# Japanese Whaling **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 24, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051 "2016-03-24T20:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/121 "2016-03-31T16:53:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Hmmm, i hope you are less brutal with vertebrates than you are with insects. They have a much more complex nervous system and almost certainly have a greater capacity to feel fear and pain. I haven’t tortured flies or bugs for a long time. I think almost every kid goes through a phase like that. Now I’m just creeped out by them and refuse to touch them. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/122 "2016-04-01T00:45:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Whales are generally believed to be smarter, and thus more human, than our ordinary meat animals. They sing to each other, in a way that may be conveying semantic content (talking). Of course, the same may be true of elephants, and pigs are pretty bright. But I think that’s the big difference. > [@Sampsiceramos](#): > > I gather it has something to do with the general perception that cetaceans are generally both intelligent to the point of plausible sentience as well as endangered. The public generally takes a dim view to the killing of animals considered intelligent as opposed to those considered dumber than a sack of bricks. Many members of the infra-order Cetacea indeed display remarkable intelligence. The same can be said for the order primate. But both categories encompass a variety of species. Primates for example include monkeys as well as lemurs. A few years ago I tried to locate information on the intelligence of Minke Whales and came up empty. I’m guessing that if they had complex language we would know about it. I have seen no decent evidence that Minke whales deserve special protection. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And that would be nice if that’s all the Japanese killed. But they dont: > > [Whaling in Japan - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan) > \* > …detected migratory whales such as the endangered Humpback[106][107] and endangered Gray whales,[108][109] as well as the threatened Finback whale,[110][111] and the non-endangered Bryde’s whales.[112]\* > > and :_In Japan, not only humpback, minke, and sperm whales, but many other smaller toothed whales, including species such as western gray, the endangered North Pacific right, and northern fin whales have been targets of illegal captures utilizing harpoons for dolphin hunts or intentionally drive whales into nets. Reports are later filed with administrative organs or research institutions as cases of entanglements where fishermen tried their best to save whales. Products from internationally protected species’ meat can also be found on markets even today mostly originating as “by-products” of entanglements, and there has been a case in which it was revealed that at least some humpbacks with other species were illegally hunted in EEZs of anti-whaling nations such as off the coast of Mexico or South Africa, and the whalers tried to transport the catch to Japan by hiring vessels from other countries and even trying to go on overland routes within other nations.[115] Japan kept official hunts of endangered species such as North Pacific right whales until 1994[116]|, but intentional by-catches of endangered still continue to present in unknown scale_s. Nice point DrDeth. If this claim holds up, ISTM that international attention should focus on these sorts of violations, pending better evidence about Minke Whales. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/123 "2016-04-01T13:53:10Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > I haven’t tortured flies or bugs for a long time. I think almost every kid goes through a phase like that. Now I’m just creeped out by them and refuse to touch them. I must admit, my friends and I did the “bug torture” thing for a while, way back when we were kids. By the time we were teenagers, we were past that phase, fortunately. I never would have contemplated doing anything like that to a fellow vertebrate. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/124 "2016-04-01T14:42:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Because they aren’t just blocking, they also are bombing ships in harbor and otherwise endangering the lives and safety of the whalers. Also the fact that the US Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit said that their actions were the “the very embodiment of piracy”. ([Cite.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Shepherd_Conservation_Society)) The Sea Shepherds Australia (which are the ones running the Antarctic Whaling Campaigns) have never participated in bombing and the US courts have no jurisdiction over them. Sorry if I really have very little much faith in the decisions of US courts given their obvious pro-corporate bias compared to the rest of the worlds courts. This thread is about the stopping whaling, so only actions undertaken by the Sea Shepherds in their Antarctic whaling campaigns are relevant. Simply speaking, yes the parent organization did stupid shit in their first 10 years, but they’ve grown up since then. ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/125 "2016-04-01T15:14:04Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > The Sea Shepherds Australia (which are the ones running the Antarctic Whaling Campaigns) have never participated in bombing and the US courts have no jurisdiction over them. Interesting question: What court’s jurisdiction gets to decide whether someone operating in international waters is a pirate? If it is the court that has jurisdiction over the alleged piracy victim’s home harbor, it would have to be a Japanese court here. I believe they would agree with the US court’s view. If the alleged pirate’s home harbor decides, it would be an Australian court, and the Sheperds would not be pirates. (However in that case there also would probably not be any Somalian pirates around the Horn of Africa.) