Whaling started with people doing it to survive but people now do it outside of the IWC's regulations. While illegal whaling can be found in a number of geographical regions, most criticism is issued toward the Japanese for their practice. Whaling has been a staple of Japanese culture, and many Japanese whalers feel this practice is a part of their heritage. Japanese do hunt legally by obtaining research permits. There is, however, abuse of these permits, as they are sometimes used as a pretense to hunt commercially. The Japanese note the IWC maintains that whale meat obtained for scientific purposes should not be wasted, so the meat is consumed.
Years later, Greenpeace found illegal whale meat on Japaneese markets. Countries like Norway and Iceland have whaled illegally despite the IWC's ban.
Anti-whaling countries and environmental groups say whale species remain vulnerable and that whaling is immoral, unsustainable, and should remain banned permanently.If you agree, please sign this petition NOW!
