Whales are not fish. They're mammals like us. They have lungs and breathe air; their young are born live and are nourished with milk. Whales even have skeletal fingers inside their fins. These colossal and majestic creatures of the deep have existed for millions of years and their mysterious songs have entranced people from different parts of the world.Yet some countries continue to hunt these creatures to extinction. This must seem remote and uninteresting to us living in Dubai - but the whole point of getting an education is to be aware of the world we live in.
Humans are omnivorous: we eat fruit, vegetables, meat, insects, leaves, seeds, nuts, crustaceans, fish, and fungi. But should there be a limit to our gluttony? Should we allow animals to go extinct to satisfy our appetite? Yes, we need to eat to live - but where do we draw the line? What do you think?
37 comments:
Whaling is, well, bad. Somehow, whaling just doesnt sound the same as fishing. So doesn't killing dolphins and seals. I guess it is probably because they are mammals as well. I mean, it isn't as if we particularly need whales to survive. In places such as the tundra, where whales and seals are one of the only forms of meat, I think their reason to eat them is justified. But it isn't so in our cases, who are in perfect access to a good many other forms of meat which are not in danger of extinction. In short, there should be a limit. We have already reached to a point in some countries where people make jams out of human fetus. Turning into complete savages and canibals-now that's scary!
If their even Close to being 'endangered' thats when we should stop every type of species has a right to live not only whales.The problem is everybody knows there going to become extinct yet the whaling still goes on.There are many animal right groups fighting against this and they are doing alot of work to try and prevent it but i guess its not enough if its still going on.
Its about the same level of guilt as we have with putting monkeys in cages... Sure they may be like us and we may want to take more care of them, but we as a community dont put in enough effort. Education and awareness will help but I doubt anything is going to happen.
Before the economic crisis, with funding from committed people Greenpeace launched their campaign to follow a whaling fleet into the arctic to try and stop them. It was all over the news and they got some good publicity, raising eyebrows and calls for those countries participating to stop.
But now that we're in a crisis, we have bigger things to worry about. And chances are we'll be calling on our governments to put pressure on other governments to stop whaling, but now is not the time to start arguments. As Marwan said I think that when the time comes to whales almost being extinct we might do something about it. But until then there are more worrying things on our agendas.
Of course, there is always a limit to what we can do, and what we cannot do. So, in this case, it is wrong to keep hunting whales, for meat and body parts, etc..., especially after they are extinct. It is stupid to continue to hunt them, as they are extinct, but there are reasons as to why they do it. For example, the black market has increased the price for whale meat, so the whalers retaliate by killing them for the money, which is not an excuse.
Every single animal that goes extinct, has an effect on our environment, one way or another, so why cant we understand this? Its all in the money generated, I mean, according to Wikipedia, you can gain over $500,000, if you are a good merchanter, by capturing an entire whale. $500,000! Its the people who demand for more whale meat that need to stop, so that the whaling will stop.
And I agree, nowadays, the effort contributed into environmental protection has decreased, due to the reasons stated in the comments above. It is just not worth killing an animal to eat its meat, sell its organs, etc..., by making them close to extinction.
Personally i think humans are crazy because they think that they should be able to eat absolutely anything that moves under the sun. Whales are amazing creatures and do not deserved to be killed so that we can 'eat' them -.-
I cant even bear to imagine a dead whale.. its heartbreaking.
Humans need to assess what's right and what's utterly unacceptable. Examples of stupidity among us humans includes:
1)eating dead premature babies.
2)Eating gross parts of animals
3)eating weird animals liek snails and frogs and lizards and the list could go on and on.
Why do we need to experiment? i dont think that the existence of other forms of life is so that us humans, the ultimate predator, can eat them.
Whaling MUST stop.
Whales are one of the most beautiful creatures. They are peaceful mammals and I think whaling is just appalling, it is poaching of inocent animals for meat or skin etc. This is not only carried out with whales but many animals like the elephants and rhinos for their tusks. We may eat chicken, beef, fish etc but that is where we should draw the line. Anything else must not be used for meat to satisfy ourselves.
i love whales,ever since i saw free willy when i was a small boy,ive been one of its biggest fans,
they are majestic,gigantic,and are the largest living things in the world.
