Cruel and unnecessary

Japan should end its whaling industry

Since the International Whaling Commission and its 80 member nations implemented a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, at-risk whale populations have been rising gradually the world over, offering a hopeful future for some of the sea’s most magnificent creatures.

But Japan, a country that frequently flouted its commitment to the IWC’s moratorium by killing whales under the guise of “scientific research,” has formally withdrawn from the IWC and will resume commercial whaling within its waters.

Perhaps it was just a formality — while operating under the moratorium last year, Japanese whalers killed 333 minke whales, 122 of which were pregnant, during a 12-week hunt — but the decision reeks of cruelty and is unnecessary.

As a custom, whaling in Japan has gone as far back as the 12th century. But back then, whalers were often feeding families with the meat they obtained. Nowadays, however, the Japanese have found other ways to feed themselves and most of them seem to have lost their appetite for the majestic mammals. Meanwhile, Japan’s whaling industry has been kept afloat by government subsidies since 2013.

Hunting whales is the aquatic equivalent of big-game trophy hunting. Whales are intelligent creatures and butchering them on the highseas seems remarkably cruel. Whales are also vital to the health of our oceans, mixing and distributing essential nutrients around wherever they travel.

There isn’t much the international community can do to corral Japan’s whaling, particularly because Japan has promised to limit the hunting to its own waters. Average Japanese citizens need to stand up against this barbaric and antiquated practice.