Argumentative Essay: Is Whaling Justified?

Whales have been swimming in the Earth’s oceans for 20 million years; their haunting songs can travel underwater for thousands of miles, they are the largest animals to exist on Earth yet they survive on some of the smallest organisms. A whale’s heart can weigh up to 1,300 pounds, and a baby whale can drink up to 130 gallons of its mother’s milk each day (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, 2010). Currently whale hunters claim that they are killing whales for scientific purposes; however, whale meat is being sold at a high price, considered a delicacy, and found on more than 5000 Japanese school menus (Jamsey, 2010). The International Whaling Commission (IWC) with the support of the current United States President Barrack Obama wants

Whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary (SOWS) is an ongoing issue despite laws and regulations prohibiting commercial hunting in these waters. Whaling fleets from Japan use scientific research to justify continued whaling in the Southern Ocean. Weak enforcement of the regulations set up in the SOWS has allowed countries, most notably Japan, to continue their hunts with little interference. If whaling continues in the SOWS, it may lead to irreversible effects to the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.

On one hand I completely agree with Japan, and Norway expressing their views on the exemption on cultural grounds from an international whaling ban, simply because of their sovereignty rights. There are a number of villagers that are dependent on whaling to provide food, and other necessity for their families. On the other hand, there are a host of negatives factors involved with mass killings of whales, for one it is inhumane to kill so many whales in such a short time period. Second, the slaughtering of an endangered and intelligent species for something as unnecessary as overpriced delicacies including whale oils. With that said, I believe that the economic impact has a big influence on my decision to agree with such a heinous crime to continue to allow whaling as long as it is properly regulated and that those regulations are

The Japanese would continue to be reluctant to give up whaling tradition and they will keep fighting for their cultural tradition(Rupert). On the other hand, Countries like the United States are kept exerting pressure on Japan to stop their Whaling industry. “A deeper understanding of the Japanese whaling history and culture is important to collaborate and compromise with them”(Joshua). The anti-whaling countries, including Australia and the United States, are facing a challenge since they don’t have the right to intervene on the right of the Japanese to live as they choose (Adrian). In order to solve this problem, the world needs to cooperate together to come up with a plan that will save the Japanese tradition while saving the whale population at the same

And whale killing has been happing since the 12th century. There are many varieties of threats that are going toward the whales, but most of them are direct results of human activities. These can include hunting for food, scientific research, or even used for beauty products. Eating whale meat is an old tradition it is a very impenetrable, or impossible to understand, as they say. Whale meat has been used in everyday foods in japan, Norway, and Iceland. They say if you eat whale meat you are brave and are given power. The amount of meat being sold has gone down but isn’t completely gone. On the other hand, Japan has a catch, they barley eat whale so why do they continue to kill them? The answer: scientific research. Japan has been stating that they have been killing whales for scientific research, but yet none of its go towards that. A scientific permit allows japan to be able to hunt whales. By having this it allows them to use, sell, or give away the whale meat. Whale is also used in everyday makeup as well. Their blubber and spermaceti (the waxy substance from the head of sperm whales) was great things for lipstick. Whales are used for things you might not even know, and that is what’s killing the going extinct

Modern commercial whaling is continuously being over-exploited as whaling companies strive to maximize their profits despite international protest and a ban by the International Commission. Many various species of whales have been extinct, and the relatively few whales that remain are extremely vulnerable, and the factors that led to their over-exploitation in the past have not changed. Norway, one of the several countries involved in illegal whaling, has again refused to accept the international moratorium on whaling and has announced that its catch quotas for whales have risen. In 1995 Norwegian whales caught 217 whales out of a quota of 232. In 1996 the quota was 425. Now, on May 27, 1997 the whaling season will

I totally disagree with the Norwegian and Japanese position on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption, because first of whaling or hunting is cruelty, we should not have to kill animals, which can get disappeared after a while. Even though they call it a research, hundreds of whales per year could not be hunted. In Japan, they say that, they had a tradition of whaling, but not all traditions are good, I mean killing whales could not be a good tradition. There are many bad traditions in the world people were doing without knowledge, but the governments or some organizations are working to prevent it. I believe that, this is one of the bad traditions of our world.

