The death of a whale

Let last September's botched, illegal whale hunt by five members of the Makah Tribe in the Strait of Juan de Fuca be the last for a long, long time.

The application of the federal criminal-justice system to the killing of the gray whale has been a work in progress for months. A plea deal was close on Monday, and then collapsed. Another agreement might be forthcoming Thursday, or maybe the case will go to trial next month.

Either way, the tribe's separate and ongoing request for an exemption to the Marine Mammal Protection Act to hunt another whale, after one was legally taken in 1999, ought to be buried under a tall stack of paper.

The defendants were headed for a plea deal with no jail time and two years probation when they reportedly learned that pleading guilty to one count of violating the federal protection act might prevent them from whaling while on probation. They refused.

One might have imagined the five men would have embraced the restriction given the absolute muddle of their arrogant and inept behavior last September.

Stranger still, the Makah Tribe had jurisdiction to enforce its own rules, but opted to avert its eyes and remain silent, if the five pleaded guilty to the one count of the federal law.

In November, the Makahs' tribal biologist issued a 13-page report of findings and drawings that ought to have mortified all associated with that sad day. In addition to not having a permit, the five men were apparently clueless about how to properly take a gray whale. Sixteen bullet holes and four harpoons did not kill the whale. Perhaps the hunters might have succeeded if they had brought a sufficient amount of the appropriate ammunition and not lost the primary rifle over the side.

Once the hapless event had begun, the mortally wounded whale struggled for eight to 10 hours before it died. As a Times headline noted, euthanasia was held up by red tape. There was much regulatory hemming and hawing after the hunt was halted by authorities.

Sending the bungling hunters to jail serves no purpose. But denying them the right to hunt whales during probation would fit the crime perfectly, and serve to elevate and hold a tradition in fitting reverence.

Taking a whale in the 21st century is about spiritual sustenance. The tragic folly on the Strait of Juan de Fuca mocks that sacred value. The moment has passed.