Whale hunting in Japan
Through a research project, Japanese scientists have caught 35 minke whales. The research program is supposedly to study whales migratory and eating habits. Many critics say that it is just a way to disguise commerical whaling. Since commercial whaling has been banned, many countries have been trying to lift that law. Whaling has always been a very controversial issue, and for one I think it should always be banned. Whales are such majestic creatures that seem to have enough issues with keeping their populations up. Minke whales alone are having a population drop because of a lack of food, like anchovys, in their area.
Japan has had plans to catch over 1,070 minke whales in total throughout 2006. I think that is an astonishingly large number, especially for a species whose total population is unknown. I can’t even imagine what great results people would get from commercial whaling…I think that whales are one animal that is definitely best left alone. Fortunately, ending the ban to commerical whaling would take a 75% majority vote of the committee, and that seems not likely to happen very soon. But if Japan can sneak around the ban like they are now–what else is there to do?
Picture: www.wikimedia.org
Articles: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling
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