The shame of a whale’s death

Re “Whale caught in May was hunted in 1890,” June 13

I was struck by the casual nature of the story of the murder of one of nature’s most splendid creatures, a 50-ton bowhead whale at least a century old. This majestic mammal was killed in the exact same manner as a previous attempt a century earlier: an exploding bomb lance. Have we learned nothing in more than a century of carnage? We should be ashamed for allowing this egregious tradition to continue into the 21st century.

The article states this massive whale could have lived to be 200 years old. We robbed it of life in its prime. The International Whaling Commission should halt this senseless destruction immediately with a blanket edict, and we should demand enforcement. Once again, I am embarrassed for humankind’s poor caretaking of planet Earth.

ROY ROGERS OLDENKAMP

West Hollywood