Whaling.

Hello.

It's been a while, but I've been taking a break over Christmas.

I decided to write when I read some of the comments on the two YouTube videos about the collision between a Japanese whaling boat and the Sea Shepherd boat the Ady Gil. The links for those videos are here.

I disagree with whaling on a moral level. This position is partially due to my feelings about animal welfare, and partially about the hunting of animals, some of which fall into the 'endangered species' category.

(Personal note: I'm not a vegetarian. I like steaks too much to be a vegetarian. I do not think that this makes my position hypocritical, but I understand from reading the YouTube comments that some believe that my position is hypocritical.)

I know too little about the practical mechanics of boats of these two sizes to make an informed comment on who was at fault. Unlike many of the other people commenting on this issue, I will not make a judgement as to who was at fault in terms of the collision.

One thing that did strike me as noteworthy that doesn't seem to have been noticed by others watching/commenting on those videos is that the Japanese vessel, after the collision with the Ady Gil, used its water cannons on the boat. The Ady Gil was visibly damaged after the encounter, but the Japanese boat still fired its water cannons at the vessel. The Japanese vessel did not stop to render assistance after the incident.

Next point: The Ady Gil is registered in New Zealand. The incident happened in, as I understand, Australian Antarctic waters, but that Japan disputes our jurisdiction over this area. While I applaud the Greens for bringing this incident to the attention of the Australian Government in the only arena they pay attention to - the politico-media arena - I do not necessarily believe that this is the Australian Government's fight.

Any other opinions?
- Amy