Another fine example of the embarrassing Australian attitude towards whaling. John Tomlinson - you are the opitomy of the ignorant Australian being caught up in the emotional hysteria whipped up by the media.
Firstly, take a look at Japanese scientific data (which incidentally has been ignored outright by anti-whaling Nazis) which clearly shows whales to have recovered to numbers able to sustain commercial harvesting.
Secondly, take a look at who you are to be criticising another nation's cultural cuisine. (you will find yourself to be in no such position)
Thirdly, before voicing such absurd and idiotic opinion - consider that not all Australians oppose whaling. I personally fully support the resumption of [controlled] commercial whaling and hope to one day be able to enjoy this culinary delight in a Sunday barbeque setting, washed down with a refreshing Asahi Super Dry.

John Tomlinson [once again] shows us how double standards operate in Australian national discourse.

If Japanese people want to kill whales with exploding harpoons - so be it.

Bugger the polls, which in 2000 found that only 11 per cent of the Japanese public supported whaling outright. (Commissioned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Greenpeace and conducted in March 2000 by the independent Nippon Research Centre and Britain's MORI research company). Who do 89% of Japanese who do not support whaling think they are?

See: http://www.mori.com/polls/1999/whaling.shtml

I would image people like Tomlinson would feel no compulsion in proclaiming coral trout off limits to anyone who did not belong to the Deagon institute. (This institute is a socialist left wing cess pit full of disgruntled and drunken old Marxists).

There’s obviously too much ‘Free Willy’ going on in this institute!

Another Breed of Ignorant.

If the media led you over a cliff face, you'd follow happily.

Do you really think Australia and the Australian Government are heroes in stopping countries like Japan, Iceland and Norway from killing whales? Did you realise those other countries are whaling nations too, but of course they’re whites in those countries.

Read this: http://www.bigvolcano.com.au/human/whaling.htm

The highlight being: “By 1845 twenty six thousand whales had been killed by Australians, and by 1935 there were so few southern right whales remaining that whaling ceased and they became protected internationally.”

The mainstream media, which is by no means a good source of un-biased information, has recently been trying to vilify Japan. The effects I have been the target of myself and I am also seeing the effects in your ridiculous attitude. The news website www.news.com.au and other news agencies reported with much enthusiasm the recent international whaling policy debate. These media agencies made out Australia was such a hero in stopping Japan from commencing whaling. It also made out that Japan was the only country that wanted to hunt whales and that it was a such a horrible and barbaric thing to do. Firstly it wasn't only Japan. Norway and Iceland are also nations that hunt whales and had a bid in this policy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3903001.stm). Perhaps that was conveniently forgotten because those countries are just like Australia, a white majority, making it hard for the media to present Australia as (racially) superior in comparison (just like you have attempted in your article). Secondly, Australia is far from being a hero in any of this. Also conveniently forgotten is the fact that Australia hunted whales for hundreds of years, and it was seemingly the first primary industry here (http://www.bigvolcano.com.au/human/whaling.htm). So if anyone is guilty of being a threat to these animals it has to include the great Aussie bloke as well, not just Asians.

I can just hear you saying "Oh, but we don't kill whales now"...

Does a German saying he doesn't kill Jews now, make killing Jews in the past ok?

Think for yourself for once.

Saucemaster,

I don't think it is relevant that Australia hunted whales in previous centuries. We did not have at that stage, the scientific knowledge that whales are highly intelligent creatures.

I know that we eat beef, sheep, pigs etc and that they are "aware" ( although one wonders about sheep;) however, they are farmed and killed in a humane process. I suspect that killing whales with explosive devices with the accompanying "death throes" makes most westerners cringe.

We also do NOT kill domestic animals with dependant offspring, however, the nature of whale hunting provides no manner of differentiation.

I am not sure that Japan was ever historically a whaling nation - if not, they can not really lay claim to "whale meat being culturally important"!

The Scandinavian countries can at least point to a historical dependance on whale meat as a primary food supply.

Peter King, are are a baffoon.
Is it with a straight face that you suggest we have discovered whales to be intellegent creatures? If so, does your absurd notion extend to the suggestion that because of their alledged "intellegence" they are exempt from my dinner plate?
What utter, utter idiocy my dear fellow!
Hang your head in shame and do us a favour by not rearing it in public again.
Firstly, no proof of any unique intellegence possessed by whales has been found. All that has been discovered is that whales are able to communicate with series of whines - far more primitive than even an average chicken for instance.
Secondly, any such "intellegence" does not detract from the taste of the animal and thus cannot be used as a reason to stop me from feasting on the barnacled bastards.
Thirdly, if you separate Japan and the Scandinavians based on "historical evidence" then we might as well let tribal folk go back to cannibalism. Hell, we might as well farm humans and export it to them.
Pete, pull your head in mate.

Peter,

Thanks for your input. I would like to reply to your post because there are a few problems that I can see in your argument.

Firstly, I really do think it is important that we mention Australia was a huge factor in causing the downfall of these creatures. It is actually a very important message to these Australian yahoos (such as John Tomlinson) that keep climbing up on their high horses about this issue. It is possible, I suppose, that Tomlinson didn’t know about Australia’s whaling history, as it’s not something that the sickening media or government here brag about. But they should know about it, there are always two sides to one story. Secondly, we know pigs are very intelligent and that they are closer to the human in genetics and makeup than other animals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigs). That doesn’t stop someone putting a bullet between its eyes so that they can make an egg and bacon Mac Muffin. Does intelligence come into it there?

You said that you weren’t sure that Japan has any historical claim. Well let me enlighten you, how does 712AD sound? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan)
“The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki, the oldest known Japanese historical book. It dates back to 712. Since then, whaling has been frequently mentioned in Japanese historical sources. Whales have long been a source of food, oil, and material.”

Now, I don’t exactly support whaling, but I think Japan has a right to try and keep doing it albeit in a more straight talking way. However, I am not happy about whales being killed in an inhumane way, it’s not my idea of a picnic. But what I don’t like is these Australian yahoos going around and talking themselves up when they’re (we are) as much to blame as anyone, that these creatures have been reduced to near extinction.

I am still shocked that that article is supposed to have come from a senior lecturer at QUT. It smacks of a high school kid’s essay, based on no research, that’s been run through a spell checker.

Saucemaster