Persuasion Against Whale Hunting
Save Our Whales: End Whale Hunting
April 7, 2011
Save our Whales, End Whale Hunting
Whales, often called “the Ocean’s gentle giant” are one of the biggest species/mammals that spend their entire life in the ocean. The smallest known whale is the “Minke” which, by adulthood is only 8.5 feet long; the largest known whale is the “Blue whale”, which measures 94.5 feet long. Since the ancient times, people have written about encounters with this mammal. Ancient Roman and Greek artists inspired by the dolphin’s apparent intelligence and kindness to humans began to adopt dolphin motifs on vases, coins, mosaics, sculptures, and paintings. Even Arstotle (384 – 322 bc) spoke about a variety of different whales and identified them as mammals (Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, & Gill, 1998). Whale hunting can be traced back 1,000 years. Many communities consisted of hunt whalers. These hunters would kill one whale, which would feed the entire population over the course of winter. Every part of the whale would be used: fat for oil, bones for furniture and tools, skin for shoelaces, and the blood was used as fertilizer. For centuries, whales were used as a source of food, never over hunted, whales continued to thrive in the oceans, until the mid-nineteenth century when Svend Foyn invented the “explosive harpoon” which started the whaling industry (as we know it now). It is said (Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, & Gill, 1998), “that he is responsible for the deaths of more whales than anyone in the business” (page 38). What was once a mammal used to feed a group of people (during the winter months), has now become a mammal that is considered nothing more than a commodity. This paper will discuss the intelligence of whales, commercial whale hunting practices, and why whale hunting (whether commercial, or under the pretense: scientific research) needs to end.
The Intelligence of Whales Studies conducted on captures whales show that they can learn human
April 7, 2011
Save our Whales, End Whale Hunting
Whales, often called “the Ocean’s gentle giant” are one of the biggest species/mammals that spend their entire life in the ocean. The smallest known whale is the “Minke” which, by adulthood is only 8.5 feet long; the largest known whale is the “Blue whale”, which measures 94.5 feet long. Since the ancient times, people have written about encounters with this mammal. Ancient Roman and Greek artists inspired by the dolphin’s apparent intelligence and kindness to humans began to adopt dolphin motifs on vases, coins, mosaics, sculptures, and paintings. Even Arstotle (384 – 322 bc) spoke about a variety of different whales and identified them as mammals (Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, & Gill, 1998). Whale hunting can be traced back 1,000 years. Many communities consisted of hunt whalers. These hunters would kill one whale, which would feed the entire population over the course of winter. Every part of the whale would be used: fat for oil, bones for furniture and tools, skin for shoelaces, and the blood was used as fertilizer. For centuries, whales were used as a source of food, never over hunted, whales continued to thrive in the oceans, until the mid-nineteenth century when Svend Foyn invented the “explosive harpoon” which started the whaling industry (as we know it now). It is said (Carwardine, Hoyt, Fordyce, & Gill, 1998), “that he is responsible for the deaths of more whales than anyone in the business” (page 38). What was once a mammal used to feed a group of people (during the winter months), has now become a mammal that is considered nothing more than a commodity. This paper will discuss the intelligence of whales, commercial whale hunting practices, and why whale hunting (whether commercial, or under the pretense: scientific research) needs to end.
The Intelligence of Whales Studies conducted on captures whales show that they can learn human
References: Gill, P. (2010). Green Giants. Retrieved from http://news.discovery.com/animals/whale-waste-slideshow.html Hoel, Alf H. (1993). Regionalization of international whale management: the case of the North Atlantic Marine Mammals Commission CBCA Complete. (Document ID: 450766051). International Whaling Commission (IWC) (2010). Whale Information. Retrieved from http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/catches.htm NAMMCO. (1995). Status of Marine Mammals in the North Atlantic: The Minke Whale. Milius, S.(2004). Whale Hunt. Science News, 1/3/2004, Vol. 165 Issue 1, p3-4 Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?sid=baa8ad07-61a3-4109-be19