I suppose the argument re whales revolves around why they should be viewed as different from any other percieved resource. Yes there are harvestable numbers of some species, but the intelligence of whales as well as the history of near extinction of some species due to relentless hunting remain emptive for many.
I do believe people could manage a huntable population and this doesn't worry me. What does bother me is the relentless search for all and sundry in the world for our own needs. Perhaps segregating certain intelligent species from our search is actually good for our collective psyche. By allowing our humanity to pervade our relationship with a non human species perhaps we can remind ourselves of how we should treat others . Everywhere around us , humanity is being reduced to digital terms. Numerical value is placed on anything and everything. I believe we will be next.
