Posted on 09/09/2007 6:30:36 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Today: September 09, 2007 at 5:5:7 PDT
Calif. Gray Whale Shot With Machine Gun
NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) -
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.
--
An Indian Tribe running around with a boat mounted Ma Duce and the Feds are worried about gun shows?
Of course it could all be bad reporting from the MSM.
The whale has died from it`s wounds as it tried to swim back to sea.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/151452.html
If a culture involves .50 caliber machine guns it must be a very polite culture
“We allow native hunts for cultural purposes.”
What a crock. Thats the same copout Japan uses. They do it for “cultural reasons.”
Hmmm -- was a boat mounted 50 cal machine gun part of their cultural history or are those cultural harpoons just too hard to handle???
Probably a bolt action Barrett .
But the MSM probably figures "50 caliber" equals "machine gun."
The last pictures I saw they were using one of the five shot semi-auto's currently made in Tennessee.
Link to M107 semi-auto
Barrett .http://www.military.com/soldiertech/0,14632,Soldiertech_M107,,00.html
“We allow native hunts for cultural purposes.”
What a joke they have not received a whaling permit in five years by the IWWC
I could write a book called ‘Why I hate people’.
“I could write a book called ‘Why I hate people’.”
I am with you Fawn... not all people... but enough of them that it boggles the mind.
LLS
“If a culture involves .50 caliber machine guns it must be a very polite culture”
I lived in Alaska for many, many years. The thing that always got me about “native culture” hunting and gathering is/was how the natives will scream about their right to hunt, fish and gather becuase of tradition, but will use every mondern method to make it easier. It is all B.S.
Nonsense. It is in their culture. You just don't like it.
So you don't have a problem with Michael Vick because dog fighting is part of his "culture"?
It is their tradition. The use of improved tools does not change that fact. When they don't eat what they take, then the foundation of the tradition is gone and you'll have a point.
our local paper screwed up the headline - “....Gay Whale”
Irrelevant. The whaling was traditional in both Japan, and with these natives. The purpose was food and other utilitarian reasons. The natives had a treaty with the US since 1855 to ocntinue the hunt, which they suspended when the whales became endangered. Once the whales were off the list, they sought to hunt them again. Looks like these 5 were just fed up with the BS from the anti-hunting crowd and the 9th circus.
Dog fighting is forcing animals to kill each other to entertain humans. It's not comparable to food.
Using that logic, Michael Vick and his compatriots shouldn't have to do jail time. The only requirement is that they should learn to eat a steady diet of Pit Bull.
Quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of this "tribal" and "cultural" thing. How about a little "civilized" for a welcome change.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.