Debate: Class Debate on Whaling

We’ll be debating the issue of whaling during the block schedule on Wednesday. Our topics will be:

• Do nations and cultural groups have the right to hunt whales as part of their cultural expression?
• Is hunting whales cruel because of their intelligence and socialization?
• Do the economic/scientific benefits of whaling justify it?

Some evidence will be available here, but you should primarily do your own research.

• Arguments in favor of whaling
• Arguments against whaling

Some of the best articles on the topic are available here:

• The Whale Debate
• Why Japan Keeps Whaling
• Japanese, Norwegians, and Icelanders Spout Off
• Japanese Whaling: Why the West is in the Wrong
• Opposition to Whaling: Arguments and Ethics
• Ecological Arguments Against Whaling
• Is Whaling Culturally Significant?
• The Animal Welfare Argument Against Whaling
• The Argument Against Whaling
• Why We Should Let Faeroe Islanders Hunt Whales
• Good Whale Hunting
• Why Japan Supports Whaling