A Dingo Took Our Moral High Ground

Ok, sometimes it's uncomfortable to have a mirror held up to you. You don't like what you see. This happened to me today when I watched the above video (9:56mins) released by the pro-whaling movement in Japan. Although I think the way they've gone about this is totally wrong not to mention downright misleading at times. It made me wonder in a Carrie Bradshaw fashion...

Did a dingo take our moral high ground?

RACISTS?
Some of the accusations the video makes are true. The White Australia policy describe a collection of historical legislation and policies which intentionally restricted non-white immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973. - Wiki

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS?
Our treatment of first Australians is maybe even more disgraceful. Indigenous Australians didn't have the right to vote until Commonwealth legislation in 1962. We didn't acknowledge their right to native title of land until 1990! Our federal government has promised to say 'sorry' for a whole generation of children stolen from their families this year! - Wiki

DINGOS?
The video does reveal a disturbing truth about Dingos that I don't think many of us (including yours truly) are aware of. I was ready to disbelieve everything, so, when they claimed Dingos are in the same World Conservation Union (ICUN) status as Humpback whales... I had to investigate. Sadly it's true! In 2004 the ICUN gave Dingos 'Vulnerable' status. However, the video fails to mention that although hunting and killing them as pests is abhorrent, it's not the main reason why they're population size is vulnerable. Both the ICU and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Dingo Policy Statement site interbreeding with wild or domestic dogs as being the major threat to their species.

KANGAROOS?
I'm sure the vast majority of people that use or eat animal products don't wish for that animal to have suffered in death. Those images of joeys being killed - make me sick. They are barbaric and awful. However I've heard that eating kangaroo meat is much more sustainable compared to other livestock. According to this Burke's Backyard Fact Sheet on Kangaroo Meat,(I know) Tim Flannery (then) biological scientist at the Australian Museum says:

• It costs the Australian environment nothing to produce kangaroo meat. In comparison, seven kilograms of soil are used to produce one kilogram of wheat.
• Farming wild animals is less cruel than raising domesticated animals for meat. Kangaroos do not suffer the stress of live trucking and abattoirs. Instead they live freely in the wild until they are killed instantly by professional shooters.

WHALES?
Australia stopped whaling in 1979. Japan continues to whale for commercial use despite an international ban. I've never tasted it but the Japanese girl towards the end of the video looked like she was trying hard not to spit her whale out (didn't she realise she was on a pro-whaling commercial?).

MEDIA?
This video made me consider how we treat animals in Australia. We see whales being harpooned but kangaroos (and all other animals we eat) happily cruising around. Why? We don't like holding up the mirror do we? Are our killing methods humane?

I just wish the Japanese would understand that it's not just Australia but the entire global community's wish to protect whales from extinction.

I'd like to give a big shout out to the activists on the high seas working or volunteering for Greenpeace and the Sea Shepards. Stay safe! I hope you put aside your differences and support each other out there to defeat a common enemy.

Take Action: The ACF is concerned that in most States/Territories, the dingo is classified as a noxious animal, pest or vermin species and that this status requires its destruction. Write to your State Government to get this changed!

Adam Valvasori - Not a Sex in The City fan