this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2023
52 points (94.8% liked)

World News

32048 readers
1160 users here now

News from around the world!

Rules:

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Cruiselines should stop going to Faroe until the hunts stop, or the cruiselines should shut the f up. Its just lip service without tangible action.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Cruiselines should f off anyway, because we're at the start of an ever growing climate crisis and cruise ships are the worst carbon emitters of all passenger transports. Those meat eating hypocrites aboard need a lesson in how we treat animals and the planet these days.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

meat eating hypocrites

Oh brother, here we go with the malnourished vegans again...I'm with you on the "fuck off cruiselines" bit, but for fucks sake...

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I mean it's partly the passengers desires that lead them there, cruise lines don't just pick arbitrary ports, they go where people want.

They shouldn't have apologized at all, they should have just been like "and this is what Faroe is like at this time of year, you're welcome that we were able to show you this unique experience"

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (5 children)

The cruise line is concerned about sustainability. That's rich.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah, sustainability of their revenue stream.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The whole idea of the article is pr marketing by the cruise ship, lol.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Their comments are PR mitigation. Pulling up to the whale butchering was definitely not a PR stunt.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The cruise line is concerned about upsetting their passengers, that is all.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sustainability of the things that entertain their passengers so the cruise line can continue to make more money.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, it is rich. Rich people pretending to be responsible.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Cruises aren't that expensive. But your point stands.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Depends on the cruise. There are some really expensive cruise lines out there.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure, I'm just saying that just because it's a cruise line doesn't mean the passengers are rich. It can cost <$1k or so for a weeklong cruise, which is cheaper than a lot of vacations.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

$1k USD is over a year's wages for someone at the global poverty line.

Just because it's cheaper than other more expensive alternatives doesn't mean it's not expensive and extravagant. It's also a lot more polluting than some of your more expensive vacations you could compare it to; so in reality, it's not actually cheaper, it just externalizes some of the costs on to the environment (or, the rest of humanity).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sure, but if we're comparing against the global population, anything more than a picnic at a place within walking distance could be considered extravagant. I'm close with a lot of people for whom an air-conditioned bus ride to the nearest major city once/year is out of reach (something like $20/person). I understand that poverty exists, and I have lived among those experiencing it.

The context he is that these are likely average people, not wealthy people, relative to the country they come from. You're not likely to find millionaires and certainly not billionaires on a cruise. Wealthier people tend to prefer to escape large groups of people (i.e. they'll have a cabin or something somewhere), not get stuck on a massive ship with hundreds or thousands of other people.

The passengers on the cruise ship aren't your enemies, the owners of the cruise lines and the international community that gives them massive exceptions to the rules are the ones to blame. Cruises can absolutely be much more efficient, but they're not because the people in charge let them pollute and any fines for abuse of what few laws exist tend to be merely a slap on the wrist.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Hunting and killing methods have been improved to ensure as little harm to the whales as possible.

Apart from the ... hunting and the killing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Why even hunt whales in the first place? Sure, it's one big food source when you snag one, but people who have tried whale say it's bland and uninteresting. It's just a bunch of fat. And it takes a lot of effort to kill it, haul it, parse it out, etc.

Fish farms give you much more good quality meat without all of the species endangerment.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Tradition, one of the worst reasons on earth to do anything.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There are certain very small remote communities in the far north that are isolated and hard to reach. Whale and seal hunting provides a guaranteed food source for these small communities so that they don't have to depend on incredibly expensive (both resource and moneywise) imports. The Faroe Islands is not one of those places because obviously a cruise ship can easily get to it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I have been to Iceland and Greenland and Alaska and Norway, etc. I promise you there is no utilitarian need to hunt whales in any of these places. They all have grocery stores where you can buy pineapples for reasonable prices.

We can argue tradition, but there is no utility here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I mean, do they?

like not every place has a grocery store that's easy to get to

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have lived in two of those places for years and I can tell you that you have no idea what you're talking about.

For example, Fairbanks is only one third of the way up Alaska. There's still so much left north of it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It's definitely not just fatty and bland. I've had it on Svalbard, where there's no farming or husbandry going on because it's too far up north.

