People have to see this stuff...

The Feroe Island whale/dolphin massacre.

You probably have already seen this. One of the sickest things I've seen in some time (similar stuff most probably happeing every day around the globe).

I cannot express how dissappointed I am for being a human.
It's being said that this is allowed to happen for cultural reasons. THERE IS NO F****** CULTURE IN KILLING A DOLPHIN WITH A CROWBAR. You have to be really retarded to believe that.

As a sailor I hope I'll meet people with respect for nature, people that won't condone such a horrible display of killing frenzy. This goes way beyond respect for nature, this is "humanity" at it's worst displays.
The media linked this strongly to Denmark and Feroe population, but it's happening all around the globe in one way or another. Not just the freaks doing it are the culprits but also the people generating demand.

This is the lowest of the lowest.

http://www.yousaytoo.com/MandM/whale-massacre/8231

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/w/whale-killing-denmark.htm

more

more

more

Is it legal?

It's certainly ugly, but so is any slaughtering process. I can't criticize because I eat a lot of beef. Since young children are exposed to it, I assume it is a traditional part of their culture. If they considered it shameful or even horrific, the children would probably be excluded. Certainly it can be done more humanely.

As an American, it is a no win situation. If I criticize, I'm Imperious, if I do nothing I'm uncaring.

I've seen similar things in Japan. I wonder what Hindus think of American slaughter houses. . . no, I think I know already.

Pete,
I try no to look at it as - americans/europeeans/asians etc...
I think right/wrong is universal, doesn't need a name. I put this on "humanity's" account.
I think this is plain wrong, a huge stain on humanity. There's no arguement in culture's name that can stand straight against this.

You're right Pete. Agree or disagree, and you'll be labeled something....

Call me what you want, but I'm probably neither a red-meat monger nor a tree-hugger. I understand there needs to be a balance between our consumption and our contribution.

What do they use the whales for? As this seems to be an annual "harvest", they haven't eliminated the species, so is there some useful purpose this activity is serving?

There is an overabundance of deer in Texas that wipe out grasslands and (or course) threaten cattle operations. They allow hunting as a means of deer control.


I can agree to that logic - we've destroyed so much natural habitat already, if the remainig wild areas are overpopulated with animals, you've got an even worse situation (disease, further destruction, demise, etc). Besides, deer tastes pretty good.

Unfortunately, humans are NOT exclusive herbivores. We do not posess rumens or other fermentation organs, which makes us very inefficient at digesting plant material and extracting essential calories, nutrients, and proteins. So, in my view, humans do need SOME small amount of animal/fish protein/meat in the diet.

Yes, slaughter operations are very disturbing to the "sanitized" eye of today's society. We just want our food packaged in the nice little wrapper and don't want to know HOW it got there.

Maybe they just picked it from the "hamburger tree"...

How to efficiently and humanely "process" large numbers of animals will always be a source of contention for people.

Would it be "nicer" to see all these people out there trying to harpoon the whales individually (some escaping with serious injury and pain)?

Should the fishermen just drop a bomb in the water and hope that it kills them all instantly?

I'm not a fisherman.... how do you harvest whales? Let's assume there is a reason you have to...

Are they used for something? I wouldn't condone just killing them, but if the meat/carcass is used why not? I saw something about this on public television a while back. I can't remember the reasoning.

I wonder how many hogs, cows, chickens, turkeys, are raised and slaughtered each year in the US. Gotta be high, we eat alot of beef. Our indians (Native Americans), get to kill fish with spears, its thier culture. Whitey can't do it, unless its on a reservation. I think you can bow fish though. Works well with carp.

I respect your view that the topic of animal harvest is disturbing.

And I agree that there are plenty of things we as humans do that are NOT what you'd consider admirable, I'd be willing to debate if this activity of harvesting whales is "wrong" under ANY circumstance.

I am in no way defending this activity as I have no firsthand knowledge of WHY this is being done. I merely am seeking to engage in CONSTRUCTIVE debate on this...

Questions:
- is this the only source of animal protein that sociey (or village, or whatever) has access to? Is it only this time of year that the animals are accessable?

- If they didn't harvest the whales, what could the people do for food/protein/energy? Animal protein and fat are substantially more calorie rich than vegetable/plant material. Is there enough airable ground for these people to subsist on plants alone?

- if left to their own device, would the whales overpopulate their feeding grounds, suffer from disease or habitat exhasution/destruction?

- if they hunted the whales some other way, would it cause more injuyr/suffering to the whales?



I pose the question "How could this result be achieved in a more "acceptable" manner"?

The people on the islands, which btw. is under the danish crown, are experts on cooking pilot whales. Much relevant information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands

The hunt is regulated by the government. To me the hunt/killing looks inhumane.
Apparently the kill is done in the traditional way, but the chase is done in motorized boats instead of rowing boats. My feeling is that as long as they argue it is a traditional/cultural hunt, they should go out there with rowing boats and no modern communication.

Todays trivia: Damn the treaty at Kiel of 1814. Until then Norway included the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kiel

Okay, if there is some reason the crown still authorizes the hunt, how could it be made more humane?

Sleeping pills? (no, that's not a joke)

You shoot the whales with grenade loaded harpoons at sea. One big shock and you can reel them en.

And the fish, scuba divers, seals, other whales, etc. right along with them.

I still think grenade fishing is the fastest way to euthanize your target, but not as 'specific' as I'd like....

You're thinking though, and that's the point of brainstorming!



Sorry Rolf, didn't see the "harpoon" part of the grenade fishing. Yes, I think that's a more instant form of harvest, but how in the heck to you track down and harvest that many whales in the open?

That's a lot of grenade harpoons... I could use a few for (or against) some people in my office...

You are probably thinking about artillery, that is not what a grenade harpoon is. It is an harpoon with an exploding head. Once the harpoon have gone into the whale, it explodes and knocks the whale out. Ref: http://www.slate.com/id/2143986/
This is how modern whaling is done.

Not many scuba divers or seals around the faroe islands I think. I believe the fishing is poor these days as well, without having checked.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islands

Correct. Although those whales looked pretty small compared to the explosive harpoons I've seen video of (during the Japanese "research harvest" of larger whales).

Do they make smaller versions? I guess to avoid the kind of images posted, it would make sense to develop one.

Still, the question persists... How would you get that many whales harpooned without chasing them all over the water for a looooong time...?

uhg

I had sushi for lunch and then I clicked on this.

let me re-iterate...

uhg

Grenade harpoons So much more effective than yelling starboard.
If the whales are bieng utilized for their blubber and meat then im ok with it. Yes it is inhumane but so are zoo's here in the U.S. . If its a cultural rite of passage then who are we to judge their society. Hooking a fish and fighting it for an hour then gaffing it and pulling it aboard and watching it bleed to death and suffocate at the same time is also cruel.

That is the point. Do a proper hunt and humane kill instead of a massacre.

That's why I quit hunting hogs with dogs. It's just too savage.

For those inclined to do something about this, contact their local tourist bureau. They'll put stop to it in a hurry!

I can just imagine the Florida Tourist Industry going insane if we did that on a public beach!!

Pete,

people pay a lot of money to see alligator wrestling. How humane is that (especially since the wrestler never loses)?

Is sport fishing humane (see above post about fishing)? How about commercial tuna netting?

Back to the whaling example, is there any particular need to harvest the whales? I haven't read the article. Is it used for meat, or whale population control? At least those have humanitarian purposes.

So, from the discussion so far, perhaps the most efficient and humane method for this 'harvest' is to corral the whales similar to how they are doing it in the pictures, and then "bang-stick" the whales with grenade harpoons suited for their size to instantly kill them individually?

And I like sushi, too. Which is why no one ever takes me fishing anymore...

You do it. I'll take my pig wrapped, without the squeal.

I agree, which may be why no one takes me hunting anymore....

I hate whale hunting but at least they are doing it on their own shoreline. The Japanese have successfully done scientific research so well that there are not enough in their home waters so they roam the world slaughtering whales in other countries waters where they've been protected and used for tourism.
At christmas the brewery in Adelaide lights up it's christmas display and the joke there was the Japanese only wanted to buy the brewery because it has a whale close to shore.
regards

crowbar vs whale.....unjust
High powered rifle vs Deer....Sport?

Dont get me wrong, I like meat as much as anybody, but go hunt like a man, or buy your meat at Publix, but dont tell me that a rifle is fair to the animal...

Flame retardant suit applied, Im ready

Not fair, but if used skillfully, far more humane.

Who is talking about fair? For me it is about ending lives with as little stress and pain as possible for the animals.

