Respect Whales

By Ella C.

Whaling is cultural in some parts of the world. Some people think it should be banned because there's so little demand for whale meat, and it is cruel.

For a small amount of communities, whaling is a tradition that goes back thousands of years. Whaling is a community subsistence strategy still practiced in places like Arctic, the Siberian tundras, the mountainous Northwestern Coast of North America, Bequia in the West Indies, the Faroe Islands and Lamalera in the Philippines, according to the New Bedford Whaling Museum. 

However, whaling is illegal in most countries. Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold commercially, according to the World Wildlife Federation. 

In 2022, Norwegian whalers killed 580 whales, more than each of the previous years. (Oceanographic) Whalers in Japan claim hunting is for scientific research, but activists say that they are using that as an excuse and could get the same research done without live whales. (CNN)

Whale meat isn't an essential part of a modern diet. Interest in eating whale meat is decreasing. This is good because whales are sensitive, intelligent mammals and deserve to be respected by humans.