Commercial Whaling

738 Words2 Pages

For many years, many countries have been killing whales calling it “research”. There are those who believe that commercial whaling is not acceptable and is detrimental to the population of whales. The international community has to make the choice, is research more important than whales? Perhaps we should continue killing the whales, with certain strict guidelines such as enforced quotas. It is a tradition in some cultures and we should not interfere with some traditional practices. It is a practice that many countries do not understand and will never understand. There has to be a line between cultural traditions and and what is ethical. We should allow some countries to whale in strict moderation but only with the understanding that whales need to be preserved for the future.
There are a few positive outcomes of whaling. Some cultures do not value or understand the importance of whaling,therefore most countries do not participate in whaling. Many cultures, such as the Japanese and Norwegians, think that whaling is part of their country's way of life (Skare). There are thousands of people in the United States that hunt for for a variety animals. How is hunting for sport any different than killing whales? Media plays a big role in making whaling out to be a very malignant practice. The television show, “Whale Wars” highlights an anti-whaling group that sabotage the Japanese ships in the Southern Antarctic Ocean. The anti-whaling group uses many tactics to “persuade” the Japanese to quit whaling, from throwing rotten eggs on the whaling ship decks, to attempting to foul the propellor of the vessel. The anti-whaling group is allowed to have their own television show. They travel in international waters and try to stop the Jap...

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...t more groups say it is okay because it is part of a culture and they are doing research on the whales. We will have to see how the dispute turns out later on in time. Whale may be banned for good or it there may be a decrease in the annual quota. What will it be for commercial whaling?

Works Cited

Hesselager O’Barry, Helene. “Heart of Darkness.” Earth Island Journal 7 Jan. 2013: 18. Sirs. web. 28 Jan. 2014.
Englund, Kirsten, and Kathy Glass. “Japanese Whaling: Saving Whales in a Clash of Cultures.” Whole Earth Review, 98-102. SIRS Issues Researcher. web. 5 Feb. 2014
Green, Eric M. “Whale Wars.” Environment (1994): 34. Points of View Reference Center. web. sept. 1994.
Japan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. MOFA. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
"Nutrition Facts." And Analysis for Whale, Beluga, Meat, Raw (Alaska Native). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

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Commercial Whaling