Anti Whaling - Why shouldn't we hunt whales?

[Spagblog]

I am trying to write a balanced report on whaling and from surfing the internet I have found lots of arguments to why countries should be entitled to hunt whales. However, I can't find any good arguments against whaling, apart from...Because they are intelligent...because the methods used to kill them are barbaric.

Anyone have any other reasons why all whales should be protected?

I ought to point out that I am on the whale's side!

haven't you seen Star Trek 3?

lol suzy

Wouldn't the greenpeace website be a good starting point for an anti-whaling perspective?

I thought that some of the more hunted whales were getting close to the minimum numbers needed to sustain the species? Isn't it the Minki ones that are really low on numbers?

and here too

Link below is good. For me, because they are an endangered species and because the method of death is very cruel - it's not a swift death after stunning. They are wild animals, not farmed animals bred for food.

Yes, now SW..Saying that if we kill the whales then the planet will be attacked by a whale like space alien might not get me the distinction that I need!

lol

have seen that link Marina, thanks. I'm just stuck. I have 5 for whaling arguments, and only 2 anti whaling ones. I want a balance. Think think think...hmmmm.

There are no products from a whale that cannot be satisfactorily replaced by something else (I think the development of Jojoba oil helped with this?).
Slow reproduction rate plus slow growth means that numbers are hit very badly if they are hunted.
Whaling 'quotas' were set to reflect whale stocks in 'normal' seas. In fact, whales are also dying / not reproducing healthily due to pollution and other environmental factors - so the figures have been calculated wrongly.
They are close to extinction. They are beautiful, maginificent intelligent mammals that capture our imaginations. As they say in tesco - once it's gone, it's gone. Either we care about that - or we don't, I suppose.

Do you know, that's the only Star Trek movie I have ever seen, William Shatner's industrial corset also sticks in a fearful part of my mind.