See the link below

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_new...=1171572530000

I am not able to figure out why is Switzerland supporting Japan on this-albeit limited whaling. IMHO lets leave these big beautiful creatures alone. There are plenty other fish to eat.

Yeah silly of CH I say. Leave the whales alone for f*** sake! Also leave the baby seals alone I would say leave all creatures/animals alone and stop being so selfish!
On ZH Banhof Strasse there are some shops for rich folks that are full of fur related stuff. One has fully stuffed dears and other animals on the display window. I feel really sad when I look at those stuffed animals. What the hell is so beautiful about seeing a stuffed animal or covering yourself in skin of other animals?

I think you'll find most people are anti-whaling and anti-fur just like everywhere else. Saying Switzerland is pro-whaling is like saying all US citizens are for the war in Iraq.

The OP is talking about the country's official stance, not the opinion of the citizens.

As for Jamacian Rum, I think he's right. Leave the animals alone, people should stop wearing carcasses on their bodies.

They're not pro whaling - they simply don't want Japan to withdraw from all international treaties and do whatever they want. Switzerland considers controlled whaling on a small-scale level the lesser evil. And while I'm most definitely not pro whaling, I have to agree with that.

Ocean conservation is a subject in which I have a keen interest. I can say that this thread doesn't really surprise me. This is not the first time that Switzerland has used its voting rights in organisations that decide matters of the ocean to side with the "underdog". Most people could not be blamed for being baffled by this - after all Switzerland has no ocean.

Why does it do this? I can only make two guesses (someone please correct me if I have missed something here)

1. Siding with a country with an unpopular opinion (e.g. Japan or Norway on the issue of whaling) might be a way to gain favour from that country in return for that country supporting Switzerland on another issue (e.g. political horse trading).

2. Where there is a matter of more direct national interest - for example if a Swiss company were supplying something to a company or industry which might be affected by the issue, for example (purely hypothetical!!) if they were supplying harpoons to shoot the whales they might be keen to protect their customers' ability to use (and therefore buy) the harpoons.

I recall a case a while back where Switzerland opposed the protection of an endangered species of seal. I was puzzled about it and did some research on it. Turns out that a couple of these seals exist in a children's zoo in Rapperswil. Would that really be enough of a reason to oppose such a move?

The mind boggles sometimes...