Whaling and gnashing of teeth

What to make of the latest news that the IWC has for the first time secured a simple majority in favour of resuming whaling?

Whaling has always seemed like a fraught debate. As the developed world struggles to come to terms with the way we treat animals, the rest of the world does not always have the benefit of our advanced standards of living from which to moralise. Add to this Japan's insistence on that old chestnut, "traditional" whale-hunting (admittedly curious, given that few in Japan actually seem to like whale meat), and we're in for another bumpy ride, amid accusations of racism and sentimentality.

As a zoologist, of course, I'm saddened by people's determination to hunt these magnificent creatures. And I'm not convinced of any of the arguments that hunts could be sustainable (I don't believe we have sufficient population information) or that whales are threatening fish stocks (that's our own doing, fair and square). But I get the feeling that the anti-whaling lobby is acting against the whales' interests with its inflexible attitude. If the long-term future of whales is to be assured, the views of the pro-whaling bloc has to be taken into account - the fact that the moratorium as it currently stands permits so-called scientific whaling means that countries like Japan will continue to take whales despite what the rest of the world says. If we are to minimise the cruelty to these animals (click here for a discussion of how to kill a whale) and the threat to their survival, we need a process where those countries whose unpalatable but firm views can be accommodated, with the whales continued existence in mind. That might not be the brightest prospect in our view, but may be the brightest prospect for the whales given the circumstances.

In this day and age, we need to tread very carefully in our approach to cultural sensitivies, especially as they relate to food animals. We can't logically argue against eating whale on ethical grounds any more than we can argue against eating any other kind of meat, which only true vegetarians can. As long as we are guilty of such hypocrisy, we can't possibly hope to win over the whaling nations. Our only hope is cooperation rather than antagonism.