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/126 "2016-04-01T15:58:43Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > Interesting question: What court’s jurisdiction gets to decide whether someone operating in international waters is a pirate? The Constitution gives the US government the power to decide - > [@The Constitution](#): > > To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations; [The UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea) gives its definition of piracy - > [@](#): > > Article 101 > > Definition of piracy > > Piracy consists of any of the following acts: > (a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed— (i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft; (ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State; (b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft; (c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b). As is common, international law is worth anything only insofar as somebody wants to enforce it. It is a private ship, committing illegal acts for private ends. No doubt the Sea Shephers would claim they are justified, but _:shrugs:_ Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/127 "2016-04-01T16:21:56Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > I haven’t tortured flies or bugs for a long time. I think almost every kid goes through a phase like that. Now I’m just creeped out by them and refuse to touch them. I never tortured bugs as a kid. The idea never even entered my mind. But since the subject was brought up: I would, to this day, gladly torture mosquitos if I could. Little fuckers deserve everything their getting, and then some. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/128 "2016-04-02T03:25:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The Constitution gives the US government the power to decide - When the US navy starts patrolling the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary and enforcing their interpretation of the law I’ll believe you, until then “nope”. The Sea Shepherds legal argument is that none of their recent actions meet the definition of violence, so they are not pirates. The sea shepherds admit to one ramming incident, where they rammed the Sirius, in 1980, and the limpet mine incident also occurred then. As I’ve said I think those were stupid acts that undermined their cause. The organisation has changed since then, they do not deliberately ram ships anymore, they instead try to block operations and sometimes ships accidentally collide. And I have a real hard time seeing tangling a prop or throwing rancid butter on whale meat as “violence”, and apparently so do most of the worlds courts. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/129 "2016-04-02T03:39:40Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > The sea shepherds admit to one ramming incident, where they rammed the Sirius, in 1980, and the limpet mine incident also occurred then. As I’ve said I think those were stupid acts that undermined their cause. The organisation has changed since then, they do not deliberately ram ships anymore, they instead try to block operations and sometimes ships accidentally collide. I can’t help but feel that’s the nautical equivalent of someone swinging their arms around wildly then claiming they didn’t hit anyone when another person doesn’t move out of the way fast enough. > [@](#): > > And I have a real hard time seeing tangling a prop or throwing rancid butter on whale meat as “violence”, and apparently so do most of the worlds courts. Pretty sure throwing rancid butter on the meat in an abbatoir or tangling someone’s car tyres would be seen as highly illegal on land so I’m not sure why it’s suddenly OK because it’s happening at sea. In fact, I bet it’s even _less_ OK at sea because, well, seafaring is dangerous at the best of times without ideologically driven people doing dangerous things like deliberately fouling propellers. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/130 "2016-04-02T03:48:00Z")
Illegal according to who? Which court and do they have jurisdiction? I’ve posted links to legal arguments from the Sea Shepherds earlier in the thread and to an analysis of them. If you want to debate me on this then address those arguments rather than just say “it sure looks like it should be illegal to me”. Thats not much of a legal argument. The Sea Shepherds ships operate freely from Australian and NZ ports, the Australian government could easily seize them if they wanted to. So what they’re doing is not illegal under Australian law. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/131 "2016-04-02T04:08:19Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Illegal according to who? Which court and do they have jurisdiction? I’ve posted links to legal arguments from the Sea Shepherds earlier in the thread and to an analysis of them. If you want to debate me on this then address those arguments rather than just say “it sure looks like it should be illegal to me”. Thats not much of a legal argument. [Section 467 of the Queensland Criminal Code](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/CriminCode.pdf) states: _A person who, with intent to prejudice the safe use of a vehicle or related transport infrastructure or to injure property in a vehicle or related transport infrastructure, does anything that endangers, or is likely to endanger, the safe use of the vehicle or related transport in frastructure commits a crime. Maximum penalty—life imprisonment._ So there you go, by my reading of that, under Queensland law deliberately fouling the propellers of a ship could potentially get you life in prison. That’s just one example, which I recalled from my legal studies many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/132 "2016-04-02T04:25:53Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > [Section 467 of the Queensland Criminal Code](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/CriminCode.pdf) states: > > _A person who, with intent to prejudice the safe use of a vehicle or related