Should the Whaling row end Wick's twinning link with Klaksvik

[richardj]

Gleeber you have a good point about people eating meat and fish and then they complain about another culture killing whales for food ... the difference is that whales are intelligent animals (just like many other animals including the human species) and also have complex social behaviour, they may even be as intelligent as humans, maybe more so. So for that reason and also to ensure the species is protected, whales should not be hunted.

There is absolutely no reason for whales to be hunted by the people of the Faroes or Iceland, they would make far more money from tourism and whale watching than by killing very intelligent mammals, and as far as Japan is concerned they are despicable in their behaviour and breaking international law with the excuse that it is for scientific research - just bullshit.

Just my opinion and hopefully more people will agree with my sentiments than disagree!

[the_big_mac]

Whales may be as intelligent as humans?

Certain humans, maybe those that think whales are as intelligent as them.

[janeyj]

Gleeber you have a good point about people eating meat and fish and then they complain about another culture killing whales for food ... the difference is that whales are intelligent animals (just like many other animals including the human species) and also have complex social behaviour, they may even be as intelligent as humans, maybe more so. So for that reason and also to ensure the species is protected, whales should not be hunted.

There is absolutely no reason for whales to be hunted by the people of the Faroes or Iceland, they would make far more money from tourism and whale watching than by killing very intelligent mammals, and as far as Japan is concerned they are despicable in their behaviour and breaking international law with the excuse that it is for scientific research - just bullshit.

Just my opinion and hopefully more people will agree with my sentiments than disagree!

Richard, I would hope that any compassionate person listening to your argument would agree with your sentiments. Thank you for starting this thread. The Faroese revel in encircling the whales, porpoises and dolphins before butchering them, adults and calves alike, until the sea turns red. Are we really in the year 2016? If Gail Ross has political motives in complaining about this practise, as stated by one poster, I do not care. If Gail has not consulted her constituents before writing to the Mayor of Klaksvik, as also stated previously, I do not care. If it is thought that Gail should stop meddling with the traditions of another country, as again has been stated, then.... I.... do..... not.... care.

Luv

Janey

[rob murray]

Richard, I would hope that any compassionate person listening to your argument would agree with your sentiments. Thank you for starting this thread. The Faroese revel in encircling the whales, porpoises and dolphins before butchering them, adults and calves alike, until the sea turns red. Are we really in the year 2016? If Gail Ross has political motives in complaining about this practise, as stated by one poster, I do not care. If Gail has not consulted her constituents before writing to the Mayor of Klaksvik, as also stated previously, I do not care. If it is thought that Gail should stop meddling with the traditions of another country, as again has been stated, then.... I.... do..... not.... care.

Luv

Janey

Yep agree, but last year, in an open letter to Klaksvik, Mrs Ross said Wick did not want to be associated with the "disgusting spectacle of the slaughter of whales" without discussing the matter with other Caithness councillors, leading to todays "defered decision" pending a meeting with the mayor of Klaksvik mayor Jógvan Skorheim, who has said the links could be strengthened.....Cheezo...so theyre ( council committee ) basically admitting that this has been played wrong and badly handled and now theyre off to the Faroes at our expense to meet a guy who thinks links could be strengthened...what a waste of time, money and effort...we have to break off from them, do it politely but firmly. I mean what do we gain from the twinning ? A complete joke, a conference call followed by a polite thanks but no thanks letter would suffice.....I take it these people are aware public funds are scarce ??

[richardj]

Rob you are probably correct that the Wick twinning with the Faroes does not provide a great deal for the people of Caithness in commercial / business terms, and Maybe Mrs Ross did jump the gun, but she has raised an important issue and for that I glad she did raise the issue.

On a related issue (i.e. about Whales) I read today on the BBC website that the Killer Whales that roam around Scotland are likely (or will) die out due to remnants of pollution caused by PCB chemicals around our coastline - article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35302957

The Guardian has a similar article on the same subject http://www.theguardian.com/environme...-to-extinction

I for one get excited about seeing Killer Whales around the Caithness coastline, and I still hope to see them off John O'Groats in the spring/early summer one year. To think that this family group will die out from pollutants that were banned in the 1980's is something we should all be concerned, and sad, about.

