Nearly 1,500 Dolphins Killed By Hunters In A Single Day
The Faroe Islands faces international condemnation as its infamous annual whaling season begins with the “largest single killing of dolphins in the islands’ history”.
Credit: Sea Shephard
Nearly 1,500 dolphins have been slaughtered in the Faroe Islands in a single day, as part of the archipelago’s annual whaling season.
The butchering is part of the ‘Grindadrap’ - translated as ‘the murder of whales’ - where fishermen gather to drive entire pods of whales and dolphins to the beaches, where they are beaten and killed with clubs, knives and spears.
In graphic footage, the scale and violence of the slaughter is visibly clear, as the sea turns blood red.
Whilst the event continues to draw international condemnation each year, campaigners are describing this latest massacre as “the largest single killing of dolphins or pilot whales in the islands’ history”.
And now local news outlets are reporting that even whalers and defenders of the Grindadrap have criticized this year’s event, after the masses of dolphins driven onto shore proved too many for the few people waiting to kill them.
“The dolphins lay on the beach writhing for far too long before they were killed” explained Heri Petersen, chair of the local Grind hunting association. “I’m appalled at what happened”, Petersen told local news.
Volunteers from the animal protection group Sea Shepherd have been banned from entering Faroese waters, but they continue to document the slaughter from the beaches.
“Considering the times we are in, with a global pandemic and the world coming to a halt, it’s absolutely appalling to see an attack on nature of this scale in the Faroe Islands,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen, Sea Shepherd Global CEO. “If we have learned anything from this pandemic is that we have to live in harmony with nature instead of wiping it out.”
Whaling Around the World
The Faroe Islands’ whaling season is one of few around the world that still continues. Other particularly gruesome hunts include Japan’s annual Dolphin Hunt massacre in Taiji, and Norway’s annual slaughter of minke whales, which has killed over 14,000 of the marine animals since commercial whaling resumed in the country back in 1993.
However, there are signs of change. Iceland has banned whale hunting for the last two years in a row, as the industry there continues to suffer from waning public support and declining profits.
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