Whilst researching deductions of “Charitable Contributions” on the IRS website I came across this little gem of a tax break:
Last I heard, whaling was decreasing whale populations to dangerous levels. This is weird.
Whilst researching deductions of “Charitable Contributions” on the IRS website I came across this little gem of a tax break:
Last I heard, whaling was decreasing whale populations to dangerous levels. This is weird.
January 28, 2009 at 5:26 pm
And I’m pretty sure the bowhead whales they’re talking about are among the most endangered. I read that one day at work when I did nothing but read about whales. Actually, it said right whales are the most endangered, but I’m pretty sure they’re the same as bowhead whales.
May 6, 2009 at 6:58 am
Under international agreements a managed subsistence whaling programme by indigenous populations is allowed. This small scale subsistence whale hunting should be allowed – especially as Bowhead whales have a fairly strong stable population and is a tradition of the indigenous population. Every part of whales caught in these communities are used – clothing, food, fuel – nothing is wasted, unlike in commercial operations.
I think we should be applying international pressure and asking questions about the taxing of Japan’s “scientific” whaling program and Iceland and Norway’s commercial whaling activities. Government subsidy of whaling industries in these countries mean the price of whale meat is kept artificially low nurturing demand for a product that should not be as widely available.
This tax break serves as an amusing reminder of the struggle of indegnous people to maintain a traditional way of life against the onslaught of cultural imperialism from the West and serves as a timely reminder of our duty to let our neighbours across the globe know how we feel about over zealous “scientific” and commercial whaling programmes, which are a cruel unsustainable relic of a past we should have left behind.