WHALING MUST COME TO AN END

          Whale hunting is the practice of hunting whales for their meat, oil and various body
parts. The practice of hunting whales has existed for more than 5,000 years. Industries use the whale body parts to make a variety of goods such as transmission oil, candle wax,

cooking margarine, and jewelry. There are pros and cons of whale hunting, however, we believe that the practice is cruel, immoral and unacceptable. There is no humane way to kill a whale at sea. Whaling has also caused the world many problems, like damage to ecosystems, human health, and several short term and long term effects. Although commercial whaling was banned in 1986, many places like Japan, Norway, and Iceland still hunt whales using an inhumane method.

          Some species of whales that were affected by whale hunting are the Fin whale, the Minke whale, the Antarctic minke whale, the Bryde's whale, the Sei whale, the Sperm

whale, the Humpback whale, the Northern bottlenose whale, the Long finned pilot whale, the

Short finned pilot whale, the Baird's beaked whale, the Bowhead whale, and the Gray whale. Whales play an important role in the food chain, where they eat other species which stabilize food distribution, ensuring that certain animal species do not overpopulate the ocean. This is like a domino effect; when one species of animal that is important to the food chain dies, it allows other species to thrive. The nutrients contained within whale’s poop also help stimulate the growth of phytoplankton which are organisms that pull carbon from the air, providing a cleaner and healthier atmosphere for all plant and animal life to breath in.

          There are so many reasons to not kill whales. First of all, whale meat is bad for people’s health. The meat contains toxins, which affects human’s reproductive system.

Secondly, whaling is cruel and barbaric. Whales do suffer like we do. It takes around 10 to 35 minutes for a whale to die. They would suffer extreme and prolonged pain before they've finally bled to death. Hunters usually wait for a whale to come up for air, and then harpoon it. The harpoon can sometimes have grenades inside the tips, so that it will explode inside the whale's body. The body is then pulled close to the boat and shot several times with a rifle. It is even butchered alive sometimes.

          Whale hunting is an action that has to be stopped completely. The large amount of slaughter of whales is unnecessary and cruel. Whaling has negatively affected the ecosystems and human health, resulting in several short term and long term effects. Think about it. Whales do have feelings and emotions like us, but they could feel all the pain. How would we like it if the situations were reversed? Organizations should spread the awareness to stop the action of whale hunting.                             

  

Check out the video on why whaling should be stopped: