Tourists urged to boycott Faroe Islands as ‘brutal’ whale slaughter continues

Stephen Price

Harrowing footage of dolphin and whale hunting in the Faroe Islands, with pregnant females and calves among the slaughtered animals, has led to further calls for a tourist boycott.

Crews from charities including Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, working on the ground have documented killings which they say are far more prolonged and chaotic than officially acknowledged.

While public statements claimed the hunt lasted only 15 minutes, Sea Shepherd footage shows that the slaughter spanned over 30 minutes—not including the hour of chasing and terrorizing the pod into the shallow waters of the killing beach in Leynar.

Back in June, Sea Shepherd confirmed the death toll from a pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands (known as the Grindadráp, or “Grind”) reached 291 individuals, far surpassing the whalers’ initial estimate of 100.

Among them were at least 44 pregnant females, whose unborn calves were left to suffocate inside their mothers’ bodies and later discarded in dumpsters.

Injuries consistent with boat propeller strikes were also observed on several of the pilot whales.

Hunts continue to be documented, with one yesterday (26 August) with 40-50 killed in one grind alone.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Paul Watson Foundation UK (@paulwatsonfoundation.uk)

Many of the youngest victims—newborns and juveniles—are not considered edible and therefore are not counted in the official kill tally, despite being killed and discarded during the process. A total of 64 young whales have been confirmed so far, but the real number may be higher, as one butchering location remains unaccounted for. The pod was so large that their bodies had to be divided up and sent to at least three different locations for butchering.

The ‘Grind’

Every year in the Faroe Islands, around 1,100 small cetaceans, primarily dolphins such as long-finned pilot whales and Atlantic white-sided dolphins, are massacred in drive hunts called the ‘grindadráp’

The grindadráp (or ‘grind’ as the hunts are commonly called) is opportunistic and can happen at any time on any one of the 26 designated killing bays around the islands.

The majority of the hunts occur between July and September when the weather is at its best.

A hunt is invariably authorised when a pod is spotted, unless the weather or sea conditions are too hazardous or there are too few participants. The grindadráp has no season and no quota.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Paul Watson Foundation UK (@paulwatsonfoundation.uk)

The grindadráp was previously undertaken out of necessity for the islanders’ survival. But that is not the case today and nor has it been for decades.

Now the grindadráp continues solely due to a misguided sense of national pride and yet #TraditionsCanChange so the arguments for this needless and inhumane hunt simply don’t make sense, with the dead bodies of sea mammals often left to rot, unfit for human consumption.

Following direct action by activists, the Faroese introduced legislation to restrict the actions of campaigners, making intervention an arrestable offense.

Appeal

Valentina Crast, Sea Shepherd’s Faroes Campaign Manager, made a powerful appeal to Faroese citizens: “This documentation will serve as critical evidence when we speak to both international and national policymakers. But perhaps more importantly, it’s meant for the good Faroese people who oppose the Grind in silence—because it’s easier not to rock the boat.

“What proud hunting practice allows mothers and babies to be slaughtered in great numbers? Who needed this?

“Please, don’t stay silent. Say no to this. The ocean and the whales need you to raise your voice.”

The ongoing incidents once again raise serious concerns about the cruelty, lack of transparency, and ecological disregard of the Grindadráp tradition.

Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, among other organisations, are calling for immediate international pressure to halt these mass killings and for the Faroese government to recognise the increasing outcry—both abroad and at home.