(no subject)

[wellinghall]

[Poll #853603]

Comments

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the ecology of whales around Iceland to pronounce in favour or not, but until we stop over-fishing and various other questionable hunting/farming practices (not to mention the killing of animals for sport as opposed to for food or medicine), and/or it can be demonstrated that they are killing species that are genuinely endangered (despite their protestations to the contrary), then I think they are entitled to do what they want with the whales in their waters.

Did you know that 1/3 of the cod fished in the entire WORLD is eaten in the UK despite the fact that we *know* that the stocks are in a dire state?

And then there's all the other wildlife damaged by our fishing and farming methods.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Well given that they've managed without eating whales for the last decade or more do they really need to start again?

As for UK Cod consumption a lot of that is actually coming from faraway fisheries which can support it sustainably (at least according to the BBC).

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Well, unless the animals concerned are seriously endangered, IMO eating one kind of animal is ethically much akin to eating another, therefore as I'm a meat-eater, it's fine by me on that score anyway. (Obviously if one is a vegetarian one should object to eating whales, but IMO only as much as eating any other mammal).

Now, if our Icelandic friends are shown to be decimating a rare breed, or using inhumane methods, or anything else that is really worth complaining about, THEN I will decry the practice.

Thanks for the info on cod, well, that's something. Still concerns me that having ruined our own fish stocks, we're now eating other people's, a nation of 1/100 the world's population eating 1/3 of all the cod, when there are plenty of other whitefish available more readily.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Well one of the breeds they're intend to hunt is endangered, they just dispute the population figures. Whales move around so it's not like Farmer Giles telling the leftie veggies he'll slaugfhter and eat whichever of his cows he pleases to, because they aren't necessarily 'their' whales. And the whale killing business is not like a slaughterhouse or hunter killing an animal quickly and painlessly with a humane killer or one shot - exploding harpoons or 19th century blades on sticks are slow and painful killers

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Have you got sources? (No I'm not being funny, I am genuinely interested). If this is the case, then as per my previous comments, I don't approve of that particular whaling.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Adittedly most of my info is based on things heard/read ages ago, but here are some sources I googled tonight.

News of Iceland's whaling & general info
BBC News 3 days ago (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6074230.stm)

News as above and a pic of a whale carcass, so it seems there's a lot of wastage ...
Greenpeace (http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition/news/iceland-resumes-commercial-wha)

International Whaling Commission page with estimates of whale numbers by area and type
the IWC numbers (http://www.iwcoffice.org/conservation/estimate.htm)

Whale killing methods and how slow it can be,
Methods here at BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3847167.stm)

and an article which is linked from it
BBC and views on whale death (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3542987.stm)

Whalewatch's site FAQs on whaling (admittedly they might be biased)
Whalewatch, cited by the BBC (http://www.whalewatch.org/en/default.asp?pageid=5)

Plus a Japanese whaling site with a marine biologist's view of things (as I read it it he was essentially saying we need to take a more careful, balanced and forward looking approach but I was sklimming)
Good or bad (http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_v14_tafe.html)

And given all the fish we can and do catch and all the animals we farm is there a need for whaling beyond it conmforming to a 'cultural history' and despite what the marine biologist says many of us have grown out of killing people we dislike or capturing someone else's livestock or women for our own ...

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I will read them when I have finished doing things I ought to...otherwise I will procrastinate on the topic of whales all afternoon.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

You mean restarting, not restating.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I know; I'm not that great a typist, but I'm not bad at proof-reading.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I am the only voter for 'really bad!'

I was going to vote really really, then I felt that I should keep something in reserve, in case they decided to start hunting them with nuclear warheads or something...

[footnotetoplato.livejournal.com]

I joined you. :)

[psychostace.livejournal.com]

As the representative from the RSPCA, I think you know my view! ;)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I thought I probably knew yourview; although I didn't know it was actually the RSPCA you work for.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Your poll is biased. You should know better, given your line of employment.

(Gets off high horse, with the aid of a stepladder of course)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I know it; but I posted it anyway.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

It has occurred to me, that the answer could be "(just about) acceptable" or "a bad idea" morally, while being a worse idea for other reasons, from tourism and public opinion through to whale stocks and encouraging other nations to start hunting other creatures and everything in between.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

When we were there, the whale-watching boats were lined up on one side of the harbour, and the whalers on the other. I can't help thinking that they were trying to make some sort of point to each other.