Globalization Issue Discussion:
Exemption for Whaling Introduction
At the 2000 UN Trade in Endangered Species Conference, the governments of Norway and Japan claimed that they have a cultural investment spanning generations in whaling and argued that it therefore constituted an integral part in their cultural heritage. On these grounds they attempted to obtain an exemption from the International Whaling Ban.
My position on the issue
Hunting of whales is an inhumane and cruel practice and in the very least falls under the purview of animal cruelty. There is no guarantee that currently non-endangered whale species would survive wide scaled hunting and policing whalers to ensure they do not hunt endangered whales would simply be impractical.
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These villages need to face the reality that their way of life will be threatened – if not today by the whaling bans, in the very near future because there will be no whales left to hunt. They need to start exploring more sustainable options.
This being said, there are no overwhelming economic reasons for Japan to continue whaling. As previously discussed, whale products have been replaced by alternatives, thus there is virtually no market for whale products. As result stockpiles are kept in freezers.
Conclusion; Versus World Opinions
When weighing the opinions one must keep in mind the interest of the few against the interest of the many. We all share one world and we share many of its resources – like the whales. The whales do not belong to any one country, but rather to the world. They are also imperative to the eco-system. If one or a few countries are allowed to hunt them to extinction, it will damage the delicate eco-system and it will affect the rest of us living in this world and rob future generations of their heritage.
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