industry that is supporting this business. The health and beauty
industry is also a big supporter, with whale products turning up in
cosmetics and health supplements. Norway and Japan continue to invest
into research for the potential of utilizing whale oil for
pharmaceutical products, nutritional supplements such as fish oil,
and to feed farmed fish and livestock. 

There are currently thousands
of patents on products containing whale, and the products range from
golf balls to eco-friendly laundry detergents to bio-diesel. The
research into these new uses has shown an increase over the last few
years, causing concern for some that the whaling industry may be on
the rise yet again.

February
18th is World Whale Day. Celebrate this year by joining in on a
fundraiser, spread the word on social media, and help bring awareness
to the fragility of our oceans and all of those giant creatures who
inhabit them. We have to educate the public on the dangers of whale
meat consumption, as well as protect these majestic creatures from
extinction. Public awareness can make a big difference in keeping the
whaling industry unsustainable. Speak up and celebrate all whales on
February 18th.

Photo
credit: Pacman

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Hier de link naar het origineel op Animal Petitions, waar je eventueel officieel mee kan doen aan de vragen, al moet je dan wel eerst ‘premium lid’ worden van de organisatie…… (de vragen zijn overigens makkelijk, zeker als je het bovenstaande hebt gelezen)