Hundreds of whales slaughtered in Faroe Islands as annual cull turns sea blood red : world

[–] swearengen@sopuli.xyz 65 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

Before opening the article:

"Well I eat meat so I don't really have the moral high ground here."

“Every year, to the horror of the rest of the world, hundreds of whales and dolphins are chased into bays on the Faroe Islands and massacred in barbaric ways with metal hooks, which are driven into the stranded mammals’ blowholes before their spines are cut,” she said in a statement shared with The Independent.

“The animals cry out in pain. Whole families are slaughtered, and some animals are seen swimming around in their family members’ blood for hours

Yeah...fuck those people. Some cultures are just worse than others.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Agreed

In principle I'm not against eating meat. It's what humans have done forever, it's what all hunters animals have done for billions of years

If you're going to eat animals, though, first make sure the animals have a nice life on green pastures after which it's just lights out. Why the fuck do we torture these poor animals without limit before eating them? It's fucked up.

Second: if you want to eat farm animals, that's one thing. Eating wild animals from highly strained ecosystems is just plain stupid.

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Just to be clear,

Why the fuck do we torture these poor animals without limit before eating them?

That's factory farming, not traditional whale hunting.

Eating wild animals from highly strained ecosystems is just plain stupid.

They've done this for centuries, this is not what is straining the ecosystem.

I don't think it's ethical to eat meat, just wanted these things to be clear.

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Some cultures are just worse than others.

Hmm, do you think "good cultures" should interfere with "bad cultures" and stop them from their barbaric practices, teaching them the enlightened ways of the good cultures?

[–] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Yes. Fuck the prime directive, it's monstrous and evil, and a way for non-interventionists to feel proud of themselves while washing their hands off problems they could easily solve, sanctimonious bastards that they are.

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fair - how much does this idea overlap with colonialism in your mind? Usually we refer to colonialism as intervention for the sake of extraction, but it was/is often motivated through intervention for the sake of morals.

[–] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Colonialism isn't motivated by morals, colonialism is stealing other people's land for its resources (most of the time; and sometimes the people were the resources being stolen) or strategic importance, or because it's there, or because everyone else was doing it and not having colonies looked weak, or because it was a nigh uninhabitable far away place were you could dump any undesirables you wanted to forget about.

Morals were merely an excuse or justification, never the real reason.

More often than not colonialism didn't even consider the native cultures (or the natives themselves, except possibly as a nuisance or, unless they were the resource being stolen, and then they weren't considered as a culture or people, they were considered as product), they were irrelevant. Maybe some missionaries tried to teach them religion, so they could go to hell for their sins, and very occasionally some scholar categorised and described the cultural artifacts being stolen or destroyed, but that was never the driving force.

When I say fuck the prime directive I'm not talking about colonialism. I'm not talking about destroying cultures, or stealing their lands. The Faroese wouldn't be any less Faroese if they couldn't torture whales. They'd still have the rest of their culture, their language, their history, and, unlike with colonialism, their land and their lives. The “harm” to them would be minimal, and the world a less cruel and monstrous place.

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Thanks for the elaboration.

What might be a practical way to do it? The Faroese currently have a colonial overlord, Denmark, should they send police or armed forces to stop the slaughter by force? Or should the international community try with sanctions first?

Should we also intervene in e.g. cruel factory farming in other countries like the U.K. or France? Or at least stop the torturing of geese to make foie gras?

[–] werty@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Not if the bad cultures are indigenous and have been doing it for long enough. Nothing wrong with hunting endangered species if your culture is endangered.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 days ago

The primary species being hunted, pilot whales, according to the IUCN is least concern (the lowest rating) and they consider the hunts sustainable: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9250/50356171 The dolphin species aren’t endangered, either.

If you object to this on the basis that they’re intelligent that’s fine, but I also hope you don’t eat pork, since pigs are also highly intelligent (and for factory farmed, they lived and died in far worse conditions).

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

The Faroese are indigenous, have they been doing it long enough?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Is this the place the documentary "The Cove" took place/was about?

I honestly hope it is because I'd really like to not believe that there's more than one of these...

[–] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

No, sorry, that's Japan. People are monstrous everywhere.