[fender]

Yep agree, but last year, in an open letter to Klaksvik, Mrs Ross said Wick did not want to be associated with the "disgusting spectacle of the slaughter of whales" without discussing the matter with other Caithness councillors, leading to todays "defered decision" pending a meeting with the mayor of Klaksvik mayor Jógvan Skorheim, who has said the links could be strengthened.....Cheezo...so theyre ( council committee ) basically admitting that this has been played wrong and badly handled and now theyre off to the Faroes at our expense to meet a guy who thinks links could be strengthened...what a waste of time, money and effort...we have to break off from them, do it politely but firmly. I mean what do we gain from the twinning ? A complete joke, a conference call followed by a polite thanks but no thanks letter would suffice.....I take it these people are aware public funds are scarce ??

Couple of points Rob.

1. Mrs Ross did consult with the other 2 Wick Councillors.
2. No one is travelling to the Faroes to see the Mayor.

Thank you.

[Rheghead]

Why can't Wick be twinned with a town where the weather is nice so our councillors have a nice place to visit on our account?

[davth]

So were the wick people consulted on this matter or not?
If not Mrs Ross has lied in her letter to the mayor.

[rob murray]

Couple of points Rob.

1. Mrs Ross did consult with the other 2 Wick Councillors.
2. No one is travelling to the Faroes to see the Mayor.

Thank you.

Thanks the press release yesterday must have been wrong then as thats where I got the information and directly qouted from

[rob murray]

Rob you are probably correct that the Wick twinning with the Faroes does not provide a great deal for the people of Caithness in commercial / business terms, and Maybe Mrs Ross did jump the gun, but she has raised an important issue and for that I glad she did raise the issue.

On a related issue (i.e. about Whales) I read today on the BBC website that the Killer Whales that roam around Scotland are likely (or will) die out due to remnants of pollution caused by PCB chemicals around our coastline - article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35302957

The Guardian has a similar article on the same subject http://www.theguardian.com/environme...-to-extinction

I for one get excited about seeing Killer Whales around the Caithness coastline, and I still hope to see them off John O'Groats in the spring/early summer one year. To think that this family group will die out from pollutants that were banned in the 1980's is something we should all be concerned, and sad, about.

I did say in a previous post that Wick has to walk away othewise we will be seen as condoning the grind: " There has been wide spread organised activities, over the recent past to stop the "grind" ( whale killing ) see https://www.causes.com/actions/17281...lling-festival Wick has to severe ties or would be seen as condoning what a largish % of people are actively resisting. We should be twinned with a town similar to Wick ie a former fishing port trying to re generate itself, maybe councillors could learn a trick or two".

[bekisman]

What's all the fuss about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaksv%C3%ADk according to this Wick is classed as a FORMER twined town. It certainly amuses me to think a Caithness Civic Leader will make any difference whatsoever to 'whaling' in the Faroes.. I watched Whaling Wars; Operation Ferocious Isles, so what difference outrageous indignation by a parochial minor politico will do I do not know.. jejune.
Having been with Mrs Beks on the last sailing from Scrabster to Torshavn with our car and spent a week driving around the Islands (at least I've been there!) it was disparaging when asked by the very pro-British people where we came from to be met with blank uncomprehending faces by saying "Thurso" or "Wick" - Scrabster; yes.
OK Whaling is wrong, but taking a pointless action (which by the link is a wee bit late) for mis-placed kudos will achieve nothing, and may well - knowing the phlegm of the Faroese - make them even more determined, but then, where's Caithness?
Anyone else on here been there out of interest?

[badger]

Gleeber you have a good point about people eating meat and fish and then they complain about another culture killing whales for food ... the difference is that whales are intelligent animals (just like many other animals including the human species) and also have complex social behaviour, they may even be as intelligent as humans, maybe more so. So for that reason and also to ensure the species is protected, whales should not be hunted.

There is absolutely no reason for whales to be hunted by the people of the Faroes or Iceland, they would make far more money from tourism and whale watching than by killing very intelligent mammals, and as far as Japan is concerned they are despicable in their behaviour and breaking international law with the excuse that it is for scientific research - just bullshit.

Just my opinion and hopefully more people will agree with my sentiments than disagree!

Pigs are highly intelligent animals but that does not stop people eating them. On the rare occasions I buy something with a pork content I always ensure it is not EU, if it is I don't buy it as welfare standards on the continent are not as they should be. Even in this country pigs are generally not roaming free in fields before slaughter. At least the whales are free and living as intended before they are killed. We are doing massive damage to the oceans in many ways. The action of these Wick councillors is just gesture politics. If Cllr. Ross succeeds Gibson can we look forward to policy being dictated by social media?