as you hav read above i love whales,im not for the killing of whales,but then again im not against it,
in the regions where whales are found they might not be the same variety of food as we have,they might hav an abundance of fish for food,but as everyone know fish normally never stays in the same place,they keep moving,so when fish is scarce and food is needed,one whale itself can feed a hundred people
dont get me wrong,like i said before,im not for it,all im saying is that when needed,i would rather people kill a whale than people dying of hunger....(i refer to the small fishing towns and villages where people cant exactly afford to buy food and eat as they hav no income when the fish is scarce,and they turn to whale as it can allow them to survive for a long period of time till the fish return,
these incidents do exist,and occur every year in certain places,and i know this as ive seen it on national geography)
Where do i begin from?? I have so much swamping my mind I just don't know where to start!!! Whaling is really sad but so is the extinction of any other animal, tigers,rhinos etc. i guess these animals are being hunted for ivory or their skin so its not the same as eating their meat but does it make it right anyways? Like Leah said that in some parts of the world the only form of meat available is whale or seal meat but then what if we are in a position where there is no way of fishing or there is no land animal available to hunt? are we then going to turn to eating humans, for meat? i am sorry i might be going off onto another topic but i am an omnivore i eat meat too but i often question how right is it? why is it that we are now deciding to set limits?? shouldn't they have been set long ago? when we started eating fish, chicken, lamb, beef? my mom answered, these animals reproduce faster but I think if I'm not mistaken a lot of the reason why these animals breed faster is also because of modern day UN-NATURAL catalysts?? so i kind of feel we should stop now and draw the line right here being satisfied with chicken, lamb, beef and fish hahhaha I'm sooo confused because i know I've just contradicted myself. no animal deserves to be drawn to extinction or even the point of being endangered. animals don't hurt us we humans ourselves seem to love meddling!! maybe we should create our boundaries now!!!! to secure the future. not only whales killing of all species should end, don't you think so? yes we need to eat to live but is it right to do it at the cost of life? Aren't we now living to eat and not eating to live?
Excluding the Eskimos inhabiting the Arctic, I would say the only people who consume whale meat on a relatively frequent basis would be the extremely well-heeled people of the world. Therefore, it would be quite accurate to say that these people are the root cause of the existence of the whaling black market as they have a tendency to get bored very easily and hence resort to consuming exotic foods such as whale meat in the pursuit of pleasure to combat their boredom.
The whalers increase the black market price of whale meat because they have to risk getting into trouble with the law to get the job done and that is a risk they are willing to take because their clients are the sort of people who are perfectly capable (and perfectly willing) to pay the most exorbitant prices they might demand. Hence, providing an opportunity for potentially endless profits which the whalers desperately want now more than ever due to the global financial crisis.
Taking all this into consideration, it's quite obvious that the only viable solution to the problem of whaling would be for the insanely wealthy consumers of whale meat to cease consuming whale meat, be more considerate and try finding a less problematic way of negating their boredom.
Ofcourse hunting animals for food isnt a great idea, but thats how the chain goes. Humans eat whales, whales eat small fish, small fish eat aquatic plants and aquatic plants eat their own food. These chains exist to maintain the balance in Nature. But humans outnumber these animals, and thats when it becomes tough to maintain the balance because everyone wants to eat that fish, everyone wants that leather jacket, everyone wants to look good and healthy.
Humans can eat whatever they want as long as it is in great abundance so that even if you take out a few buckets of water from the sea, it wouldnt make a big difference. But if everyone starts depending on the sea, eventually there will be no more of water left there. But again, you can say its balanced because there are many people who are completely vegetarian.
It's just our nature. We can, therefore we do. Yes it's wrong and many people are against it, but there's always going to be some people who'd do everything for money. Where do we draw the line? I think whales get so much attention because there aren't that many of them left anymore, people kill chickens all the time and yet we don't see many people scowling at that, just because there are so many chickens. Whales aren't special, we made them special by killing so many of them. The problem is that as we keep killing more and more, they become more expensive and exotic, so I really don't see a scenario where people stop hunting whales until they disappear completely. It not even about getting food anymore, it about having something that is so precious. Human nature.
Humans are at the top of the food chain. We consider our boundaries to be limitless. But why? Just because we think we are superior in every way? Or is it because of our selfish greed that drives us to the point of exploiting everything we lay eyes on? Its just that. Humans can never have enough.
Hunting is never right. The idea of taking another life is just gruesome beyond words. But apparently, just one or two lives wasn't enough to satisfy us. We humans are known to be the most intelligent of all species on the earth. Yet, most are acting like the stupidest and vile, by driving other species to their extinction. I think the 'line' is so far behind us that it has become a mere dot.
I can only imagine what will happen when all other species are gone except for us.
Whales are majestic creatures , harmless , peaceful creatures that are often seen gliding through currents, rearing their babies or socializing in colonies or family groups. have they killed any humans ?, NO
have humans killed whales ?.
well, the hunting of whales is an age old tradition which dates back to around 3000 b.c and continued till the late 1930's
where the amount of whales hunted was reported to be about 50,000 annually
how can we do this. its murder!!
mass murders , ""ohh wait ..im not killing a human , so i guess that makes it ok"" :)
NO IT isn't ok!!!
Explosive harpoons are used, that puncture the skin and then explode inside the body, blowing the whales insides to pieces seconds after impact. The whales can then take minutes or several hours of suffering before it dies often by bleeding to death. Even then they may have to be shot many times using shotguns, before they finally die.and then the humans drag them closer to the shore where they slit their throats and slash their heads open
i think its pathetic how we are capable of this .
and to top it all of , it is legal in a number of countries
i guess chicken or beef etc, doesn't tingle their taste buds as much as whale.
HEY LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE :D
this isn't the worst level we humans can stoop down to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Wut0AxM_A
watch this video , bloody scenes.
viewer discretion is advised
It is true that people have started eating things they never would have thought of earlier in time. Chicken, in my opinion, is acceptable, and occasionally even beef. Crab, duck ans fish are alright, but rarely.
I feel that things like camel, dog, tiger, squid and whale and UNACCEPTABLE and EXTREME.
I support all animal rights groups and the ignorant people shouldn't wait till the species are almost extinct to realise what they're doing is wrong!
Myra
In your opinion, why is it ok to eat chicken but not squid? :)
whaling is just a sad thing to do. but in their defense, if it's perfectly alright to eat chickens, cows, crabs etc etc, why is not okay to eat whales?
im not supporting it, im just saying..
the thing is, we breed cows and chickens so that we can eat them, so why can't people just breed whales instead of killing them to extinction?
I agree with Sonal that this is the chain: we eat animals that eat smaller animals, that eat even smaller animals and so on. However, it is a fact that most whales hunted are not eaten, juts dumped. Although some hunters do eat the meat, most juts do it for the sport. So how inhumane really?
I eat meat myself. And I agree with Mr. Roberts: it sounds wierd that we find it ok to eat chicken and not whales or squid. Because while a lot of people are of the opinion that it's crazy to hunt whales because they're going extinct, here's a question for them: What about the day cows and chicken go extinct -if ever they do?
I'm at a loss here, to be honest. But for what it's worth, juts like Myra, I'm against whaling. But I still eat chicken.
I completely agree with Duwane on this one. Whaling is just as wrong as caging animals in zoos and 'sanctuaries' not even quarter the size of the natural habitat the animals come from.
Several Non-Governmental Organisations strive to protect the right to live for these animals and many people around the globe help in doing so. Charitable governments and businesses lend their support too, which is a noble task in it's own.
Yet today, in a world so full of crisis, what is it that matters?Which problems should we decide to take care of and find solutions to first: those which are important or those which are urgent? What should be our priority: ending wars and trying to stabilize the world economy or trying to save whales from extinction? And not just now, but just like we have done in the past, we will always find something more important to do, something more rewarding, something more profitable. It's the inconvenient truth we have all come to accept.
Wow Wayne, I saw that youtube video...
What the heck is going on in there? It was an all-out rambo war. Why where they killing them? What is that? Some sort of tradition? I dont even understand the way they used tactics to force the dolphins to shore by boats, then having around 200 people, armed with hooks and knives and anything sharp, waiting on the shore to rush at them.
Was it for meat? Was it tradition? Man, that was very disturbing... I never wondered if we took it to that extent...
Being vegetarian and a big animal lover, I am very much against killing/torturing animals.
I think that whaling is sad and at the same time also think that killing chickens, fish, cows etc. to satisfy our appetite is also very sad.
Just because we are stronger than these animals with or without the help of weapons does not give us the right to kill them.
For example, people say that chickens are bred to be eaten. Well I say stop caging these poor animals, forcing them to multiply just so you can have a nice chicken burger.
Going back to whales, these animals are going dropping in numbers dramatically! It is wrong to kill them so you can serve the world's most expensive dish in the most expensive japanese restaurant!
Good grief Wayne! That was horrendous. Dolphins are supremely intelligent creatures with complex emotions and social bonds. If we can do this to them, then there's really no hope for us. That was just an awful awful video.
Just finished watching Wayne's youtube video. Good grief! That was beyond sick. Pregnant dolphins being sliced open, children hacking at live dolphins with a knife, oceans of blood...
