Too Much Blubber?

In the June 15th issue of The Economist, auctioning whale-hunting rights is proposed as a solution to the current debate between environmentalists and the International Whaling Commision.

The idea of charismatic megafauna hardly existed in 1948. There needs to be an honest debate about how humanity should treat whales. Both sides muddy the waters. Conservationists protest about the methods used to kill whales, saying they are cruel. They might be, but that is not the point, unless there really is a lobby that would accept the humane killing of whales. On the other side, the Japanese and their Icelandic allies hunt minke whales, which are still reasonably abundant, under the guise of scientific research. In practice, this is commercial fishing with a side order of science.

Should whales be treated like any other type of animal which some humans want to hunt, namely protected when rare, but hunted when common? Or is there something special about them that means that they should never be hunted? Biologists have come to recognise that great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas and so on) have mental faculties of self-awareness and consciousness that they share with humans but that neither shares with, say, monkeys. A few other big-brained social mammals, such as elephants, are thought by some to have evolved similar capacities. Whales may be among these species. Some places—Spain, for example—are discussing changing the law to recognise this distinction in apes. But on whales, there are no data.

In the absence of data, the commission should stick to its brief. But here is a suggestion: put the whole thing on a proper economic basis. The Japanese fleet is heavily subsidised. Without government cash, there would be less enthusiasm to hunt a creature ever fewer Japanese want to eat. Sadly the commission has no remit over that; but, if it does vote to resume commercial whaling (as it has the right to do), it should not create a system of quotas allocated by country. Instead, it should put whale-hunting rights up for auction, allowing both killers and conservationists to bid. The chances are that those who prefer whales to swim free would be able to outbid the few remaining humans who like eating them.