Whales and dolphins
Even
though the International Whaling Commission voted to stop commercial
whaling as of 1986, Japan and Norway continue to kill large numbers
of minke whales. Japan even kills whales in the Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary for so-called scientific purposes.
The way in which whales are killed is particularly cruel. They are hit by harpoons with exploding grenades in their tip. Half the whales are killed quickly. The other half suffer excruciating pain as they are dragged to the ship and shot at with guns. It can take many shots to kill a whale, and some take an hour to die.
The way native people in Greenland, Russia and Alaska kill whales is also cruel.
In the Faroe Islands near Denmark, pods of pilot whales are driven into shallow bays. They are slaughtered with knives, by sawing through the flesh to the spinal cord to cut the arteries to the brain. It is a slow and painful death.
In Japan, small cetaceans such as dolphins, porpoises and pilot whales are driven ashore and slaughtered.
Small whales and dolphins are still captured for the entertainment industry in several countries. They suffer the stress of capture, being taken away from a close family group, and imprisonment in small pools.
Many orcas in particular have died prematurely in captivity. There are campaigns to free several captive orcas. The best known example is Keiko, who starred in the movie "Free Willy". Efforts are continuing to set him free.
Many dolphins and porpoises have died through entanglement in fishing nets. Their health also suffers as a result of chemical pollution and plastic garbage. Some chemicals build up in the body of adults and are passed to babies through the mother's milk. Sometimes the babies die as a result.
If you want to write some letters to make your feelings known about the killing and capture of cetaceans, go to Letters to write .
For some lesson ideas, go to Lessons on whales and dolphins .
If you want more detailed information on this topic, go to More on whales and dolphins .