November 17, 2007

Whale kill took hours

Death of whale was neither humane nor swift, Makahs reportA gray whale illegally killed by five members of the Makah tribe in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in September took nearly 10 hours to die because the hunters didn't know what they were doing and shot the animal in the wrong place, according to a new tribal report.

The report also says it took federal officials more than seven hours to authorize a tribal request to put the whale out of its misery.

The report was delivered Thursday to federal fisheries officials in an effort to clarify how and why the animal's death came so long after the rogue hunt. It reveals the hunt as a floating fiasco that broke every rule in the tribe's own whaling-management plans set out to ensure a quick, humane kill.

"This was very different from the 1999 hunt," the author of the report, tribal biologist Johnathan Scordino, said Thursday. In that hunt, which was legally authorized by the tribe and federal fisheries officials, the whale was killed with two shots from a high-powered rifle by a trained marksman. The animal was dead within eight minutes.

6 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
writerfella iterates his consternation over the legal/illegal killing of a single (endangered? non-endangered?) whale by Natives, whereas the Japanese and other world nationals kill thousands of endangered whales every day in defiance of the worldwide rules on the taking of whales. Remember Goldfinger's response to Bond's question about the killing of 40,000 humans by nerve gas? "Americans kill that many in automobile accidents every two years..."
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

See The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy for various opinions on the subject.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Opinions are like elbows, and writerfella cares not to see more of the same flailing around in their special blind darknesses...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Yes, you've made it clear you're interested mainly in your own opinions. ;-)

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Which only confirms that writerfella is NOT interested in YOUR opinions, which must infuriate you no end. Good, and too bad for your case...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

So you've confirmed that you're a self-centered egotist...great. Now if only you'd confirm your inability to use Google or a dictionary, we'd have a full picture of your shortcomings.

You come to my blog and post your lengthy comments because you think I want your opinion?! Actually, you come here because you need a forum for your ego and no one else will listen to you. That's so funny it's sad.

Yeah, my work grinds to a halt whenever you take a break from sharing your life story. No, wait...I mean I was commenting on Indians long before I knew you and I'll be commenting on them long after you're gone. Your presence or absence made no difference the first 20 years and it will make no difference the second 20 years.