By Kirsten Johnson

The Majestic Minke Whales Travel Great Distances
The majority of Norwegians are calling for an end to whaling and yet the government and a handful of whalers persist. On April 1st, 2011 Norway’s annual whale hunt began. The government ruled by the conservative labour party have set the kill quota for minke whales at 1286 the same number as less year regardless of the shrinking market for whale meat. Less than 10% of the Norwegian population consume whale meat. Greater than 90% of Norwegians find whaling cruel and a thing of the past.
The minke whale is a filter feeder, second smallest of the baleen whales. The minke is the only baleen whale still commercially hunted. Adult females and males can weigh up to 10 ton and their calves 750 tons. Minke whales give birth to calves that may nurse for up to two years.The minke whale is known to be a fast swimmer, but not fast enough to outrun harpoon ships of the Norwegian whaling fleet.

The twenty whaling vessels, manned with a handful of vicious whalers, set out to sea on April 1st, 2011 in hopes of spotting a pod or rather a small family, of minke whales so they can begin harvesting their quota.They bear down upon pods with mother, calf, and father. With a sadistic cruelty they harpoon the 10 ton whales and then drag them along the side of their ship until they suffocate or bleed to death. The whales may live through this torture for as long as two hours before they perish. My heart breaks for the minke families that they will slaughter today, and tomorrow. The babes that see their mother harpooned, and then to be coldly harpooned themselves.

The majority of people in Norway want this cruel hunt to stop. They are speaking out for the whales that travel through their oceans.

So what happens to the carcasses of the poor minke whale mother, father or baby that couldn’t get away? The government and the  hunters that partake in this awful sport dump their remains in the ocean hoping the world won’t find out. The Norwegian blog spot NA24 wrote a revealing article, “Norwegians Dump Whale Meat”, written by ChristianHansen:

http://www.na24.no/article3124958.ece#comment-179522065.
You can find several comments on the article. Here is one by a Norlander, Benedicte On April 6th
The world is moving ahead, even for the most Nordlander.
Whaling should be stopped!
FSA also warns children and pregnant women from eating whale meat, blah. because of the vast contents of the scroll. mercury.
Do you really eat something like that?
In addition, trapping methods animal abuse.

The whole world looks at us as some dyre plagere engaged in this cruel “hunt”.
Enough is enough!

I can’t help but think of the survivors of this bloody hunt, the minke whales, singing a song of sorrow for their lost mates, children and friends that were so coldly taken by the razor sharp harpoons of the two legged devils. The world wants whaling to stop. Less and less people partake of the cannibalistic consumption of whale meat because they know it is wrong!

In defiance of the world, the Norwegian people, and the International Whaling Commission, the King of Norway, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his labour party cronies insist on spreading propaganda about whale hunting and seal hunting being sustainable. Tell Stolenberg and King Harald V there is no sustainable killing of marine mammals. Our ocean needs her children for the fish to remain abundant. Marine mammals are an important link in the chain of life. Now is time to stop the cold blooded slaughter of whales and all marine mammals. They need to listen to the people of Norway, and listen to the world!
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/smk/The-Office-of-the-Prime-Minister/contact/Questions-and-comments-form.html?id=437545