Countless amounts of great whales will be illegally caught and slaughtered for commercial sale and “scientific” research this year. In spite of a worldwide moratorium, put in place by the International Whaling Commission twenty four years ago banning the act of commercial whaling, three defiant countries continue to hunt whales illegally. If these countries hunt whales against the law and continue to get away with minimal consequence it may encourage other countries to resume their whaling operations. If stricter laws are not out in place the whale populations will be hunted to extinction and the greatest conservation accomplishment of the twentieth century will go down the drain.

I do not agree with the Norwegian and Japanese position on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption because I just don't approve of whaling in general. I can however see their point. For the majority of a population in a village to depend upon whaling as their main income and/or food source would be really difficult if it was banned. It would be a nice thing if their governments could help with job rehabilitation. Maybe even offer incentives to change their business venture. I feel like whaling is an archaic practice these days with so many other options to take place of the stuff harvested.

To many, the thought of eating whale meat might seem strange, as they are not accustomed to consuming this kind of meat, while to others eating cow (beef) is a strange and cruel thing to do. Around the globe, there are different ways that individuals support themselves financially, and different foods that are consumed. Cultural practices are what sets each group of people apart and make us unique, neighboring counties should not be allowed to change century-long practices as they see fit. Per the WDC “Whaling is cruel and unnecessary and must stop. Commercial whaling is effectively banned. Trade in whale products is forbidden. Yet, every year, Japan, Norway and Iceland kill around 1,500 whales between them. They defy international bans and global opinion and they hunt whales even though there is little demand for the meat.” (WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 2017) Since the WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, was founded in the US and eating whale is not a part of its culture, it comes across as cruel. The question that one needs to ask is what difference is there in catching a whale for food versus catching mackerel or consuming beef? A mackerel is a non-endangered species, but yet it is allowed. Japan and Norway should be allowed to continue their practices on a cultural exemption.

Hunting and killing whales has become a topic of great controversy in the 21st century. Anti-whalers claim that hunting whales is an inhumane practice and there is absolutely no reason to partake in this sport. Not only is it next to impossible to kill these animal humanely, adult whales are intergraded into family pods and killing one may impact other members of the family (Hoyt and Hvenegaard 2002). They also argue that whales are a keystone species to marine ecosystems and therefore should not be hunted at all. If these whales were to disappear from the seas, there would be devastation in all tropic levels (Hoyt and Hvenegaard 2002; Schneider and Pearce 2004; Springer et al 2003). However, these anti-whalers fail to see both the economic

In 2015, a program states 333 minke whales need to be killed for 12 years started. That’s about 4,000 whales that will be killed. Originally, whaling was used as a way to collect resources. The meat from whales were considered delicacies. Oil from whale blubber can be used as oil lamps or candles. Whales that are killed today are needed for scientific purposes like information on how to manage and conserve whales in captivity. However it isn’t necessary to kill so many whales to obtain information like management and conservation. Whaling should be banned because whales are no longer needed for their resources and aren’t used for scientific reasons.

Whales are one of the many unique species and play a vital role in the marine ecosystem, but sadly these species are suffering and are about to be driven to extinction, all because of whaling. This is something that should be prevented at all cost because the extinction of whales will disrupt the ecosystem and it is a very cruel act towards peaceful organisms, such as whales.

I do not agree with Norway and Japan’s position on the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption. Even with the ban in place, these countries are continuing to hunt Minke whales, and their governments are highly subsidizing the product, almost 50% the gross value. (WDC, n.d.) Furthermore, recent research has shown that these countries are having difficulty selling whale meat, and that they are desperately trying to create a new interest in the product at festivals and tourist spots, where they are introducing things like whale burgers and sushi. (WDC, n.d.) In my opinion, I think

Countries should be permitted to hunt some species of whales. Hunting whales is a tradition that has been around for hundreds of years. The problem now is that Japan, Norway and even Iceland are are hunting whales under the pretense of scientific purposes. (The Truth about 'Scientific’, 2016) There should be an exemption that also has regulation in order to protect the whale population. Each nation is setting their own standards of how many they can hunt, and if the rest of the world is concerned with their practices, then coming to a compromise should be something to visualize for the future. Since Norway and Japan are not cooperation in stopping the hunting of whales, a compromise should be reached. Not only for the sake of the whales, but