The thing most people miss is that modern whaling is for the minke whale, which is not in any way endangered. Of course in this case it could be a blue whale they caught, which is endangered, but that would be illegal and have ramifications for the company/whaler in question.But that's not what people care about, right? So I still don't get how the comparison works.
People are (usually) against whaling because the animals are endangered and absolutely majestic to behold, I believe.
I would argue that commercial whaling causes the animals a pure minimum of suffering compared to animals what animals raised in industrial farms are subjected to.The endangered part is valid sure. But to think that the suffering of a few majestic animals is worse than that of millions of others is stupid.