So, Dave, what would you consider fair? I've seen deer starve from not enough vegitation to eat in thier area. It's a very brutal death. Not to mention drawn out suffering. Also seen them (and Elk) die from Chronic Wastings Disease. Mother nature is far more cruel than a well placed shot from a modern firearm. Maybe you could talk to them and get them to OD on sleeping pills or something, that would be a much more pleasant way for them to die.

BTW, I usually hunt elk every year in Utah and speak from firsthand experience. Hunting is a vital part of wildlife management. Our populations of Ungulates (deer, elk and moose)are in far better shape now then they were at the turn of the century. Someone who sees a dead deer with a bullet hole in it that is heading to the freezer and thinks that it's unfair is short sighted and cannot (or will not) see the whole picture. I also must say that I'm pretty fond of whales and didn't like the pictures much but the pictures probably don't tell the whole story, so I will not judge.

"Hunting is a vital part of wildlife management."

The lack of revenue from hunters is becoming a matter of concern here. The problem stems both from bad PR and loss of hunting lands.

Here, the whitetail deer suffers from cyclical shortages of forage, but also from parasites. When they are unable to reach high ground, and their hooves soften in standing water, they founder and die.

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/sponsors.main

I don't hunt anymore, but I'm certainly glad that others do.

I think with animals displaying the kind of consciousness that the Dolphin and whale species show there is merit in special consideration for the way death is handled. However, the animal species, including ourselves are fascinating in that the body reacts in times of this sort of stress with it's own drugs and ways of mitigating the horror. But that is what it is, horror. As my brother used to say.
"Welcome to Planet Pain, where everything on it is eating something else."
We might also remember that Pilot Whales have a habit of stranding themselves and dying in large numbers. There is an image of one of the slaughter-men slipping near a dying animal and I think these guys probably know how to kill the beasts fast for their own safety.

Finally I am an omnivore and I relish meat and believe it has most essential elements for my healthy survival. I live in a nation where I think the hardships on the animals we slaughter are mitigated as much as is possible.
I am thankful I do not have to hunt my own as I am happy I do not have to make my own car. But is the meat was not there I would go out and kill it myself. I would get used to it and I would be a very unpleasant chap if someone else tries to stop me.
I can't believe these people killing this resource are any different.

Do you not know how many sheep are exported out of NZ every year to the Islamic world to be brutally traditionally slaughtered?
A LOT, and I dont think those sheep would agree with you.

Luckily the Animal Rights groups were able to stop a lot of live exports so that Australian & NZ efforts to train the Islamic world in humane animal treatment were stopped. Now the Islamic world can get on with doing it the traditional way.

Some facts :
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/w/whale-killing-denmark.htm
http://www.whaling.fo/nammco99whalingandanimal.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/pilotwhale_longfinned.htm

That meat is not exactly good for your health. These ppl use it for their own consumption, other countries won't usually import it because it has high levels of mercury in it, and for other reasons as well.

People have different sensitivity to this kind of stuff, granted. People need to feed themselves (better through local resources). Huge amounts of food are disposed off in parts of the world while in other places people starve to death. Supposedly we evolved and should have better understanding and respect for nature. That doesn't mean we are supposed to only eat potatoes.

If all we do in our lifetime is spreading pain to others, can it still be called intelligent life ? Trying to minimize that pain maybe called intelligent.
Just the way I see it.

This may seem disgusting to us as a "civilized" society, but as your link there http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/w/whale-killing-denmark.htm states, every part of the animal is used, wasting nothing. Nothing is exported an it is all consumed by the natives. I can't fault this behavior now that I know more about it. Read the article and see if ya'll don't agree. If not...to each his own, I say. It's certainly not as reprehensible practice as what the Japanese whaling/shark industries practice or what the White Man did to the buffalo. In both of those cases, most of the animal is wasted.

i agree that everyone should see this stuff

- legislation should force mandatory school　visits to slaughter houses for kids who eat meat

- graduating from high school should at least require wringing a chickens neck, plucking it and cooking it over an open fire, vegetarians to grow a crop of lentils in their final year

- KFC should have a few dead rubber chickens hanging from the ceilings above the register

- entering MacDonalds you should see a life sized butchered cow carcass hanging from a meat hook

for far too long people have been happy to ignore the realities of humans being omnivores with meat cutting teeth

oh and while we are on the "point out the bleeding obvious" crusade

- death penalty executions should be televised

We are sailors. Its us in harmony with nature. We probably understand this more than most powerboaters and the regular population. My only point is the rifle seems like cheating to me(IMHO).

