Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/03/07/norways-increased-its-whalin.html
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Maybe they think the Japanese are going to reign in their whaling, and they’ll have an export market?
Sidebar: Japanese consumption of whales is bullshit. They like to cite “Tradition”, but the tradition only dates back to the post-war recovery period.
Another sidebar: I tried whale on my last trip to Japan. I can categorically say that mammals with legs taste better.
Last one I swear:
There’s only three countries in the world that still authorize whaling: Norway, Japan and Iceland.*
*For non-indigenous populations.
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Yet another reason for Trump to like Norway.
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When I lived in Oslo you could buy whale meat at the Farmers Market, alongside more traditional meat like venison and reindeer. It looked gross to me, but seemed to be popular.
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Kinda surprised the quota isn’t ZERO, tbh.
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Whalers are the coal miners of Norway.
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Why, Norway why? You shithole country!
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There’s no apparent reason for Norway to hunt whales, as there’s no organic whale meat option for human consumption, and humans have polluted their atmosphere:
But if whalers can find a market for the meat, they’re sure to continue to do it because $:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160331-norway-minke-whaling-fur-farms/
BTW, the book “Leviathan” (by Dolin) about how in the 19th century the US turned its factory know-how and abundant cheap labor supply into an industry that killed many of the world’s whales is a triggeringly sad read, but v informative.
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To give the 19th century whaling industry some credit, at least they used practically every part of the whale for some purpose. Even in Norway one hardly sees whale oil or scrimshaw in the local shops anymore.
Why not?
I mean I find whaling to be distasteful, but I find it hard to argue why other nations should be banned based on my personal beliefs.
If the concern is sustainability the targeted whales are not endangered.
If the question is intelligence we don’t ban the consumption of pigs.
So where’s the legitimate reason for Norway to stop hunting?
I don’t eat pork, or beef for that matter, so I can pretty much go there, unless you have more to throw out on the subject. Besides, at what point does the species become threatened, then endangered, then… gone.
The question isn’t whether you personally eat meat, it’s whether you hold other countries who allow the hunting and consumption of meat to the same standard as you’re holding Norway for allowing the hunting and consumption of one additional type of meat.
The species in question is marked as Least Concern, if you’re going to criticize them on sustainability grounds then you need to hold every country with a fishery to the same standard.
Well, I do hold other nations in the same light as Norway. Japan for hunting whales, China for eating dogs, United States for a myriad of animal consumption and cruelty and any other nation that butchers animals that I believe are sentient. Frankly, I don’t care how rare or numerous these whales are, it’s cruel to kill them for consumption.
Whale meat was very cheap when I was young, so being poor-ish we had whale more than once… If I remember correctly it tastes like liver.
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