The death of Lennie's pet mouse in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" conveys the tragedy and guilt that overpowers us all when good intentions produce the exact opposite of what we hoped to accomplish.
The desire to preserve and nurture nature's fragile resources can backfire if we become as overprotective as Lennie. In the rush to save the whales through extreme measures and without understanding or addressing the intricate and interdependent relationships that exist within the ocean ecosystems, we may be doing just that.
Nations opposed to applying to whales management techniques that have proven to benefit natural resources on land and in the seas appear poised to snuff out the last hope to scientifically manage whale populations and effectively regulate their use by nations and cultures whose traditional diets include whale meat. That unintended consequence may occur as early as this May at the 51st Meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Grenada.