Ok, I am sorry if I offend anyone in here, but YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME. Are you guys seriously suggesting that there are laws in place to protect the emotional well-being of a friggen whale? Now, don't get me wrong, I love animals. Heck, I like animals more than MOST humans (Except for them stupid Caribeus, old ugly moose lookin thing standing between me and my cheap-o alaskan oil)
I can harass a human being to pretty much any extent I want, as long as I don't touch them (assault) or say something that is completly false (slander) and I can pretty much get away with it on a justice level. Heck, a human has to go through the justice system and get restraining orders to stop someone from harassing them. Of course, I can pursue civil means of retribution, but thats a whole nother story. Like I said, I love animals, but if some whale is that bad off in the head that if some guy is SWIMMING WITH IT, it will go into an emotional break-down, doesn't seem like that whale is gonna make it to darn long anyway.
It seems kind of ironic to me that we actually have "animal pyshchologists". We can't understand how our own species thinks, how can we expect to know what another species is thinking?
EDIT: Does anyone live in Alaska? Its one of my lifes goals to try a Caribeu (sp?) steak. Anyone tried it yet?