The Pros And Cons Of International Whaling

Whaling has been a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Whaling has cultural significance for several cultures in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and there is evidence of whaling since 3000 BCE (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

I agree with the Norwegian and Japanese positions on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption. Both of these cultures have been whaling for thousands of years. One stipulation that I would add in order to qualify for a cultural exemption is that the hunting should take place in a historically accurate manner. For the Japanese, this would mean using nets to catch the whales.

I do not feel that a ban on whaling constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of nations that have a history of whaling. As sovereign nations, they have the choice to follow the recommendations set forth by non-government organizations such as the International Whaling Commission. Problems can arise when other members of the commission then press for sanctions against the nation choosing not to follow the mandates from the commission. These problems need to be addressed in a way that not only honors the cultural heritage of the nations that are not following the recommendation of the commission, but prevents every nation from claiming a cultural exemption in order to skirt the

These villages are still able to fish for food and trade materials. I am skeptical of arguments that small villages rely on whale meat for food because until relatively recently, the meat would spoil too quickly. Even today most countries, except for Japan, avoid whale meat. Advancements in the 19th and 20th centuries have rendered most of the products created by whales obsolete, such as petroleum, vegetable oil, steel-boned corsets and gas lamps (Encyclopedia Britannica,