Letter: Whaling for food

Sir: World stocks of Norwegian and Japanese have built up to the point where both can be seen as a renewable resource. With an estimated 120 million head of Japanese, substantial quotas may be taken without jeopardising future catches.

Yields of the less numerous Norwegian can never be so great, but its standard of living is among the highest in the world, so judicious cropping is thought to be sustainable. If nothing else, we should be pressing for Japanese to be harvested for scientific purposes, after which it can be sold in gourmet restaurants where it is a highly prized delicacy. Of course, sentimentalists will fret about inhumane culling techniques, but . . .

Yours faithfully,

RICHARD DAWKINS

Oxford

1 July