Hunting seals, whales and dolphins at Higher Level: This statement is Higher Level only. It looks at the ethics of hunting marine mammals through two real hunts, the Inuit narwhal hunt and the Faroese pilot whale hunt, from contrasting perspectives.
Practise this as you read
- Outline two contrasting perspectives on a named hunt.
- Discuss the rights of animals against the rights of indigenous people.
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Two kinds of rights collide: Hunting marine mammals sets the rights of the animals against the rights of the people who have hunted them for generations.
The ethical issues
- Animal rights: seals, whales and dolphins are intelligent, social and feel pain; each has a right to life.
- Welfare: hunting methods can be cruel, and some animals are wounded and lost.
- Indigenous rights: native peoples have a right to their traditions, food and way of life.
- Sustainability is a separate question: a hunt can be sustainable and still seen as wrong.
- International rules: since 1986 commercial whaling has been banned, but indigenous hunts for food are allowed.
Remember it as: The animal's right to live; the people's right to their way of life.
Rights of animals
- Every animal has a right to life.
- Killing must not cause suffering.
- Intelligent, social animals deserve special care.
Rights of indigenous people
- A right to their culture and food.
- Hunting skills define who they are.
- Outsiders should not judge their traditions.
Real example: since 2010 the European Union has banned the sale of seal products, but it makes an exception for seals hunted by Inuit and other indigenous peoples.
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The narwhal is hunted by Inuit in Canada and Greenland. Canadian Inuit take about 600 a year.
The Inuit narwhal hunt: two perspectives
- For Inuit, hunting narwhal provides food, income and identity; skills are passed down.
- Mattaaq (skin and blubber) is a traditional source of vitamin C in the Arctic.
- Shop food flown to the Arctic is very expensive, so hunting is food security.
- Narwhal are Least Concern (about 170,000) and each community has a limit set with scientists.
- Animal rights groups object to shooting from boats, wounded animals lost, and selling tusks.
Remember it as: Food, culture and a limit on one side; a right to life on the other.
Inuit hunter, Nunavut
- The hunt feeds the community and is shared.
- It keeps our language, skills and identity alive.
- We follow limits agreed with scientists.
Animal rights campaigner
- A narwhal is an intelligent animal with a right to life.
- Animals shot from boats can be wounded and lost.
- Selling tusks turns a food hunt into a trade.
In the Faroe Islands, pilot whales, which are really large dolphins, and some white-sided dolphins are killed in a hunt called the grindadráp.
The Faroese whale hunt: two perspectives
- In the grindadráp, boats drive a group of pilot whales into a bay; they are killed on the beach.
- The meat and blubber are shared free; Faroese see it as local, natural food and tradition.
- About 100,000 pilot whales live around the islands; the catch is a few hundred a year: sustainable.
- Critics: it is cruel and not needed in a wealthy country with shops.
- Health: the meat holds mercury; doctors advise adults to eat at most one meal a month.
Remember it as: Sustainable in numbers, disputed in ethics.
| Year | Pilot whales killed | White-sided dolphins killed |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 667 | 1,428 (in one hunt) |
| 2023 | 856 | 5 |
| 2024 | 599 | 153 |
The 2021 dolphin hunt caused protests around the world, including in the Faroes. The government then limited the catch to 500 dolphins a year. The law now requires training and a tool that cuts the spinal cord, to kill each whale quickly.
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Both hunts look different depending on your environmental value system.
Comparing the perspectives
- Ecocentric view: animals have intrinsic value and rights; the hunts should stop.
- Anthropocentric view: humans may use wildlife if it is managed sustainably and fairly.
- Many people judge who hunts: subsistence by an indigenous group feels different from a hunt in a rich country.
- Middle ground: limits set by scientists, quicker killing methods, and exceptions for indigenous food.
Remember it as: Who hunts, why, how many, and how.
Ecocentric
- Animals have a right to life.
- Both hunts should end.
Anthropocentric
- Hunts are fine if sustainable and humane.
- Set limits; improve methods.
Indigenous rights
- Subsistence hunts protect culture and food.
- Exceptions, as in EU and whaling rules.
How this comes up: Paper 2, Section B: outline contrasting perspectives [4], or discuss the ethics of hunting a named species [9]. Paper 1 [6]: 'to what extent' a hunt is justified, from a fact file.
In the Faroe Islands, about 600 to 900 pilot whales are killed most years in a traditional hunt called the grindadráp.
Outline two contrasting perspectives on the Faroese pilot whale hunt.
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