BTW This whale thing is a slaughter, not a hunt.

Country kids do see this stuff erice, my kids have seen me stretch a sheeps head back, cut its throat and push its head off its backbone in one action dispatching it as quickly and painlessly as possible. It seems brutal when you write it down but thats real life. Thats where our food comes from! The people in the original post use every part of the resource they are harvesting from their local environment, they have probably managed that resourse for hundreds of years and done a good job of it by the look of it. They just need to be taught how to dispatch the animal more humanely, once they learn how to shoot the whales and tow them in efficiently they could probably wipe out the population in no time at all. My guess is the local Govt sets restraints on what they can use to limit the harvest. The Japanese by contrast wiped out their local population and roam the world looking for dog meat.

And the reason for this is what?

The GOOD part about shipping a million sheep/year from OZ to the Middle East--- is that the Arabs eat what they are used to-- They just love the oldest, toughest, grottiest sheep!

Ain't life great- some of the time?

Some of it's necessity when I sent a few thousand long tail lambs to the Haj it was explained to me.
Every Muslim must visit Mecca and when they do they must give a pure lamb to the needy, hence no chopping off the tail. Obviously they cant all go with a lamb under their arm so they pay a fee to the Saudi Govt who then buy shiploads of lambs. These ships are then sent to the poor Muslim country of choice where presumably the locals who don't own refrigerators or big screen TV's buy them at a subsidised price and ritually slaughter them. The live sheep exporting countries have tried to train locals and teach them that a non stressed animal tastes better but its been a waste of time because we only have influence while were sending animals there.

I would take a share in televising that death penalty thing. Big bucks for advertising in that time slot. You have to be careful what you wish for as it might not generate the effect you desire.
I am a shoot them kind of a guy as that is what I would have done to myself. Anyone who has been hit hard and knocked unconscious will verify that it is a relatively painless thing. It is the waking up that hurts and of course the dead do not wake up. Possibly not as viewer friendly as a juddering electrocution victim but definitely not cruel or unusual and the Chinese always pack the stadiums for executions.

Perhaps all meat eaters should have to work a season in a meat works. But do we want so many people trained to kill? After all they might get sick of being told what to do and take an action that might see them on that "Dead Right" show.

It's convenient how something can magically be deemed as acceptable just by calling it "tradition." The Mayans and Aztecs killed a massive amount of people by sacrificial traditions.. Guess I'll just have to smile and respectfully wave next time I see an Aztec descendant push someone off a cliff.

if you don't want to eat whale, then don't eat it, problem solved

if you don't want other people to eat whale meat then there's a problem

kind of like a vegetarian having a duck down sleeping bag, a leather belt and being pro-choice

Alright, I for the most part I managed to keep my nose out of the drill thread, but this one is driving my nuts. I won't get into whether or not it's right to kill an animal and eat it. My arguments on that topic won't convince any vegetarians to go out and eat a burger, so I'll leave that one alone. But...

Did anyone actually _read_ the articles that where linked on the TruthOrFiction site? Maybe start with this one from the BBC:
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3104494.stm

Couple quick quotes from the BBC journalist:
There was very little waste, one man told me as he stacked his share into a pickup, for more than 90% of each animal was consumed.

He was, he said, going to dry his portion of whale meat in the traditional way so it could be eaten by his family over the winter.

They had no doubts. With 800,000 pilot whales in the North Atlantic and with rarely more than 2,000 a year taken in the Faroes, the whale population was not under threat.


Now read this one for some more background information on whaling, why they use a knife and the stats on Time-to-death.
http://www.whaling.fo/nammco99whalingandanimal.htm

When you think about it, their times to death are actually quite impressive. When using a whaling knife and blow hole hook, their average time to death is 29.2 seconds. I can't say that I've ever shot a deer with my bow or gun that has died that quickly (hell, even the ones I've hit with my car haven't died that quickly!).

When I read the first post in this thread I thought it's so far out there this must be an email hoax. After reading the some of the background on it, I have no problem with these people hunting for their food... No, I don't consider this to be their culture (maybe long standing tradition, but not culture), just hunting for a winter store of food.

