Research is not an excuse to kill whales

2002/02/08 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

Australian scientists have worked on the method of investigation of dead whales. The research is based on the analysis of whale excrement, obtaining important data: what they feed, what are the parasites of their digestive system... In addition, to identify the whale in detail, a DNA analysis can be performed.

The whales are released near the ocean surface and the researchers collect the excrements in the nets. The method is cheaper and deeper than the analysis with the finished whales, so it has been presented to the International Whale Commission (IWC). In passing, its goal is to protect whales. One of the objectives of whaling carried out by the Japanese is research, with the excuse that they kill more than 500 whales a year.