The Japanese whaling fleet sails across the Arctic Ocean, hunting whales. Whaling has been an issue dating back from 1963 when the Soviet Union was hunting the Gray Whale stock; but whaling has been in society for many centuries and have developed a culture. Critics may argue that if whaling is stopped, the whaling countries’ cultures would be destroyed. However, there should be regulations for the Japanese to only be able to hunt a small amount of whales until threatened species are able to replenish. As Japanese non-regulated whaling fuels whale stocks decline , and the Japanese’s claim of “hunting for research” is completely false and deceived the public. To support this claim, the Japanese are hunting whale stocks because of their “fearful …show more content…
As the article, “The Whale Wars Continued” states, “Hardly anyone even knew about Japan’s illegal slaughter in the Southern Ocean. It was out of sight and out of mind. They were targeting 1,035 whales a year including a yearly quota of 50 endangered Humpbacks and 50 endangered Fin whales,” (Watson 3). This illustrates how the Japanese whaling fleets were hunting in secret, and harpooning endangered whales. The article, “Deep fears drive Japanese whaling” states, “...whaling is driven by fear – a fear of hardship and hunger that lurk deep in the national psyche. It is the same fear for the future that drove the people of this small, crowded, resource-poor island chain to seize mineral and energy rich Manchuria in the 1930s and to fight to the death for a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in the 1940s,” (Watson 4) This illustrates how the Japanese are hunting mass amounts of whales in …show more content…
For example, the article, “Truth Takes the Witness Stand: Whaling on Trial” states, “...while he was on the ship, members of ICR, The Institute of Cetacean Research, took onomi, or tail meat, for themselves while claiming it was for research. According to the whistle blower, crew members did not like the officials taking such valuable cuts, as they were there to do their lethal research, not private business,”(Kole 2). This shows how the whaling company was taking tail meat, a very valuable part of the whale, and was claiming it “for research.” Also, this shows how the crew was not working for “science” but taking it for their own needs. From the same article, it states, “whale meat production staff, and ICR employees on board may be aware of details described above, but a survey done by Greenpeace Japan in 2006 revealed the public does not: 77% of people surveyed were against Japan whaling outside of Japan Rsquo seas; 95% did not eat whale meat; 92% did not know that whalers also caught endangered species like humpback whales,” (Kole 5). This is important because it shows that the crew of the Nisshin Maru, the largest ship of the whaling fleet, knew about the killing of threatened and endangered whales such as the Humpback. More importantly, the majority of the Japanese public did not know
The most effective piece of this documentary, however, was neither the structure of the film nor the specific questions that one is forced to answer regarding the ethical treatment of these killer whales, but the overall questions of whether or not these corporations should be allowed to continue their cycle of abuse toward the animals and whether or not we, as patrons, should encourage their behavior by giving them a monetary profit every day, every month, and every year. Ignorance is forgivable, but with the knowledge given in this documentary: the final two questions raised should be able to answer themselves.
“Whales provide us with the food for our bodies, bones for our tools and implements and spirits for our souls.” “We haven’t hunted the whale for 70 years but have hunted them in our hearts and in our minds.” “Whales are a central focus of our culture today as they have been from the beginning of time.”
"Hey mom!" "Yes, my dear?" "It's starting to look like that Orca wants to drown its trainer." "Oh no sweetie. It's just your imagination." But what if it's not?
An English naturalist Charles Darwin (1802-1882) developed a theory of biological evolution. He studied variation in plants and animals during his five years’ voyage around the world in the 19th century. Darwin studied hundreds of species, which he researches variations between locations. His theory states that all species of organism arise and develop through natural selection. Natural selection is the process of organisms that adapt to their surrounding environment, which tend to survive and produce more offspring. Killer whales are remarked to have evolutionary links from land dwelling organisms, millions of years ago. This paper will display the evolution and natural selection of the killer whale.
