Recently, pro-whaling countries (e.g., Japan, Norway, and Iceland) have advocated the increased “harvest” of whales as the populations of some whale species have risen in numbers. These countries are already harvesting whales under a loophole in the international whaling treaty (“research”) and some of these harvested “research whales” have appeared in the market (e.g., “whale bacon” in Japan). 

A member of the Japanese Diet (Parliament) has recently argued the following in a BBC interview: “In Japan we have pet dogs, but we don’t tell the Koreans to stop eating dogs, nor should people tell us to stop eating whales.” 

The 2010 Academy Award winning documentary The Cove concerning the killing of dolphins has generated increased scrutiny on this issue (see the trailer (Links to an external site.)). 

Here are a few resources that cover this issue:

The International Whaling Commission (Links to an external site.)

Successes and failures of the International Whaling Commission – WWF Global (Links to an external site.)

The Effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission – Andresen (1993) (Links to an external site.)

1) What is your opinion on this issue?

2) If some whale populations recover (e.g., Antarctic Minke Whale), should nations be allowed to increase their harvest levels?

Whales and Whaling V/S Beef Industry

Now Watch Cowspiracy trailer (Links to an external site.):

3) What are the similarities and/or differences (e.g. regarding their impact on the environment) between the Whaling industry (presented in the case of The Cove) and livestock/beef industry (presented in Cowspiracy)? How do the topics of globalization, economy, etc. feed into these issues?

4) Think about your own biases about these two issues and write a short reflection.

Please submit an original post (no less than 150 words) by Friday @ 11:59 pm and at least one response post (approximately 75 words) by Sunday @ 11:59 pm. 

Total points possible: 20 (15 points for original post, and 5 points for response post).

NOTE: If you are using any external sources (media or articles), please provide the link so that others can access the reference.

Please read all questions carefully and answer all of them completely. Be sure to provide an adequate explanation and supporting arguments for all of your answers. Don’t forget to back up your arguments with concrete examples from the assigned readings or other sources you may have consulted, and please remember to provide adequate citations for any references used. Your answers must demonstrate that you have read and understood the assigned readings.

You must use APA style citation format for all citations and references, and don’t forget to include a list of references in the appropriate format. If you are unfamiliar with APA formatting, please see link below for guidelines. 

Please review the rubric for discussion posts so you can see how these will be assessed. You are encouraged to actively participate and provide critical analysis to the prompt questions. Please make sure that you are respectful in your discussion, and avoid slang, internet lingo, etc.

****Discussion response (original post) in attachments****

About 75~100 words