Recently, a ban prohibiting the commercial hunting of whales grabbed attention when a proposal to depose it was supported by nearly 33 countries attending a convention over the issue of whale-hunting though nearly 32 nations voted against it. But the ban is still prevailing as three-fourth of the total participating countries must support its termination.
The outcome of the conference has disappointed many animal rights activists and environmental NGOs who were of the opinion that the countries against the return of hunting of whales must work painstakingly to make it a world-wide success.
Justification being offered by the countries supporting whale-hunting is that the increasing quantity of whales needed to be reduced in order to protect other marine species.
Norway has even gone a step further by flouting the global ban on hunting of whales. Norwegian ships have started reaching Barents Sea for this purpose. Apart from Norway, Japan, Russia & Iceland are the other countries in the world to permit whale-hunting.
However, a well-known environmental NGO known as Greenpeace has blamed the government of Norway of continuing with its not-so-popular course of action on hunting of whales to bolster the state’s satisfaction.
Not only the policy but the manner in which the whales are killed has also come under scathing attack world over. Harpoons are inclined with a grenade that detonates within the whale. Its supporters look to it as a swift way of killing or butchering a whale but preservationist argues that it’s a senseless act of nastiness.