As long as I'm venting... the comment about "killing a dolphin with a crowbar" is uninformed and way off base for this topic.


Bah... election season, all of my boats are in storage... everyone seems to be a bit touchy lately. Let it snow so I can get out my skis and hit the slopes (or do some of you take offense to that too ).

Technically those are Risso dolphins. Don't think getting technical about the tools was of much use, but I did post links with info about them.

I don't expect ppl share my view on this, we are all different.
Those dolphins are not in danger of exctinction, and they do consume almost all of it, posted links about it.
I have a problem with the way they do it.
I also think it is useless looking at the numbers. I doubt any of us would choose between 30 seconds or 5 seconds of dying time (while looking at your organs) - for us or for family members as well, how about giving the same consideration for animals ?

I think the 1.4kg of brain we carry should be more than enough for finding better ways to treat your prey. There's a line between hunting and being barbaric. I have respect for hunters that do give that consideration to prey, the ones that aknowledge the harm they make and try to minimize inflicted pain. 30 seconds to 2 seconds is a huge difference. How about thinking of that difference when it comes to humans, loved pets, should it be different ?
Anyway, I'm truly said that a lot of ppl have no problem with the method involved.

I have a friend who is prone to taking more geese than he should during hunting season, just a couple. Doesn't bother me in the slightest, but he eats them, that's why it doesn't bother me. Folks who will literally fill a pickup with birds just cause they can piss me off.

I would consider myself very lucky to have my own death take 30seconds.

Karl,
technically it takes up to 20-40 seconds for our brain to die (clinical death) from lack of oxygen and blood supply.
So, unless you have massive injury to head first - you'll most probably get your 30 seconds and feel lucky.
But can you elaborate your last statement ? As compared to what ? Just curious.

I must admit, this thread turned somewhat creepy. Good thing about sailing is that you can forget about all the crap going around the world while out there.

So when you are beheaded, your brain continues living (and you can remain conscious) for 20-40 seconds afterwards?

Mary,
according to medical books that should be correct.
However a state of shock maybe preventing you for actually being conscious for those 20-40 sec.

That's an interesting statistic. Don't really want to try it out, but interesting

But that means these whales are having the equivalent of their heads lopped clean off, and the state of shock may be preventing them from actually being conscious for those 20-40 seconds.

I think I'd side with Karl on the 30 seconds compared to a lot of other ways to go.
My wife's grandfather just passed away last Friday night. The last 6 months or so have been pretty tough for him and everyone around him. The docs kept giving him new drugs to "fix" problems that kept coming up. He's been mostly in pain for one reason or another. On and off for the last month or so he hasn't known where he was or who anyone else was. Early last week, they decided to take him off dialysis and to quit draining his lung that kept filling up. They gave us morphine shots to give him to make the drowning less painful.

30 seconds in the state of shock or 6+ months slowly...

The History channel had a brief segment on what happens when you are beheaded during one of their shows about the progression of the tools of execution.

They described the situation as the (now disembodied) head senses the feeling of falling and makes an effort to stay itself. But not being connected any more to the body, it continues to sense the falling motion, and for a brief period adopts an expression similar to someone in free-fall.

They also indicated that the brain bleeds out rapidly, and consciousness is lost within about 10 seconds.

I guess that ain't a bad way to go....

As for hunting, I make it a point to make the most rapid knockdown possible for several reasons:
- Most importantly, an instant kill relieves any suffering on the animal's part
- No panic means no stress hormones, which means better meat
- clean kills keep all of the animal's carcass useable

Compared to say, getting cancer. The actual, physical shutdown of death is one thing, the long dragged out circumstances of something killing you is another. Or even a car wreck, where you can't be fixed, you aren't going to make it, but you're still alive. Twisted, mangled, screwed.

The French did some research on this (from Wikipedia, "Guillotine"):

The following report was written by a Dr. Beaurieux, who experimented with the head of a condemned prisoner by the name of Henri Languille, on June 28, 1905:

Here, then, is what I was able to note immediately after the decapitation: the eyelids and lips of the guillotined man worked in irregularly rhythmic contractions for about five or six seconds. This phenomenon has been remarked by all those finding themselves in the same conditions as myself for observing what happens after the severing of the neck...