Whale tastes a lot like beef, so yeah, might as well have that instead.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yes, this whale has been killed in a perfectly harmless way

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

We just line them up against the wall and shoot them in the blowhole. It's the most humane way, really. /s

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Faroe also hunts puffins. Puffins are best bird. There's literally no reason.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Often the only reason needed

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I read this as:

Wealthy, coddled city-dwellers---for each of whom thousands of animals, bred for fatness and compliance, are raised in factories and systematically slaughtered---upset to witness sustainable, traditional harvest practices. Floating corporate safety bubble apologises for failing to protect their naivete.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Jesus lol this almost sounds like a south park episode

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Southpark predicted this timeline

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I mean, the cruise ship and its inhabitants are "guests" so I'm not sure where they get off telling the locals what to do?

While I certainly don't condone hunting and killing whales (I also don't eat meat for the same reasons, ie. animals shouldn't have to suffer just so they can tantalize our taste buds), if these are local customs and it's not harming the environment then maybe people shouldn't be all high-and-mighty about it. Especially if they are chowing down on veal, lamb, or any meat for their meals.

Considering where these people live, I'm guessing historically speaking being fully vegetarian may not have been an option, so I wouldn't really judge them too harshly for customs that were likely built around survival as much as anything else. But maybe I'm off base, just guessing really.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

i agree. some values are universal, like what should be considered cruel, but slaughtering pigs is pretty cruel too (i eat them anyways!). to me, what's funny here is how privileged first world people just hate to see how the hot dog is made, so to speak.

it's like privileged people hating to simply see homeless people in cities even though the system that makes people homeless is necessary to keep the high property values that they benefit from. the mere witness of the cruelty we benefit from in modern society makes the privileged one feel like a victim.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Indeed. The reason hunting whales etc. could be seen as unethical is because we were driving them to extinction, which doesn't seem to be the case here. Any other lines that people draw for themselves about what animals we should / shouldn't eat is completely arbitrary.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, if the people on the cruise genuinely cared about the environment, they wouldn't be on a cruise, it's one of the most polluting ways to see the world, it not only directly hurts the ocean and everything in it, and everyone who depends on it (and not many people actually do any more, and like you say, most of those on board are probably eating animals), but the air too, and in a potential shift to battery powered ships, whatever damage making those causes, as well as other shit like by bringing covid to islands.

Blaming the destruction of the ocean on islanders sustaining themselves and not on the companies dumping garbage and pouring sewage and oil and god knows what else in to the sea, and the people who literally profit from dong that (like from them, on the cruise), is quite foul.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

In completely unrelated news, some whales seem to be attacking boats/yachts. How weird! Why could this be?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Are you talking about the orcas that are doing it apparently for shits and giggles or is there bigger underwater uprising on the way?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well yeah that is what I was talking about, though the articles I saw didn‘t mention any reason at all and if they had said "shits and giggles" I‘d be even more sceptical of that, since I don‘t think animals really fight without a reason.

Now here is where we get to my wild conspiracy theory, I think aquatic species may not like boats, who they can see killing their species or hunting their food sources. Then they react to a predator, so either they flee or attack. Orcas being some of the bigger ones are probably the few who stand any chance whatsoever fighting, so they might try sometimes.

Edit: Ok I just googled around and saw the articles you mentioned saying they do it for fun, I also found this: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/11/the-orca-uprising-whales-are-ramming-boats-but-are-they-inspired-by-revenge-grief-or-memory

Which explains why it may be playful behaviour, but also made me feel a bit more like at least I‘m not the only one who sees this other possibility too. It also gave me more of an idea of why I might want to see it this way (I think there is a lot of injustice happening and I feel powerless).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Orcas absolutely do shit like that for fun. They play with their food, like throwing a seal around to each other before killing and eating it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Mister Nimbus has had enough!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I thought whales were protected. I'm guessing just a few species are protected, and those were not. Sad

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not saying I approve, but there's carve outs when the whaling is part of a local tradition. Also, Pilot Whales are in the Least Concern category, so they're not going extinct from this.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Great news if you hate people who go on cruises AND whales 👍

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Jesus. This sounds like it came straight from the Onion

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Oh god... lolz

load more comments
view more: next ›