transport infrastructure or to injure property in a vehicle or related transport infrastructure, does anything that endangers, or is likely to endanger, the safe use of the vehicle or related transport in frastructure commits a crime. > Maximum penalty—life imprisonment._ So how do you explain the fact that the Sea Shepherds crew are not all in prison for life? Possibly because Queensland law does not apply in international waters? Or possibly because the Sea Shepherds are useful to the Australian government? The public overwhelmingly does not want the Japanese to whale in the Antarctic but the Australian government doesn’t want to harm the trade relationship with Japan. So they turn a blind eye to the Sea Shepherds even going so far as to order the RAF to leak information to the Sea Shepherds on occasion. Look at it as a form of proxy warfare but one which is for a good cause and has so far caused zero loss of life. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/133 "2016-04-02T04:32:03Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > So how do you explain the fact that the Sea Shepherds crew are not all in prison for life? Possibly because Queensland law does not apply in international waters? Or possibly because the Sea Shepherds are useful to the Australian government? The public overwhelmingly does not want the Japanese to whale in the Antarctic but the Australian government doesn’t want to harm the trade relationship with Japan. So they turn a blind eye to the Sea Shepherds even going so far as to order the RAF to leak information to the Sea Shepherds on occasion. Look at it as a form of proxy warfare but one which is for a good cause and has so far caused zero loss of life. None of which changes my assertion what they’re doing is illegal and dangerous. I’ve provided a cite to this effect under the laws of an Australian state. Whether or not Queensland law applies in the Southern Ocean is secondary to the fact you asked me to prove it was probably illegal to mess around with ship’s propellers, or a car’s wheels on land. I have done so. “Yeah, well, they’re not in jail so it must be A-OK” isn’t a rebuttal. People do illegal and/or dangerous things every day and don’t get punished for them. Ever seen people having a cheeky smoke underneath a “No Smoking” sign? They’re not all in jail or getting fined either. Doesn’t make what they’re doing OK or “not illegal”, it just means most people don’t care enough to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/134 "2016-04-02T04:48:01Z")
Fair enough, but ultimately even if what the Sea Shepherds are doing is illegal (in some court, somewhere) I put it in the same category as black people refusing to sit at the back of bus. The collapse of ocean ecosystems and mass extinction waves resulting in a massive loss of biodiversity is potentially a bigger problem than climate change in the next 100 years, but it gets very little attention. That’s not counting the issue of whether whales should be given greater protection because of their intelligence and complex social structures. The Sea Shepherds do a lot of other actions to protect biodiversity in the oceans, their anti-whaling campaign is just the most public and controversial. They were and still are prolific in campaigning against illegal drift net fishing, which is immensely destructive and banned by the UN. They are also active against poaching of sea turtles, shark finning, reef destruction and many other issues. You don’t hear about those campaigns in the mass media but they achieve a lot. > **[Sea Shepherd Launches New Campaign: Operation Driftnet](https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/sea-shepherd-launches-new-campaign-operation-driftnet)** > > Sea Shepherd?s Flagship, the Steve Irwin, is en route to the Indian Ocean to confront a fleet of fishing vessels that is using driftnets; a form of [http://www.seashepherd.org/bluefin-tuna/](http://www.seashepherd.org/bluefin-tuna/) [http://www.seashepherd.org/turtles/](http://www.seashepherd.org/turtles/) > **[Sharks on the Roof - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society](https://seashepherd.org/2013/01/03/sharks-on-the-roof/)** > > Commentary by Gary Stokes – Sea Shepherd Hong Kong Traders have taken to drying fins secretly on rooftops following public outcry over sidewalks covered in shark fins.Photo: Gary Stokes / Sea Shepherd The New Year rang in with a tip off here in Hong... ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/135 "2016-04-02T07:32:43Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Fair enough, but ultimately even if what the Sea Shepherds are doing is illegal (in some court, somewhere) I put it in the same category as black people refusing to sit at the back of bus. I get your point, but you might want to look for a better comparison. To compare the civil rights movement of black Americans to an animal rights movement might be viewed as offensive by some. > [@coremelt](#): > > The collapse of ocean ecosystems and mass extinction waves resulting in a massive loss of biodiversity is potentially a bigger problem than climate change in the next 100 years, but it gets very little attention. That’s not counting the issue of whether whales should be given greater protection because of their intelligence and complex social structures. Thats two separate issues you are mentioning here. The protection of ocean biodiversity is a good thing, but for all I can find on the matter there seems to be a fairly wide agreement that at least the hunt for Minke whales with the volume currently attempted by the Japanese is not endangering the species. It may be different for other species but the sheperds do not seem to make a distinction here. They seem to be more motivated by your second argument: The whales’ “intelligence and complex social structures”, but that argument is weak-footed. Whales possess an intelligence that its probably above than that of a kangaroo but still far below that of a human. Now you are defining a level of intelligence that makes a creature out of bounds for the hunt and you are drawing the line somewhere between the whale and the kangaroo. Why is that, and why should the Japanese abide by that line? > [@coremelt](#): > > The Sea Shepherds do a lot of other actions to protect biodiversity in the oceans, their anti-whaling campaign is just the most public and controversial. They were and still are prolific in campaigning against illegal drift net fishing, which is immensely destructive and banned by the UN. They are also active against poaching of sea turtles, shark finning, reef destruction and many other issues. You don’t hear about those campaigns in the mass media but they achieve a lot. I admit that I do not know a lot about the sheperds’ other activities, so I will not comment on them. I do, however, believe that protecting biodiversity in the oceans is a good cause. