Slaughter Industry Analysis

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.

The amount of cetacean bycatch in the fishing industries of the world has decreased incredibly since it was first announced as a problem(NOAA 8). In the 1960’s, there was an estimated number of 500,000 dolphins caught as bycatch per year by fishing industries alone(NOAA 8). There was an act, the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, that was passed in 1972. This act’s main goal was to reduce marine mammal bycatch. This act required that “scientific studies were initiated, observers were placed on fishing boats, fishing gear was inspected,

Do you really know what is in your meat? What about what happens to the meat after it is slaughtered? Fortunately, the conditions have gotten much better throughout the years. But many years ago, in the early 1900s meat consumers bought spoiled and rat infested hams that were produced by the meat industries. Nowadays, the meat industry has improved to a certain extent. Today, about 80% of all U.S. feedlots are injected with hormones (Lerner). Americans should know what they are eating. This is important in the meat industry because they are the producers of all the meat that we eat. The meat industry has improved and is much better than the 1900s, but still not at as ideal as everyone thinks it really is.

In the 1960’s, there was an estimated number of 500,000 dolphins caught as bycatch per year by fishing industries alone(NOAA 8). There was an act, the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, that was passed in 1972. This act’s main goal was to reduce marine mammal bycatch. This act required that “scientific studies were initiated, observers were placed on fishing boats, fishing gear was inspected, and boat captains with high dolphin mortality rates were reviewed(NOAA 8).” The also modified fishing gear in order to reduce how many dolphins were caught. This act was an incredible success, and dolphin bycatch had “declined from about 500,000 to about twenty thousand dolphins per year(NOAA 8).” This shows how much the fishing industries had improved how they fished in order to protect the dolphins. They also made a requirement that all tuna that was caught through dolphin-safe means be labelled(NOAA 9). This allowed consumers to see what they were buying. Therefore, it became in the interest of fishing industries to catch tuna by means other than through dolphins. Today, there are only about three thousand dolphins killed every year through fishing industries(NOAA 10). There is also a clear distinction between tuna that was caught through dolphin-safe means and otherwise. Therefore, the only thing a consumer has to do is to buy

Cetacean bycatch is an ongoing problem in the oceans of the world. Cetaceans are defined as whales, dolphins and porpoises(CBRC 1). Bycatch is “marine mammals that are “captured” but discarded”(Read 2). This happens when fishing industries are fishing for a certain type of marine animal and other marine animals are caught accidentally along with the intended catch. Many times, this leads to the death of the animal that was not meant to be caught, and the animal is tossed back into the ocean. This happens with all kinds of marine life, and it has caused the depletion of many different species. However, this is specifically bad for cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales, because they have such a long lifespan(Brown 2). They also take a very long time to mature(Brown 2). These factors make catching these animals very detrimental to the species as a whole because it takes longer for them to reach an age where they can reproduce(Brown 2). The population of many cetaceans have decreased exponentially. When there is someone watching the nets that cetaceans are accidentally caught in, many times they can be saved. However, there are only select few types of fishing methods that do this, and they are not of the prevalent fishing methods that produce cetacean bycatch. This is a problem because there is a connection between most living animals. If a certain part of the connection is eliminated, it will all fall apart. For example, the relationship between

Are times changing? Records dating back to the 1931-1932 whale-hunting season (ten years before the International Whaling Commission was put in place to protect and stop whaling), 28,325 blue whales were slaughtered. In 1946, the Whaling Commission was formed; however, even with protection, thirty years later (1963-1964) over 29,255 sperms kills were hunted for their meat and other products. Today, even with protection, it is estimated that only 5-10% of the original whale population remains (Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, & Gill, 1998).

Last week, Shawn Archibeque spoke to the class and presented an optimistic perspective of the meat industry. I learned about the meat industry in the past, but this was the first time that I had heard someone defending the meat industry. It was very refreshing to hear about the different perspectives in the meat industry. Listening to Shawn in class and writing this paper, I realized that this is a very controversial topic and that there is no easy solution to feed everyone and limit the damages to the planet. Concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as CAFOs, a large scale & high density animal raising facility with the purpose of obtaining produce (Hribar & Schultz, 2010). Shawn, the guest speaker explained that the toxicity of everything depends on its concentration. If there was a lot of animals contained in a confined space, there would be a chance that the environment would become toxic.

Sadly the whale shark is still hunted in parts of Asia. Whale sharks have been endangered for

As a person who grew admiring the wildlife, the rumor that numerous species of animals are currently experiencing major changes in life can be confirmed by myself. From global warming to over hunting and poaching, these species have strongly been affected by humanity’s increase in food and space as our dominance over the planet continues. One family of animals affected in numbers by man is the Cetaceans, the family of whales and dolphins, who for two centuries have been farmed by man in mass numbers for their sources in a process known as whaling. Whaling is a dangerous process, but in the short run, it is not as important as people tend to believe, not for humans but for the sake of the whales.

Whaling is defined as hunting and killing of whales by humans for resources, mainly meat, blubber and baleen (whalebone) obtained from whales. These resources are then sold for commercial purposes and thus, whaling has become economical important for centuries (Joanne 2007; The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2007). Scientific whaling is conducted by hunting whales for research purposes and further analysis to study on whale’s behaviour, characteristics and distribution (Joanne 2007). Commercial whaling is a controversial whaling practice that exploits whale products for trade and profit. Recently, Japan, Norway and Iceland are the major contributors of commercial whaling and deeply support any other whaling activities (Joanne 2007). Moratorium on commercial whaling 1986 is a global ban of hunting whales for commercial purposes, implemented by International Whaling Commission (IWC). Under Article VIII, unlimited scientific research is permitted but sufficient data and analysis are required by Science Committee set up by IWC (Papastavrou 2006).

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

The meat industry today is not what it was nearly a century ago. While improvements are thought to have been made, an ever changing society has brought upon new problems that have been piled on to the previously existing ones. While these problems are not like those found in The Jungle, they do parallel how by exposing what is going on in the meat industry; new regulations would be the answer to the noted problems. The increased demand for meat has made it a rushed mutated production instead of a means to raise livestock for consumers. Taking into consideration the demand for cheap meat that will be used for in quick and high demanded products such as frozen and fast food, this demand of meat has greatly skyrocketed. Animals whose sole

Every year tens of thousands of marine mammals are killed all over the world, with over twenty thousand small cetaceans killed in Japanese waters alone (Butterworth et al., 2013). These small cetaceans include various species of small whales, many dolphin species and some porpoises. They are killed in various manors, ranging from accidental ship strikes to the more morally controversial yearly drive hunts.

People and dolphins have shared New Zealand’s coastal waters for centuries. In recent years there has been increasing awareness of marine mammals and the threats they face within our coastal environments (Department of Conservation1, n.d.). The Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary was implemented in 1988 as a result of conflict between local and commercial fisherman, and the endangered Hector’s dolphin. Due to increasing concern despite the sanctuary’s set up, the Hector’s and Maui’s Dolphin Threat Management Plan was drafted in 2007 to place further restrictions on fishing practices within the area. The formation of the sanctuary has created a safer habitat for the local dolphin population, but in the process has negatively affected the livelihoods of many local fishermen within the region.

The usage claims by Norway and Japan need to be balanced. This process is however one that needs to be dealt with caution. Negotiations and coercion is a key factor. The international community must not apply pressure. In fact, if Japan and Norway are hell-bent on depleting the entire whales in their regions, the international