News Whaling Petition

[Jail Bait]

So some whale when extinct around England a few years ago.

Did the world end?

What evidence do we have that we (as a people) are worst off now

 

[Wazzerphuk]

It's a strange day when Scouse is actually coming off in a debate better than other people.

But then he is arguing with rynnor, who we all know is a joke. Tom is sometimes a joke, sometimes not.

:]

 

[rynnor]

They've quantified the risks. They've decided to classify them as a separate species.

Sigh - how can you quote something without apparently reading or understanding it?

I suggest you re-read it - they are not saying this population is a seperate species - the clue to that is in the name - Eschrichtius robustus.

A different species would have a new name.

Next Tom is 100% correct that its seperate for convenience - "It is listed separately for conservation and management purposes".

Have fun

 

[Tom]

A "superior species" that has actually evolved to the point where we now know better.

I know you do restoration and, presumably, conservation work near your home, so I reckon you're arguing from a devils advocate standpoint.

Do you really not care that we're putting so many amazing animals into danger of extinction?

I think you do.

Of course I care. You're correct in that in many instances I take up the position of Devil's Advocate, because I enjoy an argument or two, but I'm also quite able to recognise the hypocrisies perpetrated by humanity. For instance, nobody mourns the extermination of smallpox because that wasn't exactly nice for us, but it served its purpose, and I'd argue that it had just as much right to exist as whales do. People whinge and moan when local wildlife is harmed, but they'll defend the borders of their property (which was usually built on what was once a forest or a bog, and which displaced other wildlife) with every tooth and nail they have.

We're just a pinprick on the timeline of this planet's existence, and in reality we could kill 99% of life on this planet—given enough time it'd recover, and given a bit more time only historians would be any the wiser. That's why I'm not going to worry unduly about such creatures as whales, because in my opinion most people who get riled about such things aren't concerned for the whales; they're concerned about the world in which they live, and how changes in that environment affect them. Its no different to other forms of green activism, really, in my opinion of course.

 

[Scouse]

Rynnor. I think you're either trolling or deliberately failing to understand what I'm saying.

They've "listed them separately for conservation and management purposes" - because for conservation purposes it's sensible risk management, in the absence of definitive genetic evidence, to consider the western population as a separate species, given the possible ramifications if they actually turn out to be genetically diverse.

It's not rocket science - and I'd already quoted the part of the text that you quoted back at me - so I've obviously read it. Therefore I don't really have much left to say about this.


Tom. I see what you're getting at in your last post and am sympathetic to most of it.

in my opinion most people who get riled about such things aren't concerned for the whales; they're concerned about the world in which they live, and how changes in that environment affect them

I just must not be "most" people. I hold a genuine belief that most life has intrinsic value. In general I don't have to find justification for its preservation or protection.

I disagree with you on the intrinsic value of smallpox to the wider world tho. So I'll accept that level of hypocricy

 

[Scouse]

So some whale when extinct around England a few years ago.

Did the world end?

What evidence do we have that we (as a people) are worst off now

I just wanted to post this again so the whole world could see how stupid a few thousand miles of water to the west of the UK makes people

 

[Jail Bait]

I just wanted to post this again so the whole world could see how stupid a few thousand miles of water to the west of the UK makes people

Did the world end

What are you afraid of

the world hasn`t died off because your country killed out an entire subspecies of whale

Yet you have no problem setting rat traps and poisoning bugs so they don`t take over your Home.... Who knows you might be wiping out a subspecies of rat, ant or Muslim