Hey Laura, thanks for the kudos on this post! I really respect the dedication of vegans and think it is great you stand up for what you believe in. I do too! And our values are just a little different. I know that vegans don’t agree with this but I DO think there’s a difference between eating cows and chickens and eating whales and dogs. I suppose I just feel a stronger emotional connection to the latter. They register in different levels of my brain in the same way that killing a mosquito doesn’t even cause a blip on my radar while hitting a squirrel or god forbid, someone’s pet with my car or motorbike would absolutely devastate me.

I will never be vegan. Never. I actually do sometimes flirt with the idea of being vegetarian and eat less and less meat all the time. But eating eggs doesn’t make me feel hypocritical in the slightest for fighting the idea of slaughtering one of the planet’s most majestic and graceful creatures. We’re on the same side on this one, whether you want this meat eater on your team or not 🙂

I recently made my own blog post addressing ‘activists’ against whaling and how I believe the majority of them are ignoring the animal cruelty that goes on in their own countries for a chance to condemn those in different cultures. It’s plain xenophobic to be against whaling when you’re not against the consumption of cows, pigs, chickens and the number of ‘acceptable’ food animals. It’s speciesist to pick and choose which animals are to be loved and which ones are to be food.

Yes, you could argue that whales are endangered, but as of last month, the only endangered whales in the consumer whaling market were fin whales and that has since been banned. Minke whales are still being slaughtered, unfortunately, but they are not endangered so does this mean we should stop caring?

I’m grateful for the fact you’re against whaling but you can surely see how hypocritical I think you’re being when you eat meat and dairy.

I realise this blog post is very old but this is a topic that is still ongoing and something I’m very passionate about. And despite everything, I think it’s the best article you’ve written.

Hey Jesse, thanks for the thoughtful comment. From my understanding, The Faroe Islands do kill whales (they are a territory of Denmark though culturally and geographically different and Denmark itself does not). However, the pilot whale harvest there is not commercial harvest and exists only for communal food distribution among local households. Iceland, Japan and Norway are the only commercially whaling countries.

By the way, isn’t Denmark/Faroe Islands a fourth country that systematically kills whales? Pilot whales and even dolphins are no different intellectually from other cetaceans except in size.

You’re so welcome Charlotte — and thank you for making that decision!

I have also read that supporting whale watching tours is a good move as a tourist.

Thank you so much for this post 🙂

Thanks Genevieve, that means a lot! When I read Tripadvisor reviews I am always impressed with business owners who can respond to rude reviews with grace and tact, and I try to do the same with anyone who takes the time to contribute to the conversation here. Appreciate you appreciating it 🙂

What I think is even more impressive is the way you’ve dealt with the comments – particularly the odd rude one! It must be frustrating when people can’t discern between respectfully disagreeing and being a d*ck 🙂

You defended your beliefs really well in the comments. I really admire the way you were open to others opinions and were respectful of people who don’t agree with you, but you also stood up for yourself when a few people were kinda rude. More people need to have important conversations like this! 🙂

Love your work!
Genevieve

You are so welcome, Sandra. Maybe try sending to your colleagues. I’d be interested to hear their opposition after reading the facts 🙂