British cruise ship operator apologizes after passengers watch 78 dolphins get slaughtered

[mahatmakanejeeves]

A British cruise ship operator apologized after passengers watched 78 dolphins get slaughtered, part of the centuries-old whaling tradition of the Faroe Islands

Reena Koh
Wed, July 12, 2023 at 3:24 AM EDT · 2 min read

• A cruise ship docked at the Faroe Islands on Sunday, leaving its passengers to witness a mass hunt of dolphins.

• The British cruise ship operator, Ambassador Cruise Line, has since apologized on Twitter.

• Grindadráp is a centuries-old mass hunting tradition that involves the killing of marine mammals for sustenance.

On Monday, British cruise ship operator Ambassador Cruise Line took to Twitter to apologize after its passengers watched residents of the Faroe Islands slaughter wild dolphins.

Part of a mass hunting tradition, 78 long-finned pilot whales — a species of oceanic dolphins — were killed near the capital of Torshavn on Sunday, per Yahoo News Australia.

Cruise ship passengers were left to watch the mass hunting event take place after the luxury vessel Ambition docked at the European island. The British cruise ship operator has since apologized on Twitter.

{snip}

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. That would seriously distress me (nt)

[Effete Snob]

3. Just being on a cruise would distress me

People usually pay extra for excursions to see local festivities and traditional practices.

They got this one for free.

I can't imagine why the cruise line is apologizing for the local custom of the place these people wanted to go.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. Because it's good PR and it's really, really simple to say "I'm Sorry"

And doesn't mean anything legally or financially to them.

Basically it's just good form, esp. if they didn't inform anyone that this is something they may be seeing and to avoid watching if it might distress you.

There really aren't a large % of people who want to watch whales get slaughtered, even if it's a local tradition.

[Effete Snob]

10. Cruise tourism is bad enough

But implicitly condemning the local culture that the passengers have ostensibly come to experience takes it to another level.

Next up, an all-inclusive tour of India where we will scold people for not eating meat and having entirely too many gods.

[sarisataka]

13. I know a place where people get scolded

For having one God. Come to think of it for eating meat as well.

[Effete Snob]

14. Yes, well, if you have to get on a ship and travel hundreds of miles to condemn people

...then that is some real dedication to the cause.

[sarisataka]

15. I try to avoid judging things

That are not my business- but i am human.

I would think however a person who has to travel hundreds of miles to find someone to judge is in a good position. Most people can do it from the comfort of their home, glass walls and all.

[Effete Snob]

17. Porque no los dos...

If I’m going to burn tons of low grade diesel to see a part of the world threatened by global warming, I don’t want to miss a trick.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

16. I don't know the text of the apology but if it was to say they're sorry they didn't inform

passengers that this would be going on and how to avoid the spectacle if they chose ... then I have to disagree with your premise.

Also fuck these fucking whale killers, I don't GAF about their 'local traditions'.

There's plenty of fish in the sea

What if cannibalism were a local tradition? Do we all need to NOT condemn the practice, on account of it's 'their tradition'?

[Effete Snob]

18. Remarkably

I have managed to avoid watching all sorts of things without being provided instructions by a cruise operator.

My assumption is that people travel to engage with other cultures. I guess it would behoove them to get some idea whom they are going to visit.

I waited around all day for a human sacrifice at Teotihuacan before someone told me they quit doing that a long time ago.

I was pissed.

[Effete Snob]

2. Why would the cruise line apologize?

The cruise line took these people where they wanted to go, in order to see things they have never seen.

They apparently got to see a local tradition. If it were my boat, I'd levy a surcharge on the people on that side of the ship for the bonus sightseeing.

[NoRethugFriends]

4. What a pleasant comment.

[Effete Snob]

12. Traveling to some remote part of the world to condemn them is pretty amazing

Apparently the folks on this island mass slaughter marine mammals.

You can contribute to their local economy or not, but choosing to go there and then condemn them - as the cruise line implicitly did by "apologizing" for the savage behavior of the benighted local inhabitants - really takes the overall negative impact of cruise tourism to a whole new level.

"On behalf of Stayathome Cruises, we would like to apologize for the various odious practices of the people who unfortunately inhabit our destinations."

[Paladin]

5. Bye-bye. (nt)

[Torchlight]

7. Yeesh. That would scar the hell out of my psyche if I'd seen it.

Difficult (for me) to even think about, let alone watch first hand. Doubt I could ever give anyone my trust or faith who would act so cavalierly about it, let alone those who actually engage in it.

[LakeArenal]

8. If it wasn't expressly on their itinerary I think it was horrible.

I can’t imagine a brochure point describing this local custom in detail that would get a lot of… sounds great let’s take the kids.

[yonder]

9. The Faroese have much higher levels of blood mercury toxicity

and resultant health problems because of their reliance on a sea mammal diet. Those cruise ship passengers witnessed a horrific slaughter in the name of Grindadrap. They also witnessed the Faroese continue and increasingly poison themselves and their future, in part, because of that tradition.

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2004/05/mercury-on-the-brain.html

[malaise]

11. British slavers threw captured Africans overboard

To collect insurance money
Nothing new here.

[Bayard]

19. Holy Crap!

I would have nightmares about that for multiple reasons.

There are many, "traditions," that have no place in the modern world.