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.
Eighteen years after starting scientific whaling in Antarctic waters, Japan presented a new program to the International Whaling Commission at the annual meeting in 2011. The proposal laid out Japan’s wishes to expand its annual catch of Antarctic minke whales from about 440 to 935, and expand lethal sampling to include an additiona...
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...d the economic, ethical, and practical aspects of international regulation. Different views of ecology, culture, and legitimacy as they pertain to a valued resource and its exploitation for human purposes. While it is safe to say one must preserve the historical and cultural value of whaling nations and nations around the world, it can also be said of animals. While many nations continue to cling to their cultural ancestry background of whaling and the right for scientific research, it is proven that such human endeavors must be carefully and faithfully regulated. Commercial whaling has essentially seized to exist in the clear claims of such, but Japan and other nations are ever so slightly getting closer to that boundary. “We should remember in our dealings with animals that they are a sacred trust to us…[They] cannot speak for themselves” (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
Suppose you were kidnapped from your family as a child by an alien species while your family watched in despair, crying out helplessly for your kidnappers to not rip you away from them. Now imagine then being strapped down and transported to a place unknown and once you arrive, you see that some of the other children that were also kidnapped have died. You then witness something that will forever remain engraved into your mind; you witness those monsters that took you hostage cut the children open, fill their bodies up with rocks, tie an anchor onto their feet and throw them into the ocean. The monsters then throw you into a tiny cage; you learn that you will not only never see your family again and die in that confinement but you will also work for these monsters and perform as a source of entertainment for them. You spend every night locked away into an even smaller steel cage that gives no freedom of movement at all and aren’t fed if you displease your new masters. Although this sounds like an outline for a horror movie, it is not. It is happening in real life and in our world. It is horrific, not only unethical but inhumane. This depicts the capturing process and life in captivity for public display of Orcinus Orcas, popularly known as Killer Whales since 1961. Although some laws regarding the capturing of whales have changed, whales are still being treated unethically. Just as inhumane as it is for this to be done to humans, it is equally inhumane for it to be done to animals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inhumanity is “the quality or stage of being cruel to other people or to animals” (dictionary.com) and that is what their captivity is...
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.
...s to remove the selfish entertainment from nature and focus instead on its intrinsic value. This in situ approach to conservation of cod, although seemingly surface level transcends the boundaries of economic, cultural, or any of such approximations and places the value on the existence of the species. Another projected solution for the crisis of the overexploitation of fish is the institution of moratoria, which establish that a certain species can no longer be hunted or fished in this context. This in situ attempt at regulating the consumption of cod allows the cod for time to replenish themselves and their populations. Yet, this type of regulation suggests that all humankind must do is step back and let for the problem to take care of itself, and as has been proven several times before stepping back and letting things resolve themselves do not end accordingly
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society "The Makah Whale Hunt" 02 Online. Internet 3 Febuary 2003. Available www:seashepherd.org/media_info/asp.
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.
Captivity is the state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved, according to Wiktionary. Every year, marine parks and aquariums, like SeaWorld, make billions of dollars through ticket sales. SeaWorld estimates about 70% of their total revenue is due to their performing killer whales (Jeffs). People visit from all over the world to encounter killer whales up close. “Their beauty and power, combined with willingness to work with humans, have made them legendary performers” (Gorman). In recent years, humans have gained the ability to tame and train these creatures. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity simply because it is cruel, unnatural, and dangerous.
Bottlenose dolphins became part of a United States Navy program in 1959 for the purpose of conducting scientific research into their sonar and hydrodynamics in hopes of getting design ideas for submarines, ship hulls and weapons. It was discovered dolphins hear and navigate in the water by using their natural sonar, which happened to be more precise than most fabricated sonar systems. In the mid-sixties, Navy dolphins were used as mail carriers to underwater laboratories in their home of San Diego, California.
Everybody has one thing in the world that they feel strongly about. Weather if it is a stuffed animal, person, or a job. We all praise something. I believe that we need to stop whaling. Every day whale after whale die. Why? Just because people want their meat and to make oil and some money. We need to find a way to stop these terrible Pandemic. There has to be another way to make money and oil than killing this marvelous animal. If this was happening to you what would you want to do to stop this?
Countries, fisheries, and consumers all need to share the responsibility for conserving endangered marine life. First, governments should base their policies on scientific factors and should look for better economic incentives to stop fisheries from overfishing. Second, fisheries should use methods that are not so destructive to the fish population. Finally, consumers should avoid buying endangered seafood, even if they have to pay a little more. If these parties recognize that it is worthwhile to conserve marine species, then they must accept this responsibility.
Eubalaena austraits or the Southern Right whales, have been affected by whaling in 19th and 20th century. The results showed that as the size class of Southern Right whales increases, the fertility rate of females gradually increases, up to when the size class is between 15.5 m and 15.9 m. Reason
When I was younger I always wanted to be a trainer at SeaWorld and work with Shamu, but of course I didn’t know how controversial captivity was. As I got older I started researching the issue and came to the realization that Orcas, also known as Killer Whales should not live in captivity. In captivity Orcas are in danger as well as the trainers who work with them. Orcas are the largest of the Dolphin family and are found in all oceans. They range from 23 to 32 feet in length, and can weigh up to 6 tons. They are one of the world’s most powerful predators, and have even been known to prey on whales (Whales.org). These magnificent mammals are born free and should remain in the oceans. It’s easy to understand that people love Killer Whales and want to see them up close, but putting them in tanks for our entertainment is wrong.
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.
Since the dawn of time, man has been fascinated with creatures that live in the sea. Some of the first known records of interaction between man and dolphin date back to Aristotle. It was only a matter of time before man decided he had to capture these creatures to call his own. In 1861, PT Barnum purchased what are believed to be the first cetaceans in captivity: six beluga whales from the St. Lawrence River who were shipped in boxcars filled with seaweed to a museum. The animals all died within two years. But Barnum’s belugas opened the doors to a lucrative business: the capture of cetaceans continued throughout the 1800s until the first oceanarium opened in 1938. While up until the 1960s capture was limited to smaller cetaceans (bottlenose dolphins were popular), in 1965, Ted Griffin, an entrepreneur and aquarium owner, made an unprecedented purchase: a young male killer whale named Namu who had been captured in a fishing net off British Columbia; he was the first successful specimen captured and displayed. His capture and display at the Seattle Marine Aquarium marked the beginning of one of the most controversial animal husbandry practices in history: the practice of keeping large, highly intelligent creatures such as killer whales in captivity for the purposes of entertainment (Man & Marine Mammals). Following a handful of deaths and countless injuries at the hands of captive killer whales, as well as various scientific studies examining the effects of captivity on Orcinus orca, the debate over their captivity for entertainment has been split between those who believe the practice should continue and t...
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 ...
Whaling in Japan and Norway initially stemmed from whales being a natural food resource. “From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s whale meat was the single biggest source of meat in Japan.” (Wingfield-Hayes,