1. Do you agree with the Norwegian and Japanese position on permitting the hunting of non-endangered species of whales as a cultural exemption?
I believe that for countries in which whaling is required to sustain the livelihood of the local markets, exceptions should be made for minimally adequate commercial whaling, supporting any efforts toward the goal of identifying, designing and implementing an alternate source of revenue. That is to say: for those communities which are widely dependent upon this enterprise and for whom their cultures would drastically suffer economically, an exception should be made for a specified number of non-endangered whales per year and efforts should be made to identify ways to significantly reduce or even eliminate the practice.
My belief that economically-driven exceptions should be made, however, is in no way based on a belief that cultural history should be considered a valid exemption. The common argument is that they are not hunting endangered species and therefore are not causing harm to the environment. However, as large whales grow very slowly and reproduce infrequently (Whale and Dolphin Conservation , 2014), it is easy to see how longstanding and unfettered whaling could quickly diminish the population and negatively impact overall marine life. In general, if a practice has impacts outside of the culture, then it is incumbent upon that culture to take into consideration all impacted regions.
To approach this issue from the
“ The story of the whale is so remarkable, that were there not so many witnesses, I would not venture to tell it, lest I be accused of exaggeration.”
The debate surrounding Makah whaling is a heated one to say the least. There are valid points on both sides of the argument, but there is one side I find to be more valid once the facts have been looked at. I will examine and present my findings regarding past and current laws and regulations related to whaling, types of whaling, other countries that take an active part in whaling (and why), as well as the Makah culture – both past and present. In this paper I will argue why the Makah should not be allowed to resume whaling, as it is unnecessary and could potentially put the grey whale species back on the endangered list.
I believe that the Makah Indians should be granted the wavier to continue to hunt whales. Particularly, since the U.S Government signed the Neah Bay Treaty in 1855 with the Makah people, stating that it was OK for the Makah Indians to continue to hunt for fish, seals, whales, in exchange for 500 acre of their ancestral land. I feel it is only fair for the U.S government to keep their word and continue to let them hunt. In addition, the Gray Whale population has risen tremendously since 1926 and hunting 5 whales per year will not cause anymore damage. It is also very apparent that the Makah people care about the whales and don't view them as just an animal to kill because they volunteered to momentarily end their whale hunting in order to save the species when the whale species nearly went extinct. In conclusion, no part of the whale is wasted, the Makah people find uses for all parts of the whale.
Orcas are complex social creatures deserving freedom and respect, not captivity in theme parks under the guise of public education and entertainment. Aquarium staffs say captive whales are priceless educational tools. However, people can educate their children by bringing them to the wild instead of bringing the wild to them at the expense of the Orcas health and well-being. "The price of a family admission ticket is what continues to drive this cruel spectacle," according to Michael O' Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Humane Society of Canada (Whales in Captivity, 2010, Para. 3). Orcas suffer in many ways in
When you are the one seeing the whale perform tricks its fun to watch but when the whale doesn't do the trick right it's punished. According to Blackfish when a whale did not perform a trick like the trainers wanted they would not be fed (Cowperthwaite). The opposition may also believe that keeping them in captivity also helps to learn about the whales but they are wrong because we've learned worse things about the whales than good. In the documentary Blackfish when a baby whale was taken from the mom the whale made sounds no one else heard before. These sounds were caused by SeaWorld taking away its child. Marine biologist have also found out that the bent dorsal Finn means its unhealthy (Cowperthwaite). Keeping whales in captivity has told us many things but none are
The parties involved in this matter are the members of the tribe, both for and against the decision, the whales, the environmentalists, the courts that will settle the lawsuits and future generations that might be affected by any decision in regards to the impact on the whales sustainability. The decision at stake here is whether it is moral to revoke the ban and recent tradition,
Did you know that roughly three million whales were slaughtered in the twentieth century alone? Or that there are only around four hundred North Atlantic right whales alive today because they never fully recovered from being hunted? These whales are known as “right” whales because they are large and slow, with thick blubber that yields lots of oil plus they remain afloat after they've been killed, this simplifies the whole hunting process for everyone . Furthermore, the hunters got more money for less work. I believe that whaling is a vile and pointless thing to do to such beautiful creatures and that the International Whaling Commission should look further into the use of whales for research.
A committee from an organization such as the WTO may be a good starting point for deciding who should participate in the negotiations for promoting the whale ban. Because an issue this complex and involved needs to have negotiations on who will be participating in the negotiations. The villagers are much more limited on the resources they have for such negotiations. It is fortunate that the nations of Norway and Japan appear to be aligned with the villagers so that additional resources are there to promote the values of that culture. And since the impact of the whaling ban is so large on these local cultures, the negotiating parameters should be weighted to their side in some manner to prevent a large number of people with little to lose out-weighing the small number of people who have everything to lose. But keep in mind, these weights cannot be determined without accurate (unbiased) and timely data on the impact to the environment and the
Holding killer whales in captivity is a harmful problem to the mammal that requires action from both the government and the public.
Today, I will talk about the problem of keeping whales in captivity and how to overcome it.
It’s also highly morally and ethically wrong to keep killer whales in captivity because of their intelligence. Killer whales “have the second-largest brains of all ocean mammals, and are believed to be one of the smartest animals on the planet.” (Independent) They are not able to use their intelligence their natural way in captivity. Whales in the wild “build complex family lives as well as sophisticated hunting techniques” (Independent) but captive whales are suppressed
First, they should not be in captivity because they will be used to the little container they are kept in. They will forget how to survive. It would be too late for them to be let out into the wild. People that capture the whales don’t even care about the whales! They only care what will benefit them: money. That is another reason why it is not fair to the whales.
Commercial whaling is a serious world issue that has always been difficult for those who are in support and those who are against it. Each group defends their side with convincing arguments. Morally, whaling is wrong, but do the reasons for whaling outweigh the reasons to cease the primitive hunts? By studying the effects of whaling,realizing how culture has changed over time, and taking note of the money that would be saved, it can clearly be seen that there is no longer a current need for whaling to continue. Efforts have been made to try to stop whaling, but with no help from any authoritative figure,nothing has been done to regulate the whaling. The famous sea shepherd, known for its strikes against whaling, can even be seen on
Whaling has become a global environmental issue as vast numbers of whales are killed commercially and scientifically every year. Intense debate on the necessity of whaling has been stirred but failed to be resolved due to the lacking of pragmatic measures employed by the responsible parties. Whaling nations continue to defend their whaling right for cultural and research purposes. Yet, ethical and humanity issues are among the controversial disputes raised by concerned public. In February 2010, International Whaling Commission (IWC) proposed a plan of lifting whaling ban by limiting scientific whaling activities with the intention of reducing overall number of whales killed besides solving the current impasse between pro
Countries such as Norway, Iceland and Japan declared an objection to the moratorium (1982). By declaring an objection to the moratorium the countries are allowed to practice commercial whaling under their own regulation, while abiding to the rules of the International Convention established by the IWC (IWC). However, in the midst of the objection, Greenpeace activists came across one of the first provable cases of corruption that highlighted Japan as a suspect. In 2010 two of Greenpeace’s activists known as “The Tokyo Two” exposed Japan’s “scientific” whaling program by uncovering a whale-meat scandal.