[gleeber]

To be fair and according to the report in todays Groat the 3 Wick councillors acted on behalf of the Wick people even though the tone of the original letter to the mayor of Klaksvik was insolent.
Councillor Macdonald spoke about being bombarded by emails and videos whilst councillor Ross said there had been an outpouring from the Wick people about the whaling practice. The Highland Council ward manager also told the meeting that the council had been informed of the councillors intentions to send the offensive letter and they had done nothing wrong.
None of us are happy with the way the whales are slaughtered so what's the hoohaw all about?
It seems to me it's about the way our elected officials deal with the powers bestowed on them by the people. Why they never considered informing the Wick community council or their councillor colleagues on the Highland council about the original letter has become the issue.

[fender]

To be fair and according to the report in todays Groat the 3 Wick councillors acted on behalf of the Wick people even though the tone of the original letter to the mayor of Klaksvik was insolent.
Councillor Macdonald spoke about being bombarded by emails and videos whilst councillor Ross said there had been an outpouring from the Wick people about the whaling practice. The Highland Council ward manager also told the meeting that the council had been informed of the councillors intentions to send the offensive letter and they had done nothing wrong.
None of us are happy with the way the whales are slaughtered so what's the hoohaw all about?
It seems to me it's about the way our elected officials deal with the powers bestowed on them by the people. Why they never considered informing the Wick community council or their councillor colleagues on the Highland council about the original letter has become the issue.

Correct Gleeber.

Hindsight is a great gift not given to any but claimed by many.

[gleeber]

Mind you the Wickers have a short memory.
Life is life no matter what level of intelligence you attach to it.
I love herring but I haven't had a decent one since I was a boy. There's not even a bite on the peely wally ones you get nowadays. Wick has to be partly responsible for that. I wonder how many slaughtered herring was landed at Wick until the middle of last century? Billions probably.
Wick and Klaksvik deserve one another.
They have a shared heritage of blood and guts going back hundreds of years and you can be sure if they hadn't over fished the herring they would still be landing them millions at a time and Councillor Ross would be the next herring queen.

[Kenn]

What other people can or cannot do does not enter into this debate.
Faroes are a dependency of Denmark, Denmark is a full member of The EU which has a non whaling policy.
The maritime rules around the islands have also been changed in total opposition to the rest of Europe.
Either The Faroes give up their dependency or they obey the laws of the organisation to which they are affiliated, it's that simple.
Surely the people of Wick would not wish to be associated with a country that flouts international law.

[bekisman]

Suppose we should have a quick look at the horrible despicable act of 'Fur Farming' poor mammals being bred to kill - not for food - but simply for their skin "Fur used from animals caught in the wild is not considered farmed fur, and is instead known as 'wild fur'. Most of the world’s farmed fur is produced by European farmers. There are 6,000 fur farms in the EU .The EU accounts for 63% of global mink production and 70% of fox production. Denmark is the leading mink-producing country, accounting for approximately 28% of world production. The Netherlands, Baltic State, Finland and the USA supplier of fox pelts. The United States is a major exporter of fur-skins. Just checked and we (Scotland) are twinned with a lot of these places, surely it's being hypocritical to 'cherry pick'?

[Rheghead]

Suppose we should have a quick look at the horrible despicable act of 'Fur Farming' poor mammals being bred to kill - not for food - but simply for their skin "Fur used from animals caught in the wild is not considered farmed fur, and is instead known as 'wild fur'. Most of the world’s farmed fur is produced by European farmers. There are 6,000 fur farms in the EU .The EU accounts for 63% of global mink production and 70% of fox production. Denmark is the leading mink-producing country, accounting for approximately 28% of world production. The Netherlands, Baltic State, Finland and the USA supplier of fox pelts. The United States is a major exporter of fur-skins. Just checked and we (Scotland) are twinned with a lot of these places, surely it's being hypocritical to 'cherry pick'?

Maybe not so much hypocritical and cherry picking but more like picking our battles and making a stand against a wrong.

[dc1]

I never knew the people of wick were consulted on this. anyone who I have heard talking about it are not interested in what the faroe island are doing ,and by the way I am from wick

[bekisman]

Maybe not so much hypocritical and cherry picking but more like picking our battles and making a stand against a wrong.

I'm against Whaling too, just pointing out that those fluffy little things called puss are killed - boiled alive - and eaten in many countries, and 'Rover' is a staple diet of such diverse countries as China (10,000,000 a year) Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam etc, and as for 'my little pony' that's noshed by 18 countries of Europe; one not 22 miles away from our shores.
Who is standing against this wrong? Why are Whales so special? are dogs and cats not intelligent, are they not mammals, are dogs not mans best friend? Why no outcry against Scottish towns twinning with Gansu, Dalian, Gatchina, Haikou - why no outraged knee-jerk reaction by petty officials? just wondering...