In a recent whaling thread Andy Ottaway, director of the anti-whaling NGO, Campaign Whale, wrote “If whaling can’t be conducted humanely , it should not be conducted at all”.
There is a real unwillingness to address the issue of aboriginal whale killing methods including by NGOs and the International Whaling Commission.
Now the National Geographic Magazine has featured the Inuit narwhal hunt in Arctic Bay, Canada, and the significant associated problems.
This has elicited a negative response from the hunters and a ban on the filming of whale hunts in Arctic Bay.
Philippa Brakes from The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has commented:
““It is shocking and disappointing that an article published in National Geographic about the significant problems associated with this narwhal hunt, has elicited such a negative response from these hunters. Rather than face up to addressing the issues raised in the article about the welfare of these whales - including the fact that a 13 year-old boy was permitted to shoot narwhal all day, wounding many but landing none - the decision to ban the filming of these hunts does little other than confirm that these hunters have something to hide from the eyes of the world”.
Joe Tigullaraq, chair of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, said he worries that the portrayal of the Arctic Bay hunt will be seen by National Geographic's many readers around the world as representative of all Nunavut hunters.
"We do have 20 other communities in Nunavut that hunt narwhals," he said. "These other communities in Nunavut should not be painted with the same brush."
However, Tigullaraq said he hopes the article's publication may draw attention to flaws in present hunting techniques. "I think it's an opportune time to consider the problems."
Paul Nicklen, the article's author, grew up in Kimmirut. He wrote on the National Geographic website that the narwhal story "was the most stressful thing I've ever done. I feel as if I'm betraying my friends."
"But at the same time I hope that, ultimately, the DFO will work with the Inuit and help them find a better way so that their kids and grandkids can continue their traditions.
"In the end, I told this story because it's obvious that the narwhals do not have a voice, and I've done my best to fairly represent them as well as the Inuit. As a journalist, I have to tell truthful, unbiased stories of what I see, no matter how difficult it may be at times."
Ann Novek
Sweden
Correction re the article from the Faroe Islands:
They don't hunt killer whales but white sided dolphins.
231 pilot whales were killed yesterday and the meat and blubber were distributed for nothing to the public, about 5 kg for each citizen.
Air picture from Torshavn's harbour , the Faroe Islands http://www.fiskaren.no/incoming/article142062.ece yesterday after the annual pilot whale hunt
They kill some hundreds pilot whales each year, some other small cetaceans and killer whales.
I'm not the right person the point out spelling errors, but I see that the international media have spelled the Icelandic Fisheries Minister's name : Guofinnsson.
The Icelandic letter for D is missing on foreign keyboards, but instead of " o" , write a " d"!
So his near correct name is " Gudfinnsson".
Cat stew may be off the menu:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/27/2016825.htm
Interesting news from Iceland, not to mention Africa.
Iceland ends whaling due to lack of demand -
Iceland's fisheries minister Einar K. Guofinnsson said that it made no sense to issue new quotas if the market for whale meat was not strong enough.
He said in an interview with Reuters that he would not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improved and permission to export whale products to Japan – which Iceland has been seeking – was secured.
"The whaling industry, like any other industry, has to obey the market. If there is no profitability there is no foundation for resuming with the killing of whales.”
- Charles Clover, Daily Telegraph, 24th August 2007
" 'Wound it, and it will swim away and possibly die later — though many narwhals apparently survive. I've seen more than a few bearing MULTIPLE (my emphasis) bullet wounds.'
- Paul Nicklen, National Geographical
It's a common phenomena in all huntings that struck animals are wounded and escape. However, hunters ethics demand in all civilized societies to make an after search with dogs for a wounded animal and kill it. We have no idea how much the wounded animals suffer!
Those who work with marine mammals often witness animals with big wounds that have survived from polar bear and killer whales attacks. The salinity of the water cleans the wounds.
From CITES:
"Reports of Narwhal catches in both Greenland and Canada are believed to be incomplete, and under-reporting is significant in some areas. Undocumented mortality of Narwhals that are wounded and escape,or sink and are lost (‘struck and lost’) in Canada is higher than 30%19. The JWG agreed that data from the Canadian hunt can be used to provide a general indication of loss rate in Greenland20. Making reasonableallowances for struck and lost animals, mortality due to hunting by Canada and Greenland certainly exceeded 1,000 Narwhals annually in the 1990's over 1,500 Narwhals"
Good one Libby, methinks this could be something for a new thread???
BTW, watch out for a new whaling thread soon ( maybe today). Some interesting news...
Sorry Ann, a bit off-topic again:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/27/2015865.htm
Talks of eating feral cats in Australia.
Hi Libby,
Thanks for the link, your post confirmed a number of things I had strongly suspected about TTDs but hadn't seen the data for until now.
Interesting that the TTD details supplied by commercial whalers were careful to refer to time only in minutes rather than hours and minutes where appropriate, indeed some appeared to be getting very reluctant to supply the information at all...
'In 2007 Japan also announced it will not be providing welfare information from JARPN II to the IWC, despite the fact it is recognised that the welfare considerations of killing larger whales has not been properly researched or addressed.'
Well quite, after all its not like they are they are conducting scientific research on whales is it?... D'oh!