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No one knows how long it will be before the last whale will be killed or gets caught in fishing nets and dies, or if the last one will be devoured by some gourmet in a Japanese Sushi restaurant. And we also don't know how long it will be before the last dolphin ends up in a delphinarium where it is mistreated, or if it will die in one of our polluted oceans.
Most nations agreed to outlaw whaling and signed an international treaty in 1982 but only 3 years later, Greenpeace discovered that Norway, Japan and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were no longer adhering to the terms of the treaty and had recommenced indiscriminate whaling.
Unfortunately this is still going on and it appears that more countries have joined them.
Whaling also continues in the Faroe Islands (which belong to Denmark), where a great number of whales are killed annually. Iceland too is still hunting whales - apparently for scientific reasons - but this is just a cover-up. At least 14,000 whales have been slaughtered to date for these supposed scientific purposes. In the last 6 years Japan has caught at least 6,700 whales and in addition has hardened ist line on dolphins.
And our European neighbours? Fortunately whaling has now ceased in Europe except for Norway, Denmark and Iceland. However it is also a fact that the fishing fleets of other European countries are still using huge trawling nets and that great numbers of cetaceans get caught in them and die of asphyxiation each year. For example: six hundred Italian boats fish in the Mediterranean for swordfish each year. But sadly only 18 per cent of their catch comprises swordfish - the rest, i.e. 82 per cent of the whole catch - includes 8,000 Striped Dolphins annually. Any animals which are dead or seriously injured are just thrown back into the sea.
Catching live animals which are doomed to a life in captivity and purely for commercial gain may have been acceptable or excusable 100 years ago. But today we all know it is nothing less than cruelty to animals. It is particularly hard for whales and dolphins whose habitats are the vast and expansive oceans of this planet. Although the delphinaria try to take care of their "stars", in the end they still die a slow and painful death incarcerated in their adapted swimming pools. The Club de Mar in Valle Gran Rey on the other hand, offers whale- and dolphinwatchings where you can observe these wonderful creatures at liberty in their natural environment, i.e. in the open sea. Here we may see them leaping and doing acrobatics - not for a dead fish or because they would otherwise die of boredom, but as an authentic expression of their innate life energy and joy of living.
Because whale- and dolphinwatching has become a lucrative business, the companies who organise these trips are more likely to pander to the needs and expectations of their tourists than to look after the whales and dolphins and consequently the cetaceans are negatively affected. Whalewatching excursions organised by the Club de Mar in Valle Gran Rey however, adhere to a strict and respectful code of conduct so that the marine mammals are not disturbed in any way. Sometimes there are scientists on board and the number of passengers is limited.