No harm. Investigating further, I found out that it is a tradition in those islands to gather food stock for the winter since Viking Age (800-900 AD). It is a community wide effort regulated by national legislation according to website giving a detailed account of the island's whaling practices. The community do not see it as a horrendous crime. They claim that the level of their consumption is at a sustainable level. Out of 800,000 pilot whales, they rarely take 2,000 every year. Nick Aslam, the BBC writer, stated "Had I, they asked pointedly, ever gone to an abattoir in my country and seen the industrial daily slaughter of thousands of farm animals?" The meat gathered is shared among members of the community without charge. Surplus are given to hospitals and old people's homes according to the article of BBC.
"Faroe islanders have been hunting for pilot whales for centuries, giving them valuable food stocks for the winter. But to animal rights activists, the kill is cruel and unnecessary." - BBC News
Office of Protected Resources (US government agency responsible for protecting marine mammals and endangered marine life), classifies pilot whales as "Low risk least concerned." Meaning they are not in danger of becoming extinct. The whale hunt is regulated by the Ministry of Fisheries of the Faroe Islands which is responsible for the administration and for coordinating Faroese participation in international scientific and conservation bodies.
Focus on more important things. For animal rights and environmentalists out there, I think better questions would be:
1. What are the pressing matters that need more attention? A group of people hunting on a sustainable level (which can be easily judged by their means) or companies with highly poisonous waste disposal system disrupting ecological harmony?
2. There are a lot of endangered species already. What are we doing to reduce the count?
3. Least corrupt country (Denmark) do regulate this kind of activities. Should our efforts focus more on the least credible and corrupt governments that deprive both human and environment life?
Judgement. I think what keeps us from understanding their practice is our characteristic of being judgemental. Yes, what they are doing seems to be barbaric. However, if we stop from knowing more about this tradition, then we also stop ourselves from learning about far more important issues that can save our environment.
In the Philippines, dogs are domesticated then beaten to death in sakos. Illegal logging in Isabela had been rampant during the political regime of the Dy's resulting to landslides. MWSI's irresponsible water project "enhancement" clogged drainages causing more floods. Squatter areas near bodies of water irresponsibly throw their trash and wastes there. Pollution level in Manila is at an alarming level. We have 50 "biologically dead" read article here rivers already.
See... a lot of work needs to be done. Before we judge them, I think it would be better to judge people in our country first.
Sources: BBC news, NOAA Fisheries, Whales and Whaling in the Faroe Islands, Truth or Fiction
Posts
Whew i was supposed to say somethin bad but you are right..we should judge the people in our coiuntry first!
ReplyDeletea necessity for the Faroese, indeed.
ReplyDeletecruelty to animals? absolutely. if this is the way they slaughter these pilot whales, no wonder animal rights activists "judge". i mean, seeing a see of river? thousands of whales in their blood bath? even, someone like me who doesn't have a conscience kinda throw up a little in my mouth. hahaha
btw, i love reading our blogs. hahaha. ngaun ko lang na-discover!
To JV Uy, fact of life is that we must take lives of organic matter to surive. The only time it becomes wrong is when it is detrimental to the balance of things and its only cruel when the taking of life causes needless pain on the animal.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason you dont like what this people are doing is because you fell for this email's design of using people's emotion to garner a response instead of thinking something through. A beach red with blood, diced up sea mammals and people acting all giddy about it.
Replace the sea mammals with cows and location with your favorite slaughter house. You will have your rivers of blood, diced up carcasses and peole smiling while doing their job ... that what needs to be done to get your Big Mac at McDo.
Nice one on Melai for seeking the truth of things instead of being swayed by knee-jerk feelings.
Thanks anonymous :) i do hope i can get your identity, LOL. [can i just say paradoxical?]
ReplyDeleteActually, i was swayed at first then i got curious. i think our training in our school newspaper helped me not to be judgmental unless i research. hehe
Well might be a tradition, but nowadays i dont think they really need all that whale's meat, so far i read that most of these whale are left to get rotten on the beach, so where's that "gathering of food" point?
ReplyDeleteJust accept it there are lots of pointless traditions, thousands and hundreds of years have passed we as humanity have now other important issues, whats the point in keeping traditions that nowadays are stupid? if it were for keeping traditions, we should agree with these tribes in africa that mutilate their women's sexual organs...
POINTLESS! the only traditions that must be lept are those that bring good things.