著者

河島 基弘

出版者

群馬大学社会情報学部

雑誌

群馬大学社会情報学部研究論集 (ISSN:13468812)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.17, pp.1-17, 2010

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Nowadays, many people call themselves animal lovers. Stories of the maltreatment of animals are reported sensationally by the press to attract wide public attention. But all animalsare not paid the same attention: the killing of some animals draws more sympathy than others; the experimentation of some animals arouses more indignation than others. Whales are among those 'chosen' animals that are given special consideration, especially in the West. What makes whales so special in human eyes? Why whales, not other animals? In this article, I address these questions by critically examining the alleged uniqueness of whales proposed by a whale protec-tionist.