But big-game hunters in modern, civilized countries generally harvest mature males only. Even crab fisherman return the juveniles and females. The regulations require it, and everybody pretty much “gets it” why this might be important.

So what the hell’s the matter with the Japanese Whaling Institute? I’m with the Australians on this one. Go to the mat with these guys.

Notice this argument doesn’t even require that we acknowledge that whales might be “sentient” in the way we humans are. If that’s the case, then they might actually have “rights”, and killing them might be “murder”.

I don’t know anything about that. I’m just saying that good fish and wildlife management demands exercising reasonable restraint about what you harvest.

But big-game hunters in modern, civilized countries generally harvest mature males only. Even crab fisherman return the juveniles and females. The regulations require it, and everybody pretty much “gets it” why this might be important.

So what the hell’s the matter with the Japanese Whaling Institute? I’m with the Australians on this one. Go to the mat with these guys.

Notice this argument doesn’t even require that we acknowledge that whales might be “sentient” in the way we humans are. If that’s the case, then they might actually have “rights”, and killing them might be “murder”.

I don’t know anything about that. I’m just saying that good fish and wildlife management demands exercising reasonable restraint about what you harvest.