Chile bans whale hunting, is Japan next?
Chile is hosting the International Whaling Commission’s annual convention (I’m tryin not to think of that scene in Futurama season one: ‘We’re whalers on the moon!’) and they started proceedings big-time by declaring they were making whaling illegal.
And although Norway and Iceland have resumed whale hunting, they say it’s primarily to sell the meat to Japan, because demand has dropped in those countries and you can get whale meat in some Japanese grocery stores, where it’s considered a delicacy.
I think it might still be a while before it’s no longer the ‘in’ thing in Japan, but they do like their funky foods - like blowfish dishes that can kill you (if prepared badly) and $200-a-plate Kobe beef (beer-fedveal calves). With a younger generation growing up aware of how unpopular this practice of whale hunting is, eventually the demand for whale meet will make it unprofitable. Here’s hoping, anyway…
Leave a Reply