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I heard this from my mom:

Apparently the native Alaskans have special permission from the government to go whaling because it is an important part of their culture. But recently they killed a whale that was (at least) 150 years old. They knew this for sure only until after the whale was dead because of a weapon that was commonly used in whaling a hundred and fifty years ago, but the whale was huge and it was obvious that it was very old.

I think that whaling should be outlawed for them too, now, if they're going to go that far. They don't need to kill giant whales as a part of their culture. Slavery was once an important part of American culture, and we don't do that anymore, do we?

Discuss:

Whaling
Culture Issues

Most of this is assumptions .. eh?

They do use everything. I never said they wasted it. But they don't need giant whales. And the government does regulate two whales per tribe a year.

They do purposely hunt old whales ... because those ones are bigger. A lot bigger. They do this every year, they should know how old the whales are. Really they shouldn't be allowed to hunt any whales.

And a direct response to this:

Like I said, slavery was once a vital part of American lifestyle and economy.

There is a lot of evidence showing that whales are highly intelligent creatures.

No no.

Whalocide and sealocide.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

It's not funny that it's happening, I just think the words are funny.

But back to seriousness.

I agree with you. We have technology and shipping capabitities that make their culture defunct.

But as you say that, you have to think: Hunting is a popular sport in America.

Perhaps since the native Alaskan tribe hunt older whales because of their size, then maybe we should stop the fishers of the world fishing. They too go for the bigger and older sized fish. Or stop the hunters of the world for hunting. They also go for the bigger game. Your opinion is differnent to others. Should we all just start living like you do. Who are you to tell people what is right and what is wrong Who is anybody to tell someone else they are wrong for what they do? The 'moral majority', perhaps the politicians. I know I don't have the right to tell anybody what is right or wrong. Perhaps my niece, but I know the final decision is left to her parents. Should we just go through and wipe out a civilization because we disagree with the things they do? If you think that they should stop because they killed an old whale, then you are no better than Adolf Hitler who believed that the Jews were inferior to him and decided that they were wrong. We all know where that ended. How about we worry about the more pressing issues. Like the fact that there are more people in prison today than there were ten years ago. Or that the murder rate has increased drastically in the last ten years. Or how about the people who drive drunk and kill other people. In my final thoughts let me ask everybody this. Do you eat meat? I don't care what kind of meat, just meat. If that is the case, then you are just like them. Should someone come through and tell you to stop eating meat because you kill the older cows. Me personally, I would rather kill the older cow than the younger one.

That is a good point!

eskimos depend on whale fat and oil to survive. it is how they've survived for thousands of years. and, the eskimo population is really quite small. they only take what they need (unfortunately, they cant control *which* whales they run into, nor can they jump in an physically examine the beast before they decide to kill it), unlike us other folk, who do it.. commercially.. as in LARGE scale.. taking waaay more than they need. they take as much as they do because the more they take the more money they'll get. eskimos have been doing what they're doing for hundreds upon hundreds of years and it's not hurt anything environmentally. stop the greedy commercial whaling and there will be no problem for the species survival.

just beacause they accidentaly caught a 150 year old whale doesnt mean that they are going to extremes. the whale may have not even been 150- it could have ran into that weapon or something.