Whaling starts again in earnest

The Japanese have been routinely slammed in the western press for increasing their planned hunts for whales this year and to include humpback whales for the first time in decades. Under the pretense of scientific research they are planning to kill more than 1000 whales.

"The fleet intends to kill more than 1,000 whales while in the Southern Ocean, including 50 endangered fin whales, 50 threatened humpback whales and 935 minke whales. " Source : Greenpeace

The slaughter of endangered fin and humpback whales is inexcusable. These species are IUCN listed, respectively as

1. Endangered ("A taxon is Endangered when it is considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild" source: iucn.com) and
2. Vunerable ("A taxon is Vulnerable when it is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild")

However in my opinion.

• It would be better in many ways if we did not interfere with the natural world at all, however excluding human extinction this is not realistic or achievable and thus I have no real problem in sustainable fishing of a species, the current levels of hunting minke whales is sustainable
• From a conservation perspective, the West's argument about species killing needs to be consistent, not just focused on high profile intelligent or cuddly animals
• all species in the world have a right to live whether they are minke whales, napoleon wrasse, corals or ameoba
• Inconsistent treatment confuses the conservation and species protection message, we should be focused on ensuring ecological balance, let the natural balance of life work its wonder.

Arguments?