Utility, duties, rights

The Makah tribe claim to have hunted gray whales for more that 2,00 years. They stopped in the 1920’s due to a decline in the number of gray whales. Now they want to return to the hunt to provide food for their tribe and to restore the young men’s sense of discipline and pride in their traditions. Proponents of the hunt claim that a majority of the tribe support the hunt, which is expected to take fewer than the five whales they are permitted by law to kill. Tribal leaders claim they will take no pregnant or nursing females. Some Makah elders disagree, however, pointing out that the tribe survived for most of the twentieth century without eating whale meat and claiming that there are better ways to instill pride and discipline. The environmental community argues that the whale hunt is immoral because it violates the whales’ right to exist on the planet. Is it appropriate for non members of the Makah tribe- for example, students in your class- to evaluate the morality of the Makah whale hunt? Explain.

Identify the moral issue(s) and the parties involved. Discuss the moral issues you have identified in terms of two the following: utility, duties, rights.