what benefits are there to whaling?

Question

im doing a class debate on whaling and i happen to be on the 'for' side, in others words im trying to prove how whaling is good... crap isnt it?

PLZ HELP!! x_x

Answer 1

Sorry, there are NO benefits to whaling. You're destroying an already badly hit group of animals and they are spiraling towards extinction. Whaling isn't good and I can't in good faith give you any reason to say it is.

Answer 2

Personally, I'm against whaling but as a former debator in high school myself many years ago I know what you're going through.

A major argument for whaling is that it provides necessary protein for human populations in countries that are not capable of raising much cattle like Norway, Iceland and Japan. These are small countries which don't have the rangeland necessary for cattle.

The American and Canadian governments still allow Eskimos (Inuits) to do a limited amount of whaling. Most transportation in Alaska and Northern Canada is by airplane and food often has to be flown to it's destinations.

One could argue that it is cheaper to let the Eskimos hunt some of their food among the whales and other marine mammals than to fly groceries in to them on a large scale.

Whale products are still used in some parts of the world in fertilizers, perfumes and pet foods. The argument for permitting this is always an economic one... that substitutes, while often available, are too expensive and would put prices out of reach for many consumers in poor and developing countries.

For a long time, sperm whale oil was used in lubricants and automobile transmission fluid. It was the only substance that could be used. The 1972 Endangered Species Act banned their use. Substitutes were found within a few years. However, critics argue that the research was very costly and time - consuming for the industry. In other words, it would have been better to actually preserve the status quo.

There is more information about what you are looking for on the internet. Googling things like "Whale products," "Commercial whaling" and "The whaling industry" should lead you to web sites that explain why whaling is still commercially useful and why it should be permitted.

Below is one web site on all of the commercial products derived from whales which you might find of some use. They in turn, provide some of the rationale for allowing whaling.

http://www.whaleworld.org/About_Whale_World/Whaling_History/Whale_Products/

Answer 3

it keeps the japanese whalers in a job,profits for fuel companies, and harpoon manufacturers,rope and net makers in work, whaleburgers are sold, and any other number of obscure reasons like research, tradition, culture etc, now i'm feeling sick!ps anything that is made of whale can be made out of something else!