[–] DarthFrodo@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Yeah...fuck those people. Some cultures are just worse than others.

Factory farms are still way worse, because of the permanent confinement in cramped cages full of shit, the cruel treatment for their whole lives, and the insane scale. It's like this event happening every second.

Just look at the Dominion documentary and compare it to this. We're the worse culture.

[–] null@lemmy.org 5 points 6 days ago

You can't call that hunting.

[–] sepiroth154@feddit.nl 19 points 1 week ago (3 children)

WTF why are there children watching this?

[–] mastod0n@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

I guess the same reason why all our ancestors were present as kids. In my chilhood I was present when my family killed chickens and goats.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Because they’re going to be eating it later, and this is less fucked up than how factory farmed animals live and die. The whaling that occurs in the Faroe Islands is non commercial, unlike the whaling done by Japan, Norway, Iceland, and South Korea.

If you eat meat you’re just paying someone else to do the same thing out of your sight 🤷‍♂️ Especially for something like pork, which similarly involves killing a highly intelligent animal. I didn’t grow up whaling, but I did grow up with family members who hunted and fished, and I think it was good for me to see in real terms where meat comes from and participate in processing it.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago (1 children)

One shit thing doesn't make other shit things less shittier.

[–] lookingforanALFpolycule@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (2 children)

No but if you feel angry at this animal cruelty you can use that to fuel your change away from the cruelty you inflict on animals yourself

[–] architect@thelemmy.club 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

You’re not going to like this but it’s okay to put more value on certain animals over others. Like, for instance, I value my cats more than any human stranger. If I had to choose who gets slaughtered, it’s going to be you not my cat. Just like I value my partner more than all of you combined.

So you’re oversimplifying this shit thinking you’re proving a point, but really you’re just assuming people won’t tell you the real truth.

People don’t value all animals the same. I feed my animals the factory scraps, too. 5000 chickens are worth less to me than one random cat let alone my own cat. That’s the way it works. So come up with a real argument.

[–] reev@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 days ago

You're not going to like this but it's okay for people to want to make a difference. Some people actually give a shit about not causing unnecessary suffering and you not giving a shit doesn't mean that they aren't justified in trying to improve animal welfare.

So you’re oversimplifying this shit thinking you’re proving a point, but really you’re just assuming people won’t tell you the real truth.

Thinking for anyone/anything other than the things that personally affect you or the arbitrary things you happen to care about is called basic human empathy. But apparently to some people that's the fundamental weakness of western civilization.

[–] lookingforanALFpolycule@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

I agree with you. I value a human over a chicken. I just value a chicken more than the slight difference between a chicken burger and a vegan burger.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Personally I find dolphins, whales (and also primates, corvids and parrots) more intelligent, sentient even.

That's why I'm particularly furious about their murder.

[–] lookingforanALFpolycule@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That’s not incompatible with my statement

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

In my case it's incompatible. I don't feel the same about cattle, unfortunately. And I can't force myself to feel it.

[–] lookingforanALFpolycule@lemmy.world 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Have you watched any footage of how cows and pigs are killed? I used to hold your opinion but seeing them struggle for their life against all odds lit a flame in me.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I suspect it's cruel and awful and avoid watching it 😔
I know I should become vegetarian

[–] lookingforanALFpolycule@lemmy.world 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Vegetarianism is a diet. If you believe non human animals don’t deserve to be exploited you are a vegan.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Vegetarianism still reduces demand for animal products. It's not just a diet.

[–] FatVegan@leminal.space 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

We can just not do both

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 days ago

Sure, feel free to go try to convince indigenous people to give up part of their way of life if that’s not ethically fraught to you. I’m not going to do it because if you care about animal suffering this isn’t even a drop in the ocean compared to factory farming. Effort is finite, I’m spending mine on the creatures living in factory farms, not the ocean.

[–] Lileath@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

How about we just don't murder any animal or human? The Faroese can easily get by without killing thousands of whales they just do it because they can

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

‘They’re just bad and evil and do it for no reason’ would get you failed in an ethnic studies class. If you want to stop it from happening you need to understand the cultural background and significance. Cultures do change, but using colonial influence to force change isn’t the way to do it.

