Whether it is nobler to curse the whale with the slings and
arrows suffered by the largest land mammal in favor of a few struggling
economies or to save for generations ahead the largest and most majestic aquatic
animal.
As many countries are trying to legalize whale hunting, we should look at the ivory market for guidance. Many species of Elephants are on the brink of extinction or have become extinct due to similar problems facing whales.
Both have long gestation periods, and need expansive ranges to live in, so these species are highly vulnerable to man’s exploits. Diminishing land is a major factor in the elephants case, while diminishing food supplies are a major issue for the whales. Both are subject to a large amount of poaching as well.
The major difference is that we live in the terrestrial world with the elephant, but are unfamiliar with the whales aquatic world. We know very little about their environment, habits and needs. Its difficult to get a firm grip on what the present population of half the whale species in our oceans.
This makes it impossible to identifying when the whale population starts to diminish. If whaling is legalized in more countries we will have a hard time discerning illegal whale meat from legal whale meat. Unlike the case of marijuana, where supply would be plentiful if legalized, the whale meat would always be scarce, and there for be at a premium price. Presently whale meat sells for $100 per pound in Asia. Unless it is easy to identify the difference between legal whale meat and illegal whale meat, then a black market would thrive even more when the ban is lifted.
Up to 5% of African elephant population is being poached right now. Other herds are extinct or in extreme danger of extinction. The difficulties of policing the oceans, with no national boundaries is exponentially more difficult than attempting this on land.
The only way of trying to stop poaching from happening is to limit the demand of the product as was shown with the ban on ivory in the late ‘80s which decreased poaching dramatically. The black market on ivory has grown recently due to wars, poverty and lack of focus by governments.
There is even a question as to what a reasonable level the whale population should be. A scientist recently discovered, through DNA, traditional whale populations were huge compared to the present populations. Unfortunately it would seem that our harvesting and polluting the oceans would make a return to those numbers impossible, leaving the long term survival of whales in doubt.
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