Calif. gray whale shot with machine gun

[Laruuk]

Saw this today.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_sc/whale_shot_8;_ylt=AhHPFiNFNoGKmnLpH5Sq0yME1vAI

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Sun Sep 9, 6:07 AM ET



NEAH BAY, Wash. - An injured California gray whale was swimming out to sea Saturday after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state, officials said.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said five people believed to be members of the Makah Tribe shot and harpooned the whale Saturday morning. The extent of the whale's injuries were not immediately known.

Tribe members were being held by the Coast Guard but had not been charged, said Mark Oswell, a spokesman for the law enforcement arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

A preliminary report said the whale was shot with a .50-caliber machine gun, Oswell said.

Coast Guard officials created a 1,000-yard safety zone around the injured whale, which was shot about a mile east of Neah Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The whale had begun heading to sea Saturday afternoon, Oswell said.

Although the tribe has subsistence fishing rights to kill whales, Oswell said preliminary information indicates the whale may have been shot illegally.

"We allow native hunts for cultural purposes. However, this does not appear to be of that nature so far," he said.

The Makah Tribe has more than 1,000 members and is based in Neah Bay.

A call to tribal officials was not immediately returned on Saturday. Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson told The Seattle Times that the tribe has been seeking an exemption from the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act so that it could take up to five gray whales per year. However, Johnson said the tribe had not yet secured that exemption for a new hunt.

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[johnnyseko]

Geeesh, when did a 50cal become part of their culture

 

[archman]

The Feds are gonna search heaven and earth to locate that gun.

 

[Charlie99]

Geeesh, when did a 50cal become part of their culture

I figure that if they are getting a cultural exemption, then they need to use the culturally appropriate methods ---- paddling rather than outboard motors; simple harpoons rather than machine guns or exploding bomb harpoons and lances.

 

[Laruuk]

I figure that if they are getting a cultural exemption, then they need to use the culturally appropriate methods ---- paddling rather than outboard motors; simple harpoons rather than machine guns or exploding bomb harpoons and lances.

I agree completely.

I've been trainined to fire and repair .50 cal machine guns. (military)

There is no reason to go whale hunting (heh, I could stop that sentence right there).

There is definitely no reason to go whale hunting with a .50 cal.

What a bunch of jackasses.

 

[drbill]

Pathetic... what kind of tribal pride can these nuts claim. I hope the elders punish them in a culturally appropriate way.

 

[Matt S.]

I figure that if they are getting a cultural exemption, then they need to use the culturally appropriate methods ---- paddling rather than outboard motors; simple harpoons rather than machine guns or exploding bomb harpoons and lances.

The language has no words for how much I agree with that.

I live in WA and have been hearing about such whale hunting since I moved here. It's always been described as using modern boats and gear in the material I have read. That never sat right with me.

 

[wkyongae@aol.com]

Was there when all this happened (I mean there watching) and I have to tell you it was sicking and loud and scary and sad. I'm not just saying this but locals as well as we all watched on. It was sad as we counted the bullets being fired all the way to 21 shots, saying to each other what bad shots they must be. Who knows where all this will go. I hope it will stop with no more hunting. Odd though with the location of the hunt and the timing.

 

[DavidPT40]

I bought a really interesting dvd called "Miracle in the Pacific" that chronicled how wildlife and marine creatures began returning to the Pacific Coast since the 70s. The portion on gray whales was especially moving, showing how the came back from the brink of extinction.

I am really surprised that the whale is still alive. That type of machine gun was used to shoot down planes in World War II and Korea, and is still used today for lightly armored vehicles. I think they should consider euthanizing the whale if it seems to be in severe distress.

 

[Kim]

OK....I'll probably get flamed to bits but who cares?

They have rights to kill whales.

Do any of you really think that the whale gives a **** if they use "culturally appropriate methods"? Does it prefer to die legally at the end of a harpoon (probably takes hours...), or illegally blown to bits by a 50 caliber bullet, or exploding harpoon (probably usually pretty quick)?

The problem here, as in any hunting, is that it wasn't a clean kill. The rest is knickers in a twist window dressing. I can appreciate that many don't want whales hunted at all....but they still are....and believe it or not...often legally. I can also wish it wasn't so, but at the end of the day I just think that if they're going to use a 50 cal machine gun, at least make sure that whoever is firing the bloody thing knows what they're doing and aims straight. The real tragedy is that the animal is still alive and in pain. It'll quite probably die later anyway....having suffered for God knows how long.

Harpoons? What are you people thinking????