Reference: Norway's whalers defend castigated hunt, Bangkok Post, September 4, 2008

An opponent of whaling describes her encounter with a whaler as follows: "Once a whaler harpooned a whale right in front of us. My passengers were horrified. I almost had a heart attack." (Norway's whalers defend castigated hunt, Bangkok Post, September 4, 2008). It is easy to see in such remarks that the anti-whaling movement is all passion and no reason. Even though a well understood and well defined sustainable quotas system for whaling has been developed, a passionate but well funded movement for a total worldwide ban on whaling continues unabated and unfettered by data. The movement has successfully sabotaged the market for whaling by pushing through a ban on international trade in its products. Their claim that whaling is a thing of the past and that there is no market for it anyway, is said with a wink and a nod knowing full well that it is they and not history that has distorted the market for whaling motivated only by a warm and fuzzy feeling for the cuteness of whales.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand