Background Information
Whaling and Dolphin Slaughter started in prehistoric times. The practice was initially confined near the coastal waters. Various Costal communities have histories of harvesting beached whales and sustenance whaling. The earliest whaling greatly affected development of disparate cultures such as Japan and Norway. Since the 19th century, there has been an increased demand for whale oil. This in turn has led to development of modern whaling methods and techniques. Dolphin hunting and slaughter is immense in Japan. It is devastating that despite protests from animal rights activists, dolphin hunting and whaling in Japan continues uninterrupted.
Introduction
Whaling is defined as the act of hunting whales mainly for oil and meat. Dolphin slaughter on the other hand is the act of killing dolphins with the sole purpose of obtaining their meat. There have been controversies on whaling and dolphin slaughter which have raised ethical and environmental debates internationally. These debates mainly focus on conservation and sustainability issues in addition to national sovereignty and ownership. Whales and Dolphins are animals that have rights too just like humans. These animals are extremely intelligent and do not deserve to be tortured and killed.
Discussion
Whales and Dolphins are intelligent animals that do not deserve the level of suffering they undergo in the process of being caught and killed. Unregulated dolphin slaughter and whaling has led to depletion of dolphin and whale populations to an extremely large extent.Dolphins and whales demand great protection from cruel hunting and killing due to several reasons. One of the key factors is safety among the population consuming whales and dolphins meat. Evidence suggests that dolphins and whales are continuously becoming contaminated by marine toxins. Hence, eating them is a threat to human wellness. For instance, health officials in Denmark and Faroe Islands have currently put recommendations for pilot whale meat not to be eaten due to high levels of contaminants present in the meat. For this reason, it is a high time that the human population stopped whaling and dolphin slaughter.
It is also evident that dolphin and whale watching can generate more than $2 billion annually in the world. This amount is far much greater than the total amount of money generated through whaling and dolphin killing. It is therefore illogical that people slaughter whales and dolphins while ignoring the fact that they can generate more money through watching the intelligent whales and dolphins.Human’s self-interest is what needs to be controlled so that the act of whaling and dolphin slaughter can stop. Self-interest moulds the shaping of short sighted policies and individual ethics. Therefore, if only humans stopped prioritizing self-interest, this cruelty of hunting and killing intelligent animals such as dolphins and whales would greatly reduce.
Conclusion
It is extremely baffling that whaling and dolphin slaughter persists through the 21st century. Humans need to realize that consumption of whale and dolphin meat can greatly affect their health. Moreover, they need to know that whale and dolphin watching is a key tourist attraction feature that can generate a lot of money. It is therefore ethical to stop the cruelty and suffering of whales and Dolphins. These intelligent animals have rights and deserve to be protected instead of being tortured and slaughtered.
