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There isn’t even a cultural rationale for the slaughter.
Such a shame for what is generally known as a “green” country.
Even beyond the moral arguments, it’s just stupid. I went to Iceland last summer and I don’t know what 100 fin whales are worth but I guarantee just the people on the two boats I went whale watching on spent more money than Japanese whale meat fetishists. And that was only two boats from two companies. There were dozens of boats going out from Reykjavik and Húsavík every day, at least during the high season.
Minke whales aren’t endangered but even that hunt creates bad publicity for the country and probably harms the tourism industry. If you have bad luck on your whale watching day, you’ll still see a few minke whales and come away happy. It was mostly families with kids and the kids were stoked to spot any whale.
I get making exceptions for indigenous people in the Canadian Arctic or wherever but they have a cultural tradition, harvest like 4 whales a year, and use the meat and blubber themselves. But from what I read on my trip and was told by the guides, Icelanders didn’t even eat whale meat unless the whale beached themselves. It wasn’t some key cultural tradition.
Whalers were literally the oil companies of the 1800’s. I say “Fuck” to them just as much as I say “Fuck” to Exxon, Chevron, Aramco, et al.
This is bullshit. Can I have a license to hunt and kill 128 U.S. politicians please? They’re not as smart or empathetic as whales.
What do US politicians have to do with Iceland issuing the permits to an Icelandic company?
“If this is a choice that can be made, please allow me to make a similar, arguably more humane choice.”
It’s not that complicated choom.
Pretty interesting stuff. About 100 whales per year are hunted, but 2023 had over double the average since whale hunting resumed in 2006.
There was a 4 year hiatus until COVID hit, then tourism slumped and the hunters resumed. Now that tourism is up, hunters are being shunned again. Its roughly 150 people that would need new work, and could easily transition to whale tourism (lawl).
The Icelandic whalers say its only a small percentage of the estimated 30,000 whales that pass through, so its nbd.
These hunters account for roughly 3% of all whales hunted worldwide, raking in about $15m a year.
More info here: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iceland-whaling-tourism/index.html
I wonder if we could get a license to hunt whale hunters and how much that could bring a year? I’d jump at the opportunity to hunt a toxic invasive species like that.
5 per year. It’s such a small percentage of 150, it’s nbd.
Approved. Happy hunting.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Animal rights groups say that while the number is significantly lower than in previous years, the decision to allow the practice to continue is inhumane and disappointing.
was given a license to hunt 128 fin whales in Icelandic waters and parts of Greenland and the Faroe Islands during the 2024 season, which typically runs from June to August.
The quota was half that of 2023, when the Icelandic government allowed for the hunting of 264 fin whales, according to the nonprofit organization International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant reduction in the quota and the duration of the hunt,” said Patrick Ramage, the group’s director.
Iceland’s government temporarily suspended the commercial hunting of fin whales last year on animal welfare grounds.
The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority estimated in a May 2023 report that 67% of the 58 whales caught by boats it monitored died or lost consciousness quickly or immediately.
The original article contains 399 words, the summary contains 154 words. Saved 61%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Some seem familiar
Can someone explain why people care more about this than the killing of other animals?
People can care about multiple things.
Yet most don’t. Good on you if you do though.
That’s…that’s just a lie. Why are you telling such an obvious lie? What do you gain? What does anyone at all gain from you being so obviously wrong?
Didn’t mean to lie. I thought it followed from context (I see now it didn’t) that I mean that most people do not care about the killing of different animals as much.
Outside of like farm animals, I think it’s unlikely that most people are just okay with all but one animal being killed. I know I’m not okay with it, and I’m hardly special. I also know I’m not remotely in the position to do anything meaningful about it, and I suspect that is the case for most people. Perhaps you’re confusing inaction with apathy.
Because cows as a genus aren’t in danger of being wiped out.
Not talking about the artificially created species, that’s a separate issue. More things like overfishing. And hunting of other species that are endangered but not as cute and lovable.
Overfishing is far less likely to wipe out an entire genus and what endangered other species are you talking about?
All cetateans are being wiped out. Not just one species of whale.
Overfishing is horrific, but people get up-in-arms about whales because cetaceans are basically people. Think of the dumbest human you know: they’re about as smart as a typical whale.
Octopuses are much smarter and people eat those too.
Edit: can I just correct myself. I now think we shouldn’t use perceived intelligence as a measure of how much ethical consideration someone or something deserves, that gets reeeeally gross really fast
Well, maybe they shouldn’t.
No, go ahead and eat the octopuses. It’s us squid you guys should be worried about.
Yet there’s no posts in my news feed about how they’re being fished, let alone comments from people upset about it. Maybe we should care more about all animals?
Maybe we should.
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Octopuses are not much smarter than whales. What are you talking about?
Name an endangered animal that most people are OK with hunting.
You…you think cows are an “artificially created species?”
You think that farm cattle exist as a wild animal?
Yes, it’s actually quite simple to answer your simple question because there are so many simple reasons that are simple to understand.
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People also care more about eating dogs than other animals. Similar thing here with whales acting more human-like than animals we eat.
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Every species of whale is at risk of becoming endangered or extinct. Nearly every other animal that humans are OK with killing aren’t in this much danger. Nearly every animal that is endangered gets people to care more about killing them than other animals.
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Whales are giant, peaceful creatures (outside of some orcas that are just dicks). People like large animals, like tigers and bears and elephants, but this is a large thing that is also harmless.
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Whales are intelligent and show signs of culture, society, memory, and strong feelings.
outside of some orcas that are just dicks
That’s part of their charm!
And language and naming each other
Man Id like to say some things in response of youd have acted like you’re open for a normal adult discussion, but I just can’t deal with this level of condescension. Please be nicer to people who did nothing to hurt you
I responded that way because you were “just asking questions.” It was a gotcha question that you either already knew the answer to (which is why I answered the way I did, because how could a person not know those answers?), or wouldn’t believe the answer to even if it was explained simply and rationally.
I was trying to open a discussion and maybe get a person or two to get to question some things. Don’t think that’s a good reason to be mean. And fwiw I still don’t understand WHY a person cares more about a dog than a pig.
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I have decided this issue is not important and warrants no consideration, because there are other issues in the world.
