A recently released report has revealed that nearly 3 million whales have been killed in the 20th century. It seems the whale deaths that occurred over the duration of a century could be related to advancements in hunting practices.

A recently released report has revealed that nearly 3 million whales were killed in the 20th century. The authors conclude that technological advancements in hunting and industrial processing practices are to blame.

The numbers by decade are astonishing.  During the 1930s over 400 thousand whales of varying species in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres were killed. In the 1950s that number climbed to over 600 thousand. and hit its peak in the 1960’s when over 700 thousand died.