Whales living in captivity become aggravated and have been known to take out anger on themselves by self harming. In the pools they live in, metal bars are placed in between the pools to prevent the killer whales from swimming to another pool. On several occurrences, the whales have attempted to bite and break the metal bars. This leaves the whales with broken teeth and a risk of infection. Infections in killer whales can lead to death in many cases. If a whale gets an infection, they have to be taken out of the pool and placed into another pool by themselves to prevent any problems with other killer whales they live with. In many cases, whales with infections need serious care from whale specialists.
The Makah’s seemingly domestic issue of whaling has and is taking on a larger international problem. The United States plays a large part in policing the hunting of whales, one of the most recent examples being the U.S.’s ...
After watching Blackfish, if you could only take one thing from the film it should have been that orcas are being kept in captivity under cruel conditions for the sole purpose of their investments and profits off of them. The film starts off with a 911-phone call as the person on the phone explains what is happening. We hear two different calls, one call about a trainer being in the water when they are not supposed to and another call about a whale eating a trainer. At 00:35, the first call has a woman on the line saying, “We actually have a trainer in the water with one of our whales-the whale that they’re not supposed to be in the water
The latest animal rights issue to hit the public is a whale of a controversy. For decades, the public has enjoyed visiting SeaWorld and taking in mesmerizing displays of aquatic performance by orcas, the largest species of dolphins, and their trainers. Recent events have stirred up a media uproar over the safety of these creatures and their trainers. Much of what the public knows about the maltreatment of these creatures comes from a documentary released in 2013 called “Blackfish”. The breeding and captivity of killer whales for entertainment purposes poses a threat not only to the whales, but also the trainers who interact with them.
Orca whales do not like to be taken from their family, held captive for many decades and put with other whales that they do not know. No other living organism on this planet would like to be put through the same thing. Orca whales are highly social animals, they are very intelligent, and are very emotional. If they are kept away from other whales, fed intermittently and received little attention from staff makes them get very emotional and can lead to death of people and the whales. Orca whales should not be held captive; they are beautiful creatures that are not great for people’s amusement and if they are treated poorly, they will act poorly.
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.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society "The Makah Whale Hunt" 02 Online. Internet 3 Febuary 2003. Available www:seashepherd.org/media_info/asp.
The quest to gain international agreement on ethical and legal norms for regulation of whaling has had a long and troubled history. The modern phase of global concern over whaling ethics and conservationist management originated in 1946, when the International Convention on Regulation of Whaling was signed. Thus the International Whaling Commission was created. The International Whaling Commission was designed to control and mandate the whaling industry. From it’s beginning as simply a whalers club with scientific guidance, to the current day conservationist body; the IWC has undergone many revisions and transformations since the start. In 1982 the IWC voted to implement a “pause” on commercial whaling (which is still in effect today). Which major whaling nations, Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union (later replaced by Russia) lodged formal objections, due to the fact that the moratorium was not based on advice from the Scientific Committee. One major disappointment of this regulation was due the fact that the moratorium only applies to commercial whaling. Thus, whaling under scientific-research and aboriginal-subsistence is still allowed. Japan and other countries have continued their hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary under the “scientific research” loophole. However, environmental activist groups openly dispute the claims and continue their rally to end the whaling industry for good.
Overfishing is a harmful practice, that will eventually lead to the collapse of aquatic ecosystems, if it’s not dealt with promptly. Overfishing emerges from the combination of our over consumptive society mixed with the great profits that come from hauling in a good catch. The consumers demand for fish in Japan seems to be at an increasingly high rate due to the enjoyment and cultural values that arise from sushi and other traditional dishes involving seafood. Approximately 23 percent of Japan’s protein intake comes from the ocean, and as a nation consumes 7.5 million tonnes of seafood annually. CITATION
For almost 400 years, whales have been chased to near extinction. Vessels have travelled the globe to find and extract precious oil and gather whale meat to eat. This has resulted in over 10,000 whales being executed since the moratorium in 1986. A moratorium is a delay or suspension of an activity or a law and in this case a suspension of whaling. Also a ...
Riley, M. J., A. Harman., and R. G. Rees. 2009. Evidence of continued hunting of whale sharks Rhincodon typus in the Maldives. Environ. Biol. Fish. 86:371-374. (DOI:10.1007/s10641-009-9541-0).