Whale shot with a machine gun

[Kidder]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070909/ap_on_sc/whale_shot

Is it just me or is this sorta messed up. Ok so they are native Americans and they are allowed to hunt whales. Shouldn't there be at least some rules? Like you must have the right equipment?

[WV Diver]

This is whack. Someone messed up here.

[Charlotte Smith]

They used a machine gun!!! Sounds like a bunch of disguised native americans to me.....idiots disguised as native americans.

[scuba Widow]

This is really messed up.

[Osprey]

There are no rules that I know of regarding what they have to use to kill the whale, however are machine guns even legal to own? Does anyone know?

[Black-Gorrilla]

you are allowed to own machine guns now a days... but either way... thats just messed up!
like they were gonna eat the whale or something??
they probly have a casino and tons of cash!

[FishFood]

No, the question is, is it legal to shoot "Natives" with the machine gun?

Only kidding...

[picxie]

Some people are sick. I don't care what your 'cultural purposes' are ... you don't attack a living creature like that, when common sense would say that a machine gun is likely to inflict lingering pain and suffering, and in this case obviously not immediate death. Hopefully the poor whale is not so badly injured that it can't feed and defend itself out there.

[DivingsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by Osprey

There are no rules that I know of regarding what they have to use to kill the whale, however are machine guns even legal to own? Does anyone know?

i think there legal its just the clip size has to be smaller, you cant have a large clip.

[Vercingetorix]

As a former arms dealer, I'm always leary when the press use the terms "machine gun" and "automatic weapons", unless the weapon is specified. A firearm can be a .50 cal without being an automatic. Unfortunately, the press confuses (often intentionally) the term "full-automatic" or "machine gun" with the real term "autoload" or "semi-automatic".

The Barrett Model 82A1 is a .50 cal sniper rifle. It is a semi-auto, not a full-auto weapon. While the .50 cal can punch a hole through an engine block, it is ill-suited to killing an animal with the thickness of skin and blubber of a whale. Ownership of an M60 (the full-auto military .50-cal weapon) is not permitted under BATF regulations and federal law.

So, was the whale shot with an M60? Unless shot from a military boat or aircraft, then I'm skeptical. If shot with a semi-auto, like a Barrett, then those idiots are incompetent hunters. At over $8,000, I doubt that they could buy a Barrett either