Introduction
Whaling has been condemned and any commercial activity related to whaling has been banned in most areas. However, the whales are still hunted despite the ban. There are still a few countries which still kill thousands of whales each year. The ban has been done internationally but not upheld in many countries. Since 1989, it is estimated that over 37, 200 whales have been killed. This is ironical because this has happened when the ban on whale hunting is still effective.
Whaling problem: why is it unethical?
Whales have been killed in large numbers across the world and if the trend continues, the animals are likely to be pushed to extinction. The International Whaling Commission put a ban on commercial whaling in 1986 but people still hunt them. Statistics has it that about one thousand whales are killed every year (Kalland, 2009). The major countries in whaling activity are Japan, Norway, and Iceland and they do so despite the restrictions put in place. Japan insists that whales are killed for scientific research while Iceland does it purely for profit. The whale population has declined over years due to commercial whaling. Some species are near extinction. The rules set in place to protect them have made several of them come back but they are still endangered.
One of the factors which make whaling unethical is the disruption that is cause in the oceans. The disruption causes death of many ocean organisms which play a major role in the ecosystem. It causes hazards such as ocean noise, ship strikes, and pollution among others which are crucial to ocean ecosystem (Mulvaney, 2003). The other factor is that whales are big animals and they take time to die while shot. The people doing whale businesses will shoot the whales but they take even hours before they die. This exposes them to a lot of pain. It is unlikely to strike and kill a whale instantly. The huge animals would linger for agonizing hours before it dies. This makes the whole act inhuman and unethical.
There is also pain cause at the social level. Whales are believed to have intelligence for self-awareness and social relations and they get grieved when one of them is hurt. They are believed to be able to communicate using sophisticated ways. It has been observes that an adult whale is capable of babysitting, a calf as the mother dives for food. This means that removal of one of them affects the social life of the others (Kalland, 2009).
Whaling becomes unethical because it is unnecessary to kill them. What is obtained from whales is also available elsewhere. Thus, making an innocent being suffer from not justifiable reason is wrong.
Conclusion
Whaling is undoubtedly unethical. The process of killing the animals is very cruel. The whales take hours before it dies. This means that it will be exposed to a lot of paid before it dies. This is not ethical. There is also paid caused at the social level. The animals are socially hurt to see some of them in the group hurting (Lucas, 2011). They also get affected when one of them is removed from the group. It is also unnecessary to kill whales because what is obtained from them could be obtained from another place with ease. Whaling should therefore be strictly condemned. Whalers should be severely punished when they violate the laws which are set.
Reference
Kalland, A. (2009). Unveiling the Whale: Discourses on Whales and Whaling. New York: Berghahn Books.
Lucas, S. (2011). The Animal Welfare Argument against Whaling. Web.
Mulvaney, K. (2003). The Whaling Season: An Inside Account Of The Struggle To Stop Commercial Whaling. London: Island Press.