![]() ![]() Odontocetes are hunted in some communities for their teeth, which are used as currency. Cetaceans are also killed in a misguided effort to reduce competition for fish and several small cetaceans (small whale, dolphin, and porpoise species) are hunted for use as bait to catch fish. Although whaling historically was for oil (rendered from whale fat or blubber) and spermaceti (from the head cavity of sperm whales used to make candles and cosmetics and as a fine lubricant), cetaceans are mainly hunted and killed today for food in both commercial (for profit) whaling operations and by indigenous peoples hunting for nutritional and cultural subsistence (known as Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW)). The hunting and killing of cetaceans by humans is termed "whaling" and is practiced on both odontocetes and mysticetes by several countries. Despite the smaller size of their prey, most mysticetes are much larger than odontocetes and are referred to as the "great whales." The largest of the toothed whales, the sperm whale (made famous by Herman Melville in Moby Dick), is also considered a great whale. Odontocetes use their teeth to catch their prey, whereas mysticetes use their baleen plates to filter vast quantities of water, straining out their much smaller prey, such as krill. Baleen whales are comprised of 14 species, including blue, fin, sei, Bryde’s, gray, right, bowhead, humpback, and minke whales. Sperm whales, orcas (killer whales), beaked whales, belugas, narwhals, porpoises, and dolphins are odontocetes, of which there are about 70 known species. There are over 80 extant species of cetaceans, categorized into two suborders: the toothed whales (odontocetes) and baleen whales (mysticetes). ![]() They are also highly intelligent and social animals. As mammals, cetaceans are warm-blooded, breathe air, give birth to live young, and nurse their offspring. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are categorized taxonomically in the order Cetacea. Ending the Slaughter of Nonambulatory Pigs.State Wildlife Agency Contact Information.How to Communicate Effectively with Legislators.United States Legislative Information (external link).Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act.Farm Animal Anti-Confinement Legislation.Cetacean Anti-Captivity Legislation and Laws.Anti-whistleblower (“Ag-Gag”) Legislation.Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act.Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act.Shaping Policy for Animals in Laboratories.
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