Whaling: A Cruel Fate for These Creatures of Nature

Whaling: A Cruel Fate for These Creatures of Nature

            Japan kills almost 1,000 whales a year in the name of “scientific research” (McCurry).  There were 935 mink whales and about 50 fin whales that were slaughtered for whaling, or as they say, scientific research (McCurry).  The economy is really hurting due to this environmental issue.  There are even laws against killing all whale species for commercial whaling.  Not to mention the animal cruelty in this inhumane process.  Killing whales for all purposes, which still occurs in counties today such as Japan, should be illegal everywhere on the planet Earth because it is hurting the economy, it is against the laws to commercially hunt whales, and it is inhumane to the whales.

            The economy is seriously hurting due to the hunting and killing of the whales.  For example, Japan is spending $30 million a year sending out the harpoon ships to kill the whales. “Japan annually spends $30 million subsidizing whaling” (Zelko).  They annually gain $20 million dollars from whale watching, so if they stopped whaling, they would be gaining about $20 million dollars a year (Zelko).  Some may ask where all the whale meat goes, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, there are plans to ship 2,400 tons of whale meat this year to school programs, for children to eat (Zelko). Some of those children don’t even know they are eating whale meat.  The whaling industry employs fewer than 1,000 people, so if they were to be shut down permanently, not a lot more of the population would be now unemployed (Zelko).

            The law against whaling states that commercial whaling is illegal, but only for scientific research can whales be killed (Galbraith). The ban on whaling was originally supposed to be temporary (Commercial Whaling).  Since this law was passed, Japan thinks they have a loop hole to killing and harvesting these whales.  Some of the countries that use this loop hole are Japan, Iceland, Norway, etc. (Galbraith). There are some parts of the world that whaling is still very much intact into the culture.  “In some parts of the world, whaling remains very much alive, despite a world moratorium on commercial whaling” (Galbraith).  These are the places that use whales as their main source of food. When those places kill the whales, they are doing it as a means of survival, and do it much more humanly than just shooting them with a harpoon from a mounted gun and a whaling ship.

               Speaking of doing things more humanly, the Japanese fleet kills about 1,000 whales a year in the name of scientific research (McCurry).  Bill Campbell told journalists: “You don’t kill 935 whales in a year to conduct scientific research. You don’t even need to kill one whale to conduct scientific research.”(McCurry).  Slaughtering whales for “research” should not be happening. Even though other countries slaughter whales for scientific research, in most situations it literally means slaughter, some of them do actually use scientific investigation. The United States has been anti-whaling for a long time.  Ever since the movie “Free Wily”, people have had a much stronger and harsher opinion towards commercial whaling (Zelko).  On commercial whaling boats, they shoot the whale with a harpoon but not by sheer force with the hand, but with a gun that is mounted on top of the bow, front, of the ship. Once the whale is hit, they open a hatch on the stern, back, of the boat and drag the whale up the hatch to then properly kill the whale, if it hasn’t died of blood loss yet (Galbraith).

               Some critics aren’t as opposed to the idea of slaughtering whales for their meat as some, like people who are directors of whaling fleets.  In Japan, their consumption of whale meat has gone down in recent years so the economy of whaling has gone down (Barns).    Most people don’t like the idea of whaling but some think that the way the Sea Shepard’s use tactics to stop the whaling is wrong (Barns). Those people are the ones who are against violence.  “It is extraordinary that more Australians do not pressure Sea Shepherd to end its rouge acts” (Barns).  Even though that is some of their reasoning to continue with the whaling, people have hunted whales for centuries as a means of survival, in some parts of the world, which was the only reason life was sustainable (Zelko). 

               There are some solutions to the whaling problems that are both realistic and non-realistic. Some of the easiest realistic ways are to educate the young people (Barns).  “International education and marketing can help to steer the Japanese consumer away from whale meat” (Barns).  Besides education, there is a more violent way that the Sea Shepherds use. The Sea Sheppard could even continue their way of trying to stop the Japanese, honestly, a lot of people would prefer if they continued in a non- violent way (Barns).  That is the thought of a lot of people, they want something to happen but aren’t willing to use radical methods to stop the slaughter of whales (Barns).

               Whaling should be banned for good, even for scientific research.  The economy would be better off for everyone.  The laws against whaling will not be broken, not even for a technicality. Our environment will be more stable with a higher whale population.  When the whaling population is stable, and no longer threatened, the food chain will be stable. If we cannot have a stable food chain, then what can we have?

Works Cited

Barns, Greg. “Solutions Lost in Spray.” Mercury (Hobart Town): p. 14. Nov 12 2012. SIRS Issue             Researcher. Web 17. Sep. 2013 http://sks.sirs.com

“Commercial Whaling.” Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts            On Files News Services, 13 Nov. 2009. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.      http://.2facts.com/articles/i1400620.

Galbraith, Kate. “New Push To Abolish Whale Hunts.” International Herald Tribune: p.18. Apr               04 2013. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Sep. 2013 http://sks.sirs.com.

McCurry, Justin. “License Revoked? Australia Takes Japan to Court to Stop Whaling Hunts.”   Christian Science Monitor: n.p. Jun 28 2013. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Sep.   2013 http://sks.sirs.com.

Zelko, Frank. “Whale of a Problem.” Los Angeles Times: p. A.13. Jul 23 2013. SIRS Issues     Researcher. Web. 12 Sep. 2013http://sks.sirs.com.