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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.
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.
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.
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
Can someone explain why people care more about this than the killing of other animals?
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.
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?
I have decided this issue is not important and warrants no consideration, because there are other issues in the world.
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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