Whaling | Teen Ink

Whaling

January 17, 2012
By Maddie Schefsky BRONZE, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Maddie Schefsky BRONZE, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Why would someone want to slaughter whales for profit? Whaling is a horrible, inhumane business. Imagine a large, majestic whale swimming peacefully in the ocean when a big, dirty boat with the word ‘RESEARCH’ plastered on the side of it comes and brutally kills it. Whaling needs to stop ASAP.
Some people may argue that whales should be treated just like any other animal by being used for food and other products. Here is the weakness in their argument: The difference between a whale and, for example, a cow, is that whales have large brains, ones that are much more complex then humans. This fact is why whales feel pain and suffering at even higher levels of intensity. Also, whales have families and mate for life. So in those last seconds of a whales’ life, they understand that they are going to die.
Critics may also say that the number of whales today is healthy, so hunting them will not adversely affect their survival. This is not true, as it is impossible to be certain about the whale population; the number of whales is most defiantly lower then what the whalers suggest. In fact, scientists have found that the Right Whale is endangered, numbering around 300-350 in the Atlantic Ocean as we speak. Also, in the early eighties, many species of whales were dangerously close to extinction. History could easily repeat itself if we lift the ban on whaling.
Another reason that some people might argue is that whales are an important part of the Japanese culture. This is wrong; around 70% of modern Japanese people would never eat whale knowingly. Also, whales contain a dangerous amount of mercury, enough to make a human sick. The whalers know this, but still whale meat is being fed to children in schools without them or their parents knowing.
The final reason critics may say is that whales damage the fish population, which a lot of people depend on for protein. Actually, the decline in the fish population is because of overfishing by man; whales eat plankton, not fish.
What we need to do about this is join together and penalize the Japanese whalers, catching them in the act and sending them to jail where they belong. This is so important; we need to stop this inhumane business. It is possible; we just need your help.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,
Madeline W.

The author's comments:
This topic is very important to me, and it must stop.

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