Gift reindeer may help for a while, but global warming dooms the herding way of life YAMAL PENINSULA, Siberia––Reindeer did not deliver presents to 45 families of herders on the remote Yamal Peninsula of Siberia at Christmas Eve 2016, but rather were the presents. The reindeer were sent to help the Yamalo-Nenets residents recover […]
Harpoon: Into the heart of whaling
by Andrew Darby DaCapo Press (11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142), 2008. 320 pages, hardcover. $25.00. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Long covering whaling and whale-related politics for the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, Andrew Darby enjoys a reputation as the best there ever was on the whale beat, at least since Herman Melville […]
Norway proposes to pelt the fur trade
50% cut in subsidies OSLO, Norway––Norwegian finance minister Siv Jensen on May 12, 2015 presented a Revised National Budget to Parliament that includes a proposed 17.8 million kroner cut in agricultural subsidies to fur farmers. The proposed cut, amounting to $2.35 million in U.S. funds, or 2.1 million euros, would halve the total amount […]
A few words about fur from Finland
Hi! I notice you do not have any news from Finland. Here is some: the Finn politician Jörn Donner arrived at a party with his wife Bitte Westerlund, whose red dress was made of sealskin. He said, “This is a political statement. It is for the fishermen, because seals eat fish. I think men must […]
Denmark bans slaughter without pre-stunning
“Animal rights come before religion” COPENHAGEN––Telling the Danish TV2 network audience that “Animal rights come before religion,” Denmark minister for agriculture and food Dan Jorgensen banned livestock slaughter without pre-stunning, effective on February 17, 2014. Coinciding with outrage over the killing of a “genetically redundant” young giraffe at the Copenhagen […]