Whaling could it start again?

[Albion]

I had no idea you thought all of Scubaboard members were vegetarian. I'm sure not!

I proudly eat mammals, of many sizes, shapes and descriptions. Just because a whale lives in the water doesn't preclude it in my books.

Most mammals eaten by man are farmed, and in most western countries killed humanely. I also eat lots of mammals but none are potentially endangered species (note potentially, we just dont have enough facts here).

The big problem with whaling is that Japan is hiding behind this 'Scientific' research crap. I have lived in Japan and seen the amount of whale meat that is sold in fishmarkets and it aint small cheese, its a massive business, and they are simply using the power of the yen to keep doing it. This leads to false statistics being presented so that we do not know the exact scale of how many are being caught, for SCIENTIFIC purposes.

You've never seen a cat toy with a mouse?

Cats have been domesticated by man, their basic instinct tells them to hunt but we tell them not to bring little presents back into the house. Pleasure is not part of it, they are simply practicing their hunting skills.

Scratching my persian rugs and shredding toilet paper otoh does seem to amuse them :11ztongue

 

[Snowbear]

Most mammals... and in most western countries killed humanely.

True, most animals raised for human consumption are killed as humanely as possible... but most are definitely raised in far less than humane conditions.....

Personally, I would rather consume a moose that grew up in the wild than a beef steer that was fed antibiotics so it wouldn't get sick and die from living in it's own as well as other cow's dung and fed hormones so it would grow faster. Ever wonder why cattle or pig feed lots or chicken houses smell so bad? :sick::sick:

That said, though every few years I buy a hunting license to get my own moose, most of the time I buy a cow that's been raised locally in a pasture (rather than a "feedlot" and trade part of that meat for moose or caribou that someone else has killed...

I feel the same way about fish... Wild caught salmon is much safer (IMO) than farm-raised salmon. Unfortunately, most of the longer-lived edible marine creatures that are higher on the food chain tend to contain high levels of heavy metals. One of my favorite fish is fresh halibut.... but the bigger (aka older) ones have much higher levels of mercury and other HM's than the "chickens" (what we locals call halibut less than ~ 35 pounds). Good thing is, the "chickens" are better eating and tend to be less wormy than the trophy fish

I am part of a study the state is doing on native diet (especially marine animals) and it's influence on cancers. As a kid, I ate quite a bit of seal, whale and. of course, fish. When I had a tumor removed I consented participating.. Just doing this made me aware of the potential hazards, so I've tried to limit my exposure as much as possible.... so rarely do I eat marine mammals, tuna or non-chicken-sized halibut any more.

OK - off the soapbox now

 

[archman]

I am part of a study the state is doing on native diet (especially marine animals) and it's influence on cancers. As a kid, I ate quite a bit of seal, whale and. of course, fish. When I had a tumor removed I consented participating.. Just doing this made me aware of the potential hazards, so I've tried to limit my exposure as much as possible.... so rarely do I eat marine mammals, tuna or non-chicken-sized halibut any more.

If the whalemeat eaten came from rorquals, biomagnification concerns should be quite minimal. The only associated risks from long-lived planktivores might be via long term sequestration of nastier compounds in the blubber, but I've never heard of any such problems. Toothed whales and delphinids however are an entirely different kettle of er... fish. Seals too.

Ounce for ounce, there's higher biomag risk from eating a wahoo than a baleen whale. This should please the Inuits.

 

[Albion]

True, most animals raised for human consumption are killed as humanely as possible... but most are definitely raised in far less than humane conditions.....

Personally, I would rather consume a moose that grew up in the wild than a beef steer that was fed antibiotics so it wouldn't get sick and die from living in it's own as well as other cow's dung and fed hormones so it would grow faster. Ever wonder why cattle or pig feed lots or chicken houses smell so bad? :sick::sick:

That is true, however with the world population the way it is today the majority of us do not have that luxury anymore.

 

[Snowbear]

If the whalemeat eaten came from rorquals, biomagnification concerns should be quite minimal.

True - but the study includes seals and fish as well.
The initial questionaire I filled out asked about various whales as well as walrus, seals and fish.
The subsequent questionaires are primarily about on-going diet. I answer "no" on the whale meat questions. Apparently this study realizes that many natives eat a more "modern" diet and questions are asked about that as well...

 

[Snowbear]

That is true, however with the world population the way it is today the majority of us do not have that luxury anymore.

Agreed.... One of the multitude of reasons why I live where I do.

Most of the beef I eat has zero danger of "mad cow" disease.... It comes from a ranch on Lazy Mountain, so I tell people it's not "mad cow," it's "lazy cow"

 

[archman]

Most of the beef I eat has zero danger of "mad cow" disease....

I don't think there's such a test available. Most facilities infer "zero danger" merely from not discovering any occurrences of the ailment in their local stocks. Prions are extremely difficult to identify at low levels. Of course, "mad cow disease" requires a very heavy infestation of the things in order to manifest. Contagion can be minimized by not incorporating cow (or other hoofed mammal) parts into the feed. There's no practical way to sterilize feed from prions, at any concentration.

 

[Snowbear]

There's no practical way to sterilize feed from prions, at any concentration.

Actually, it's not that difficult... just don't feed products that contain animal "byproducts."

I feed my horses the same stuff the "Lazy Cows" get.... In addition to plain ol' hay or pasture (depends on the season), I buy pelleted hay/grain (oats and barley) that's grown and processed north of here. It's all plant material.... NO animal parts are mixed in.

p.s. the "facility" I buy my beef from is not the standard feedlot beef that's the standard meat found in grocery stores. These cattle live thier short lives in a pasture.

 

[archman]

Unfortunately, the things that cause bovine spongocephaly (I think that's the name) can "live" in dirt. They're sorta like anthrax in that respect. So while one can greatly reduce risk by sticking to pure vegetable feeds from remote areas, the risk cannot be eliminated entirely.

But what in nature is absolute? The only absolute I can think of is taxes...

 

[Zingtea]

KOMPRESSOR had better leave this thread or stop spamming.