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The consequences of whaling
The consequences of whaling
The consequences of whaling
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There are many reasons why whaling is hazardous to the ocean’s ecosystem. The idea of killing mammals for profit has the same consequences as trophy hunting for animals in Africa. It portrays a negative example for humans . In addition, shipping the meat to other countries for greedy companies is disgraceful. Many popular scientific websites such as National Geographic say that “ they are slaughtered for commercial gain.” However, scientific evidence has already proved that is still not profitable. According to a recent national article, one man named Kristjan Loftson does it purely out of tradition for a big propaganda agenda ( National Geographic, 01,16, page ). People claim this is done for science. However, after another global ban, experts are saying it is done purely for money and cruelty. According to a major campaigner, “the International Fund for Animal Welfare” went as far as doing DNA tests to see what was responsible for recent whale beachings. Due to these facts, Japan’s own Ministry of Agriculture is stepping up. They have plans to file proposals for recent research along with the government ( IFAW, n.d. Parah 5). Have the facts finally persuaded like Japan and Iceland to cut back? Ignorance and greed are a big part of the blame for the diminishing …show more content…
When the whales are are shot with harpoons, they actually blow up inside the body of the whale. They do not die a sudden death. In fact, it may take several hours for the whale to die from the harpoons, causing pain and suffering. Whales are very intelligent animals. There have been many reports of the whale fighting back at ships and sinking them. However, despite these claims support for it still exists. Many argue that the eastern side of the world’s diet consists mainly of seafood. To those countries, ceasing whaling would be like Americans not being able to eat beef and
"Imagine if the world you lived in, the space you breathed in, and the freedom you played in were suddenly taken away from you." (Free Willy)
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...
Imagine seeing a majestic killer whale floating at the bottom of its pool—depressed. Tapping on the glass does not stir this gigantic, friendly beast. Every once in a while she will make whistling and calling noises. This killer whale, named Katina, and her infant killer whale were taken away from her (Kirby 43). Katina was separated from her new calf because the calf was acting out during shows.
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.
I think that killer whale shows should be banned because killer whales can protect themselves in the wild,they can lose natural abilities to hunt and feed themselves, and that killer whale shows can ruin the population of killer whales. My first reason is that, that killer whales could protect themselves in the wild because from a website called “animals.mom.me,” it said that “Orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years-their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 years for females. The average age of death for orcas that have lived in seaworld is 13 years old.” So this shows that if you do not capture orcas (killer whales), they will have a longer life span because they can protect themselves in the wild and can survive much longer than 13 years in an aquarium.
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.
Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually the largest type of dolphin. They have long black bodies with distinct white patches near their eyes. A killer whale can be up to 32 feet or more in length, and weigh up to 12,000 pounds. Females are a bit smaller, but live longer (Gorman). The name “killer whale” apparently came not because it is a vicious whale, but because it preys on whales. They do not have any natural predators, and they are considered the “top dog” of the ocean. Not even the great white shark stands a chance against these superb killers. “Unlike sharks, killer whales are cautious hunters, sometimes spending hours harassing a 1,000-pound sea lion so it can easily be drowned” (Francis). Orcas use many hunting tactics that are unique to their species, which is what makes them invincible.
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.
Their dorsal fin is extremely long, tampered and pointed in a triangular shape or rounded and curved towards the end. The skull is oval shaped and the beak is extremely short and rounded at the end. The killer whale’s jaw is powerful with teeth that are able to tear apart flesh of their prey. They can withstand the jolting, wiggling and hurtling movements of prey that are trying to escape. The killer whale is born with a single blow hole instead of two. Their flippers are paddle shaped with rounded ends and flukes are tapered back and pointed at the end resembling to a triangle/pyramid
Whaling is one of the biggest problems for the Humpback whale population. Because of whaling the Humpback whale population has decreased dramatically to 125.000. Whaling became popular in the 17th century, this led to a dramatic decrease. To stop the decreasing a whaling ban was codified in 1966.
In Japan, although the government appears to operate under international law, it is often found to use the "scientific research" loophole. This includes whaling in Antarctica. There are also government subsidies in place to promote this "scientific research". I understand a little about subsidies, in America we have subsidies on milk so prices are kept low enough for people with low incomes to buy milk. I am starting to see why the anti-whale people are a bit put out by Japan. If this is so important to their culture, why does this industry need subsidies to survive?
Jerry Adler in the article, Why Killer Whales Belong In The Ocean Not Seaworld suggests that seaworld trainers needs to let the whales stay in the ocean where they belong, and don't mess with them at all, because if you bring them to seaworld they are just going to want to get to know you then after a while they may kill you.
The first step of killing the whale is finding the place where they mostly hide out. Next they look for bubbles because the whales slowy start to come up to breath air they leave bubble patches called a fluke print. Then they throw a net over to trap a few whales then pick the two largest ones and spear them. The spear is more like a gun. It shoots out of an canon like object and when it hits the whale the tip of the spear opens like a flower. This makes so it latches onto the insides of the whales making sure it will not let loose and let the whale go. Finally the release the net and let the other whales go. Lastly they bring the two they speared whales and tie them by the fins to the side of the boat. When they get to the dock they let them sit out of the water till they finally die. The last step of the process is they then cut them open and people have to jump in the hole they cut on the top and fill the pails with fat and
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 ...
Fin whale is not a commonly seen whale. It is a rare species and said to be on the target of hunters according to a report of international whaling commission (IWC). Fin whale is hunted at a large number during last century. The specie is largely hunted by illegal ways which has resulted in its genocide to a great number. In 1906, it was reported to be 752000 fin whales in the region but now only 32,000 of them are really left! This is the result of unfair hunting and genocide of this rare whale type.