[–] Lileath@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So you wouldnt try to stop a rape from happening if that was entrenched in a culture? Murder is bad and there are no reasons for animals to still get killed today.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 days ago

You’re making up hypotheticals like any of this is happening in a vacuum. Eating a whale isn’t raping a person (or even an animal as you yourself acknowledge when you call it murder), it’s part of survival for many indigenous peoples living on remote islands. Are you paying to replace all that lost protein, fat, and calories? Do you have any idea how expensive it is to ship it there? Unless you’re dedicating yourself to radically altering the foods available to the people living there, you have no right to criticize how they feed themselves.

It is goofy to fixate on indigenous peoples engaging in sustainable hunts as long as factory farming exists, absolute waste of time. I can’t help but wonder if people freak out so hard about it because they feel like there’s a higher chance of coercing minorities.

[–] Sturgist@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Probably because it's part of their culture. I personally don't agree with it, whales and other sea life should be protected, but I understand that it's important to include children in their culture. And also most of the world is very far removed from how meat gets to the table, people would probably be a bit more responsible about their consumption if they were involved in how the sausages get made.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

but I understand that it's important to include children in their culture

in that culture?

[–] Sturgist@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yes in that culture, preferably after stopping the cull.

Some communities survive an entire year on a single whale hunt. Look, I understand why you're so incensed, it's horrific. But it's pretty privileged to judge other cultures by your personal standards and morals.

For what it's worth, you seem to be completely ignoring the fact that I've been saying this whole time that it SHOULD BE STOPPED. But to say that without knowing if those whales may be the only main food source for an entire community is pretty ignorant.

Check yourself. You can be disgusted and angry and disappointed with this and still understand that it may be a requirement for the survival of these people.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

it may be a requirement for the survival of these people.

It's hard to believe in this, considering that it's Faroe Islands (Denmark), not some primitive tribals which have no other means to get food.

[–] Sturgist@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Faroese cuisine is generally dominated by the use of animal products, as only about 2% of the 1,393 km2 of land on the islands is at all suitable for arable crops.[28] As a result, during the winter months, the Faroe Islanders traditionally eat mostly salted or dried food, including mutton, fish, seabirds and the meat and blubber from sea mammals

The really easy to find wiki article on the topic.

The distance from the Faroe Islands to Denmark is approximately 1,356 kilometers (about 842 miles).

So I imagine it is probably quite expensive to import food. They do, they import quite a lot but that's not a solution. You're being very ignorant....and frankly I'm done with this argument. Especially since I've been saying that I think it should be ended, and you're very clearly just arguing for the sake of arguing.

[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Faroese cuisine is generally dominated by the use of animal products

Yeah. And that's why they need to cull dolphins and whales once a year?

It sounds more like a tradition than necessity.

[–] MrFlibble4747@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 days ago

Armed with MY opinion, I can rule the world!

Well done you with the all seeing eye.

Let's get Trump to invade the Faroes and install truth justice and the American way!

Get McDonalds established quickly so they do not need to cull.

I wonder if the islanders will be so exploited as American workers with minimal wage and the exploitative tipping culture?

Over to you All Seeing Eye!

[–] cenariodantesco@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is just me questioning 'culture' : I saw a video of an Israeli child, not more than 7 years old in one of those chat platforms that matches people around the world for 5 minutes chat, and she was matched with an adult that greeted her and said he is Palestinian. The child immediately punched the camera. Is this culture? Is there a difference between the whale killing and this? I think maybe the concept of culture being this unchangeable thing that transcends humanity and empathy should be questioned, specially in how society is evolving ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] Sturgist@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago

Is this culture?

Yeah, unfortunately it is. But there's a difference between traditions and ingrained cultural racism.

Is there a difference between the whale killing and this?

Is there a difference between continuation of traditional practices of food sourcing and culturally acceptable racism? Yes, definitely. Does that make culling whales morally acceptable? Of course not.

I think maybe the concept of culture being this unchangeable thing that transcends humanity and empathy

I never said that, though I can see how what I said could be perceived that way.

[–] Saljid@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

Monstrous

[–] StillAlive@piefed.world 11 points 1 week ago

Barbarians

World News

Rules