Should Tourists Eat Puffins in Iceland? (1 Viewer)

[notesfromtheroad]

When I was preparing for a trip to Iceland that included an itinerary to see the bird cliffs of Latrabjarg, I noticed that many travel bloggers were writing about their experience eating puffins in Reykjavik.

This, of course, bothered me, and I wanted to explore the ethics of it.

This is a long-form piece I wrote about hunting puffins in Iceland, and its relationship to their decline.

https://www.notesfromtheroad.com/europa/latrabjarg-cliffs.html

Let me know your thoughts - Erik

 

[Nutcracker]

Absolutely not. Unsustainable.

 

[AidenD]

Yeah, maybe placing hunting pressure on a species already threatened by climate change and overfishing isn't such a great idea.

 

[notesfromtheroad]

Absolutely not. Unsustainable.

Thanks Nutcracker - absolutely right and the interview with Iceland's most well known seabird researcher helped confirm it.

 

[notesfromtheroad]

Yeah, maybe placing hunting pressure on a species already threatened by climate change and overfishing isn't such a great idea.

Thank you. Absolutely agree. I am hoping my article can make an impact on this. There is a vote next year in Iceland on whether to ban puffin hunting.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Thank you. Absolutely agree. I am hoping my article can make an impact on this. There is a vote next year in Iceland on whether to ban puffin hunting.

No doubt it will be allowed to continue on the grounds that it's part of their 'culture', just like whaling in Greenland and eating Ortolans in France.

It would be far more defencible it it were a vital part of their diet in the same way that some indiginous peoples are allowed a quota of whales in Canada, but it's not.

 

[davercox]

On my only visit to Iceland (1987) our tour guides made sure we heard nothing about catching and eating Puffins. They may not have been ashamed of it but they knew we would not be happy about it.

 

[fugl]

Definitely not. Dto for whale meat by anyone, anytime, anywhere.

 

[Nutcracker]

On my only visit to Iceland (1987) our tour guides made sure we heard nothing about catching and eating Puffins. They may not have been ashamed of it but they knew we would not be happy about it.

Probably wan't an issue then - it was a small local thing that a handful of Icelanders did to feed themselves; when so, it probably was sustainable. Now it's become big business, supplying thousands to expensive restaurants to keep it on the menu every day for much larger numbers of tourists. Way beyond sustainability for a K-selected species with a long lifespan and very slow breeding rate.

 

[rollingthunder]

A definate NO.

As stated these practices were seasonal food for coastal communities and not indulged in for tourists flying in on jet aircraft. Anybody partaking is guilty of wildlife crime and the Iceland government should be legislating against it like.....yesterday:C

Laurie -

 

[Jos Stratford]

it was a small local thing that a handful of Icelanders did to feed themselves; when so, it probably was sustainable. Now it's become big business, supplying thousands to expensive restaurants to keep it on the menu every day for much larger numbers of tourists.

This is false.

The vast majority of Puffins harvested are taken by and for Icelandic persons themselves, it is not a phenomenon driven by demand by tourists. And it has not gone from a 'small local thing' to a big business set up to supply tourist restaurants, but has been a large scale harvest for many decades, catching tens of thousands of Puffins per season. The actual number harvested has been controlled to a limited degree due to the season being shortened.

In all likelihood, the increasing levels of tourism are probably the best bet the Puffins have to see this killing stopped - though there is a proportion of tourists that do decide to eat Puffin and whale meat etc in restaurants, there are far greater numbers that support communities that thrive on the growing ecotourism that survives on the back of these species. By and large, these tourists find the hunting of Puffins and whales repugnant and use their voices to question the continuing of hunting, and this in the long term is probably what will change attitudes and practice on the island.

But to answer the question, tourists should not only refrain from eating Puffins, but should also use their presence to voice their objections to the hunting.

 

[rollingthunder]

A bit of clarity and the all-important last sentence - voice your opinion both verbally and electronically:t:

I will be leading by example when i eventually visit the US by not ordering Passenger Pigeon pie

Laurie -

 

[jurek]

I though this is a non-issue, because seabirds smell of fish and a tourist is as unlikely to want to eat one as to try whale blubber in Greenland, whole boiled ram's head in Kazakhstan or a roasted cane rat in West Africa.

But could it be a protest against the phenomenon of internet shitstorms?

 

[Nutcracker]

This is false.

....

Thanks! Hadn't realised it had been so bad for so long :-C

 

[RafaelMatias]

This is truly sad, indeed.
I guess when imbecile-chef Gordon Ramsay decided this (see links below, from random newspapers) would be a nice thing to do on TV, millions of like-minded imbecile people thought they should do it as well. I've no doubt this episode made other people wanting to do this and making the already existing issue even worse.
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/gordon-ramsay-eats-still-beating-17108330
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ce...msay-under-fire-for-F-Word-puffin-murder.html
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/sep/15/channel4.television
I'm sorry for the sadly gruesome and brutal details. This guy (and Channel 4 btw) definitely made a great job there, such a great contribution to make of this a better world.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Truly a f****** moron, as if we didn't lready know that.