These threats extend to humans. The second article, "Whale Meat as Food", takes a look at studies showing elevated levels of pesticides and PCB's in Faroe Islanders who subsist on whale meat. The studies suggest that whaling by the Faroese may be damaging their own and their children's health.

Because we do not have sufficient confidence in whale population assessments or the whaling nation's abilities to control their own whaling operations, which have a long history of abuse, we do not know if whaling can ever be sustainable. Sustainability, in any event, should not be the sole criterion. There is no compelling need for the products of commercial whaling. The would-be consumers are all wealthy nations seeking to provide a luxury commodity for sophisticated palates, not food to meet a compelling human need.

To World Wildlife Fund, whales are for watching. We oppose commercial whaling because whales have an intrinsic value as mammals of great intelligence, whose behaviour set them apart. Given the deep feelings that whales have always evoked in humans, how we confront the growing threats to their survival is emblematic of how we confront the larger challenges of wildlife conservation.