As you know, Beluga whales (also known like white whales) are nice, smiling animals that swim in the water with beautiful harmony and grace. Even if they are genetically smiling animals, they are not always happy... In fact, they have been hunted for ages by the Inuit populations. Now they are species at risk of extinction and they cannot be hunted anymore.
However, in some zones like Cook Inlet (Alaska), Ungava Bay and in western Greenland, the hunting of Belugas is not forbidden because it is an important necessity for the populations that live there.
In the St. Lawrence River estuary, more than 1000 white whales live. This is a great number, but I have a sad story to tell you: the St. Lawrence is very contaminated by toxic and chemical waste, so the air that Belugas breathe is not "pure". Sometimes this air is the cause of various types of cancer. Many individuals have lost their lives from cancer. In this case, like in many others, we need a better environmental policy.
GIOVANNI CERASE
7 Grade- St-Laurent Academy- CANADA/ ITALY
Above image from Environment Canada's Hinterland Who's Who
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