Whale Hunting

[dimpy.handa]

Whales should be treated in the same way as other animals, as a resource to be used for food and other products. No species should be hunted to extinction, but if their numbers are healthy, then there is nothing wrong with hunting whales. Studies of intelligence have been conducted on dolphins, rather than whales, and even these cannot measure intelligence in any useful way. Although people in some western societies view whales as special and therefore in particular need of protection compared to other animals, this view is not widely shared by other societies and to impose it upon others is simply a form of cultural imperialism.

 

[swatiraohnlu]

Under a loophole in the 1986 International Whaling Commission (IWC) ban against commercial whaling, Japan has continued to kill hundreds of whales every year for scientific research. Once a whale is killed, scientists collect data from the animal's remains on its age, birthing rate and diet; the meat is then packaged and sold. Japan maintains that the research is essential for managing the whale population.