If I had to say what I really feel, it wouldn't be fit to publish in this forum...
on watching the youtube video,
i couldnt take it.,why on earth would people do something like that
whats the purpose,i feel sick just thinking of the stench of blood there
(haha =D we were doing this in class where by seeing pitures and reading things, the words and pics affect what u smell,feel,etc
i would like to use if its possible if we could use that video as a subject for a descriptive or an analysis,as both what we saw and the music playing in the background played a great role in the mood,what we felt etc...)
at around 7:05 into the video,you can see a man smile as another man mutilates a dolphin or a whale,whatever it was,it was disturbing,
thinking of this and the book Lord of the flies
as they were small kids and teems present at this horrid massacre,i imagine how it would hav changed them,and to what extent would their savage instinct be awaken
and how would they behave in the future
I consider whaling to be ignorant and greedy. People just want to kill more and more animals. Why is this? This is because these poor animals can't speak up on their own or stop us from murdering them. We are doing it show our dominance and power over other species. I think it is very wrong and should be stopped.
Fish, Chicken and other small animals eaten in limits is okay as long the balance in ecosystem is kept. However if we overhunt or kill mammals like whale all other species are affected directly or indirectly.
just viewed the link that Wayne put up!!! I'm absolutely shocked :(. i don't know how to describe what I'm feeling now!! this is soooooo sad :(!!!! Sir? how do we stop this?? there must be some way!!! i feel helpless!!
Asima,
The only way I personally can help stop it is by supporting Greenpeace. I contribute financially and am a member. Plus, as a teacher I can spread awareness about the issue - I can't go to Denmark or Japan and ask those people to stop it. That's not practical.
It’s truly sad……we humans are so self-centered that nothing matters to us because we think that the whole world revolves around us.
The video: I’m absolutely thunderstruck.
Well Mr. Roberts, in my opinion, it's much easier to get your hands on chicken. We have chicken farms and we have people who focus on breeding chickens specially for us as food.
Do we have squid farms? :P It's alot harder to get your hands on squid, and it doesn't sound good either.
"Let's eat squid!"
Ugh..
Everyone thinks differently though, it's just my opinion :)
yes guys ...i know most of you had to hold your jaws up as you watched that video
im aware of how unbelievebly gross and horrible it is
but what disgusts me the most is how these people get a good nights sleep after what they have done
it makes me sick to mu stomach at the fact thet they are willing to inflict soo much pain ..
well heres a descriptive to take seriously
''THE SEA RAN RED WITH BLOOD ''
if you have watched the video you will know what i mean
WE HAVE TO PUT A STOP TO THIS
well , guys all in all , i didn't mean to freak you out ..but i got my point out , didn't i ?
Whaling is extremly wrong. Infact hunting and treating animals this way is completely wrong. When i saw a few videos on how animals a skined alive, it was horrifying. So animals should get extinct like this and there should be a limit to our gluttony.
Why are we killing them in the first place ?
There meat is not that tasty.
There good for tourism.
There fun to look at.
Hmmmm Killing them seems like a lose/lose situation
True, that we are omnivorous. but we must certainly know where to draw the line. We dont 'need' to fish for whales. there is a variety of other fish that we can relish. Fishing for whales is not even a tradition, or a part of culture of somewhere. So why do we have to be so ruthless?
Whaling is one of the things I hate intensely. When it comes to satisfying human appetites there has to a certain limit to what we can eat. Whaling on large scales can completely wipe out the existence of the whales from the face of the earth and can disrupt the marine and land ecosystems badly. This is not just whaling but for other species of animals as well (example- over fishing caused due to humans has a drastic effect on the marine food chains).
I agree that we need to eat to live but it isn’t like we don’t have other options for food. For some people who depend on fish, whale might be an only option of food but if they know there food supply is decreasing due to over fishing they can get prepared for finding another job in the nearby city, earn money and feed their families and themselves. Just because we are on top of the food chain and have a greater intellectual than the other animals doesn’t mean that we can just take advantage of the animals that are under us.
If humans can go to such an extent just to satisfy their stomachs then why don’t we kill each other for food? The answer to that is because we can’t kill our own specie, but we are not so different from whales, they are mammals like us and also let’s not forget humans are created by evolution in the past we must have been related to whales and at the end of the day we are social animals.
The video on the whales and dolphins massacre was heart wrenching and terrifying. All I have got to say is that the people who do this are simply heartless people and don’t deserve to be called humans. These savages are also creating a bad example to the children who most likely do the same in the future at a massive scale.
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