I waited for several seconds. The spasmodic movements ceased. [...] It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: 'Languille!' I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions – I insist advisedly on this peculiarity – but with an even movement, quite distinct and normal, such as happens in everyday life, with people awakened or torn from their thoughts.

Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves. I was not, then, dealing with the sort of vague dull look without any expression, that can be observed any day in dying people to whom one speaks: I was dealing with undeniably living eyes which were looking at me. After several seconds, the eyelids closed again[...].

It was at that point that I called out again and, once more, without any spasm, slowly, the eyelids lifted and undeniably living eyes fixed themselves on mine with perhaps even more penetration than the first time. Then there was a further closing of the eyelids, but now less complete. I attempted the effect of a third call; there was no further movement – and the eyes took on the glazed look which they have in the dead.[10]

I think it got creepy when someone posted a whole lot of bloody slaughter photographs on the sailing sight I like to visit.
If you did not want honest, considered feedback, why did you post it?
Some people are horrified by such things but most are not. We, like it or not are full of instinct as well as reason and instinct says kill to survive.
I do not excuse cruelty but I do not think these people are indulging in some sadistic ritual.
If you are truly serious go to these people and stay with them and try to understand them. It is very easy to sit thousands of miles away and presume you know everything about them and imagine they should just default to your loftier ideals.

I get the impression the post of the slaughter was aimed at creating a condemnation of these people. For what reason? So we might all feel better than them? If everyone here agreed with the sentiment it would mean nothing to the whales and save not one of them.

And it means nothing if you do not think what they are doing is okay and you do not take a more realistic action to stop what they do.

I suppose I am creepy now.

I do wanted honest feedback. No, you were not creepy. I signed petitions, sent emails, posted on website so ppl aknowledge this, sometimes bad things are allowed because it goes on locally and ppl on the outside are not aware of it - I consider this taking action (it is little indeed). I do not feel better about myself, I feel responsible for it too. I hope people that do not aprove this take action as well (as little as it is).
Regarding condemnation : I don't care if these people are Romanians, English, Dutch, Indians, Africans, etc... - they are HUMANS, and that is inhumane.
If you were disturbed by this then I guess I reached my goal.
Bottom line, I'm not saying they should starve or grow more vegetables, I believe humans should have more consideration regarding harvesting natural resources, employing more thinking into it and not just what is easiest, simplest and convenient. I extend that to every natural resource.
We usually defend ourselves when what we do is took for granted, much easier than giving it some thought - "well it's been going on for decades, why should we stop ?"

I encourage you to continue to speak out for what you believe. I want always agree with you, but when you are respectful, as you have been, I will listen.

Hello Florin.
I understand your discomfort and pain regarding these creatures and their fate and I do not want to labour the point but a word comes up here that sums the discussion up for me.

Bad>

Good and bad are constructs of human conventions and social mores.
These are a product of all sorts of things, including religion and history.

So in some places gays are bad and in other places they are no problem.

Fact is they are neither good nor bad. They just are and other people form an opinion.

I do not like what the Whales killers are doing and I would not want to live in that society. But the me that does not want to live in that society is the me that grew up in New Zealand. If I grew up there the ritual, social engagement and harvesting this practice represents might be the most important thing on my yearly calendar.

Isolating those people by acting regionally and putting trade pressure or whatever on them will create the response that pressure always creates-resistance.

Now, as to posting on this website. I am a sailor. I come to this site as a sailor. I expect some understanding on your part that it is not really a place to push your social or political views.
I felt you ambushed me with those images. The posting of them here created resistance, not empathy in my mind.

Peace of mind is not always an easy thing to create especially where it pertains to our view of the human race.

I do not see these people as a threat to my way of life and so they are welcome to continue what they are doing and reap whatever Kama comes with it.

I hope you find some peace of mind with this but I do not think it will be easy while you think these people are "bad" people.

I saw my first Dolphins a few weeks ago sailing my boat in San Pedro Harbor. I named them Hansel and Grettle they were in no danger from me or anyone else here in the US. I was so glad to see them jumping out of the water over my wake.
Respecting nature is a Sailors first duty and I doubt anyone on this forum has ever killed anything unless they intended to eat it, trout and halibt beware. It was some pretty disturbing pictures of the harvest and had no business on this site. Maybe you can post them on a greenpiece or other animal rights site for more sympathy.
The story about the Alaskans killing a whale but not knowing what to do with it once they had the body was also jacked up but its done.