NEWS JUST IN: TAKE ACTION NOW!!!
MAKAH ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
CUT OFF DAY : FEB 16, 2001
Please send your COMMENTS no later than February 12, 2001
Sample letter enclosed below
(note: if you like, you may change the paragraph a little bit or write your own style of letter) :
Public Comments to be sent to:
Gail Heim
Office of Protected Resources NOAA Fisheries
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Springs, Md 20910
U.S.A.
Dear Madam :
I am writing to you to ask you and your colleagues to use your power and wisdom to strongly oppose any and all harm from occurring to any species of marine mammals, particularly whales in American coast waters, and more specifically, those who migrate by the Washington coast.
The Makah people has not hunted whales for more than 70 years until recently. There is no need nor cultural excuse for toleranceof this atrocities to continue being perpetrated against this majestic, intelligent, sentient beings.
"Norway and Japan, traditional whaling nations that oppose the Whaling Commission's ban on whale hunting, are giving the triballeaders their full support because they believe the Makah request could yield the precedent they need to resume commercial whaling at full capacity. Meanwhile, there have been reports that the Makah elders who oppose the whaling request have been harassed and told to keep silent by younger tribal leaders."
(see Referece # 1 and 2 )
"We told the Makah that a gray whale was worth $1 million on the Japanese market. For years [the U.S. has] voted 'no' to Japanese coastal whaling. Now the U.S. is asking us to vote 'yes' for American coastal whaling. Once [the Makah] win the right to kill whales in the U.S. for cultural reasons, the IWC will be obligated to recognize Japanese whaling as cultural also. We will have them where we want them." said Tadahiko Nakamura, Japanese IWC delegation in a personal communication to Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd staff members, & Dr. Paul Spong, Monaco, Oct. 22, 1997
(See reference # 1 and 3 )
Since July, 2000, Japan set for 574 tons of whale meat sold in the commercial market. Some 181 tons meat will be sold directly to comsumers, while the remainder will be sold to food-processing companies that will convert them into whale meat products.The 574-ton meat haul was taken from a catch of 40 MINKE whales,43 BRYDE whales and five SPERM whales, said the Institute of Cetacean Research, an entity representing for Japanese whale hunters.
(see Reference # 4 ).
The Makah hunt is an arm of Japan's whaling. Japan funded
and encouraged the Makah hunt. It's Japan's way of encouraging indigenous peoples to go whaling furthering their cause.As you can see in the past, Japan encouraged other peoples to join the IWC to outnumber the anti-whaling countries. It is a systematic formula to return the whaling and the Makah are pawns in it. We must break Japanese systematic network towards future Commercial Whaling .
The immediate most important step in the United States is to STOP KILLING WHALES at U.S. coast lines. Makah hunt is as
important as Japan's killing. The Makah and Nu-Chah-Nulth are simply part of the Japanese whaling network working to push for "COMMERCIAL WHALING".
Anti-whaling campaigners refuted Japanese claims that whales die instantly from explosive harpoons fired into the brain with videos showing minke whales THRASHING IN BLOODY WATER for up to 20 minutes before dying.
(see Reference # 5 )
Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the American people are strongly opposed to this cruel, unethical killing of great whales.
To allow these barbarities to continue in the U.S. is tragic for US democracy and degrading the morality and ethics of the United States as the MORAL LEADER AND POLICE in the world !
Sincerely:
YOUR NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY/ZIP/POSTCODE
TELEPHONE:
E-MAIL:
Important references :
1:http://www.seashepherd.org/issues/whales/makahhunt1200.html
"WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MAKAH HUNT. "
2: Aaron Sachs, "Eco-Justice: Linking Human Rights and
the Environment," Worldwatch Paper 127, Worldwatch Institute
3: Tadahiko Nakamura, Japanese IWC delegation personal
communication to Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd staff members,
& Dr. Paul Spong, Monaco, Oct. 22, 1997
4: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20010131b4.htm
News from Japan Times.
5: Tokyo AFP , Asia News , Feb. 1, 2001.
"New whaling row as Japan protests proposals to
check whalemeat DNA".
News from Japan Times. |
