CAIRO: Animal rights activists and conservationists are angered at Norway's continued whaling. They are even more frustrated at the country's setting of 1,286 minke whales for 2012, which was announced by the Scandinavian country's minister for fisheries and coastal affairs on Friday. The quota was the same as in 2011, Lisbeth Berg Hansen said. Last year, 533 minke whales were caught in Norwegian waters. Campaigns against whaling have picked up steam in recent years, a large part of that is due to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's continued battle against whalers and Animal Planet's Whale Wars, which documents their efforts against Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Ocean. But in Norway, there is also a growing push against what is largely a traditional and cultural practice. Activist and blogger Lennart Johansen, based in Bergen, told Bikyamasr.com that he believes the hunt is “part of people's belief in tradition, but it is a horrible practice that in today's world is not needed.” He likened the continued whaling to the struggle for children's rights and women's rights in the country. “We fought for better rights a long time back when many people thought it was tradition for men to be equal. Why not the same for animals? Not to mention it is hurting ecosystems and marine life in general.” The minister said the quota was viable and had been set in relation to estimates of the total minke whale population conducted by the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Norway has since 1986 allowed the hunting of minke whales, the smallest of the great whales. The whales can grow up to 11 meters long and weigh around 8 tons. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/FMzWm Tags: Norway, Quota, Whales, Whaling Section: Animals, Environment, Europe, Going Green, Latest News