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/136 "2016-04-02T07:48:22Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > I get your point, but you might want to look for a better comparison. To compare the civil rights movement of black Americans to an animal rights movement might be viewed as offensive by some. I take your point, but to myself and the active members of the Sea Shepherd’s it is not about ‘animal rights’, it’s about preventing the catastrophic collapse of ocean ecosystems, which is a human issue and will effect everyone on the planet. “Science study predicts collapse of all seafood fisheries by 2050” > **[Home Page](https://news.stanford.edu)** “Overfishing Causes Ecosystems To ‘Unravel,’ Fish Populations Can’t Recover After ‘Tipping Points’ Reached” > **[Overfishing Causes Ecosystems To ‘Unravel,’ Fish Populations Can’t Recover...](https://www.ibtimes.com/overfishing-causes-ecosystems-unravel-fish-populations-cant-recover-after-tipping-points-reached)** > > Researchers in the U.S. analyzed fisheries data from around the globe, examining the domino effect that occurs after a particular fish population is harvested to depletion. The Sea Shepherds have a whaling campaign because it gets them publicity and media attention which then helps them raise money for all their other campaigns which get much less media attention. And let me turn your question around, most of the rest of the world has decided that whaling is immoral, why should Japan get to unilaterally decide to continue it? especially in waters on the other side of the planet from them which many other countries have declared to be the “Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary”. BTW, the US was one of the 23 countries that agreed to the creation of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 1994, Japan was the only country that objected. > **[Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ocean_Whale_Sanctuary)** > > The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has banned all types of commercial whaling. To date, the IWC has designated two such sanctuaries, the other being the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary. > The northern boundary of the sanctuary follows the 40°S parallel of latitude except in the Indian Ocean sector where it joins the southern boundary of the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary ... ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/137 "2016-04-02T08:26:53Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > And let me turn your question around, most of the rest of the world has decided that whaling is immoral, why should Japan get to unilaterally decide to continue it? especially in waters on the other side of the planet from them which many other countries have declared to be the “Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary”. BTW, the US was one of the 23 countries that agreed to the creation of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 1994, Japan was the only country that objected. > [Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ocean_Whale_Sanctuary) Fair enough: If you could demonstrate that there was a broad consensus among mankind that whales should not be killed, you might have a point. As it stands, your claim that “most of the rest of the world has decided that whaling is immoral” is a little bold. What do you base that on? 23 nations voted to create a sanctuary, is that it? Well, the UN currently recognizes some 195 nations, most of which are not even members to the body where that vote was taken. And where did the 23 in favor say that whaling is “immoral”? While following your link, I found an interesting [piece of information](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Whaling_Commission#1982_moratorium) about how Japanese was brought to agree to the moratorium that now forces it to engage in that “scientific whaling” charade: > [@](#): > > Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union (later replaced by Russia) lodged formal objections, since the moratorium was not based on advice from the Scientific Committee. Japan and Peru later withdrew their objections (Japan’s withdrawal was precipitated by the US threatening to reduce their fishing quota within US waters if the objection was not withdrawn. However, by 1988 the US had eliminated Japanese fishing quotas anyway. It was after this that the Japanese began scientific whaling.) Is that how the “agreements” in the IWC come about? ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051/138 "2016-04-02T11:48:47Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > Is that how the “agreements” in the IWC come about? You mean politics? Yeah thats generally how you get a country to do something they don’t want to do, use a carrot and stick. Look I’m not even opposed to all whaling on principle. If the Japanese really want to catch Minke whales, go and do it in their own coastal waters. Minke whales are found all over the world, not sure why they can’t do it in their own backyard, rather than in an environmentally sensitive area that the other 23 countries in the IWC want to be a sanctuary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-whaling/750051.md?page=6)