I'm not an animal rights activist and do go hunting, but whaling is one of those areas where I agree with the animal rights activists.
I'm with you, I'm for responsible conservation but I'm no animal rights activist. In fact, I was a commercial fisherman and diver for more than 10 years.
**rant on**
Having said that, I've watched a Whale hunt unfold live on TV when the Macah Indians won the right to 'subsistence hunt' Gray Whales in Washington State. It was incredibly brutal, horrific even.
BUT, The Japanese consider whale to be a delicacy and can legally hunt. It's asinine for these 'eco' tourists to go whale watching in a place where they should have expected to see a legal hunt take place and then proclaim their shock and horror. The parents who brought their children should be ashamed of themselves.
And the skippers of those charters are idiots for not turning those boats around as soon they saw the whalers on their radar.
**rant off**