“There are folks who still maintain that hunting whales is reasonable–is it?”
In short, NO! Historically, several countries were heavily involved in whaling, causing whale populations to plummet. In the mid-1800s, the U.S. led the way, focusing on sperm whales. Norway took over in the early 1900s with new technology, and Japan ramped up its efforts after WWII, even continuing after a 1986 ban. The Soviet Union secretly hunted tens of thousands of whales from the 1950s to 1970s, and Iceland resumed whaling in the 1980s despite global opposition. These actions eventually led to worldwide efforts to regulate and reduce whaling.