Cycling UK Forum

Jack wrote:What about Wales? I've heard they kill baby lambs.

But, but they are so cuddly, sweet and succulent...

stewartpratt wrote:

LANDSURFER74 wrote:Can't find this up thread ..

Er... first page, fifth post...

Yet another senior moment ,,,

if we boycotted countries because of cruel practices then I don't think we'd have many places left to go, England included

Sadly, this is true.

irc wrote:Suggesting a boycott of a whole country because the alleged suffering inflicted by a few people from a village hundreds of miles from where most of the population live is not reasonable.

utter tripe. bombing the capital would be not reasonable. suggesting a boycott is more than reasonable - it's the very definition of reasonable

hubgearfreak wrote: bombing the capital would be not reasonable. suggesting a boycott is more than reasonable - it's the very definition of reasonable

hubgearfreak wrote:utter tripe

As you can tell I do not agree with you.

hubgearfreak wrote:

irc wrote:Suggesting a boycott of a whole country because the alleged suffering inflicted by a few people from a village hundreds of miles from where most of the population live is not reasonable.

utter tripe. bombing the capital would be not reasonable. suggesting a boycott is more than reasonable - it's the very definition of reasonable

Nope. It is disproportionate. The only instances I can think of where boycotts of entire countries were widely supported were South Africa and Rhodesia. I don't think humanely (or not) killing a few gannets to eat them is in the same ballpark as apartheid South Africa. Your view, of course, may differ.

No disrespect to the OP's dislike of inhuman killing of animals, as a fairly avid bird watcher I could not reconcile Puffin on the menu in Iceland. But the boycotting of a whole country is, as said, disproportionate. On the plus side no more tedious E2E threads (just kidding).
There are a wide variety of inhumane practises towards animals that I dislike but would have nowhere to visit or live if I boycotted every country.

rualexander wrote:These are not baby gannets, but almost fully fledged adults, probably more mature than the lamb, chicken and many other young animals we eat.

A mere technical aside, but gannets take five years to reach adulthood. They fledge after 87 to 94 days, but into juvenile plumage. Nuptial plumage is not attained until the fifth or sixth winter. The date of the guga hunt means that the birds harvested are around ten weeks old. So from the maths alone they are much younger than lamb.

Birds, though, are unlike mammals in that they are full-grown long before they reach adulthood. Most species, including gannets, are altricial, and are usually slightly larger than adults before they leave the nest. (Obvious exceptions are ducks and geese, gamebirds, including chickens, and waders)

Its ridiculous to to hold an entire nation to account for the actions of a tiny minority, its like saying don't go on holiday to or in England because of badger baiting, its an issue yeah but you can't blame the whole country for its existence. Very counter productive, pseudo activism...

If God or Mother Nature gave you a consience ... use it. Act upon it.

It is beyond my understanding that a band of people inhabiting some island miles away from the mainstream actually get a kick out of killing thousands of young sea birds, but to think that this activity is actually supported by the Scottish government beggars belief.

I will be writing to the Scottish Minister for Tourism (or whatever he/she is called) to tell them of my decision not to spend my Tourist Pound in Scotland, not that I spend much while on my bike anyway. And if the Scots are so proud of this barbaric cultural phenomenon of theirs, why don't they stick it on the Visit Scotland website?

Valbrona wrote: I can almost understand a backwards band of interbred crazies inhabiting some island-stuck-in-a-medieval-time-warp getting a kick out of killing thousands of young sea birds,

I'm sure if you include that phrase in your letter it will be sympathetically received.

irc wrote:Nope. It is disproportionate.

i agree.

Valbrona wrote:backwards band of interbred crazies....poxy little country

you wouldn't write that about a nation such as latvia or somalia would you?

Valbrona wrote:I will be writing to the Scottish Minister for Tourism (or whatever he/she is called) to tell them of my decision not to spend my Tourist Pound in their poxy little country, not that I spend much while on my bike anyway. And if the Scots are so proud of this barbaric cultural phenomenon of theirs, why don't they stick it on the Visit Scotland website?

That's a real shame, although you still haven't said which countries you would actually be willing to visit.

Minister is Fergus Ewing http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/Scottish-Cabinet/fergusewing although chances are he'll decide to promote the practice as a new form of adventure tourism, resulting in an influx of crazed gannet killers descending on the Outer Hebrides.

Valbrona wrote:a backwards band of interbred crazies inhabiting some island-stuck-in-a-medieval-time-warp getting a kick out of killing thousands of young sea birds..

What an ignorant man. No doubt those that follow in his footsteps have helped temper the current condition reflected towards cyclists in Tiree....

I would suggest some moderation & intervention is overdue.

donnieban