Why do people hunt whales?

Over a thousand whales are killed every year because some people want to make money from selling their meat and body parts. Their oil, blubber and cartilage are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements. Whale meat is even used in pet food, or served to tourists as a ‘traditional dish’. Exploiting the bodies of whales for money is illegal in most countries, so how can it be allowed to continue?

Why can some countries continue whaling?

Whaling for profit was banned in 1986. But, reluctant to give up the market for whale meat and products, Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to hunt and kill fin, minke and sei whales every year. Norway objects to the ban, Iceland hunts under a dubious ‘reservation’ while Japan has gone it alone and restarted commercial whaling.

Why are dolphins hunted too?

Despite it being illegal in most countries, dolphins and small whales are hunted in many parts of the world. This is mostly for their meat and use of their body parts, although in Taiji in Japan young animals are captured and sold into a life in captivity.

Deliberate hunting of small whales and dolphins is a growing conservation concern for many species and populations, with thousands of individuals killed in countries around the world for food, bait, currency or supposed traditional medicines and charms.

Arguably the most notorious and bloody hunts take place in Taiji, Japan and the Faroe islands where dolphins and small whales are driven onto beaches or into coves, before being slaughtered. So controversial is the Taiji hunt that the hunters erect a curtain across the shoreline to hide the slaughter from the public gaze.