The hunters and the hunted: The ongoing controversy over whaling

Whale hunting (© Dagur Brynjólfsson)

The hunting of whales is a very sensitive environmental issue. Most European countries have harshly condemned the practice, yet it was not so long ago that their own fishing fleets were aggressively driving whale species to the point of extinction.

Now a few countries wish to continue the hunt, which they say is crucial to the survival of their coastal people, as well as being sustainable. Michele Ernsting looks at the history of whaling and the continuing controversy surrounding it.

Producer: Michele Ernsting

Broadcast: September 25, 1988