Images of the 1500 dolphins slaughtered in the Faroe Islands went around the web. Such a large number had never been reached.
The images of the almost 1500 dolphins slaughtered on the shoreline of Skalabotnur in Eysturoy, the second of the Faroe Islands (Fær Øer), have been around the web. It is also bewilderment among some organizations participating in the event
It is repeated every year and every time it is the same story, but this year the slaughter is something unprecedented: last Sunday, in the Faroe Islands, in the traditional whaling that has been taking place in the country for centuries, they were 1.428 dolphins slaughtered.
It is the result of the traditional form of food supply, the so-called Grindadráp ("whaling" in Faroese), whereby some types of cetaceans, such as the pilot whale, are led ashore, surrounded by fishing boats in a bay and then to be slaughtered with harpoons and knives, for fat and meat.
Read also: Grindadráp: whaling in the Faroe Islands (video of the massacre)
A real slaughter, a massacre, a barbarism that colors the sea all around red and that every year, as reported by the BBC, leads to the massacre of about 600 whales and 35-40 dolphins. This time, however, the limit was reached with nearly 1.500 dolphins killed. To return to a more or less similar figure, it is necessary to go back to 1940 when 1200 dolphins were killed.
Norwegian Sea Shepherd volunteer, Samuel Rostøl, joined us in the Faroe Islands this year to document the killing of pilot whales. Join us for a Livestream Q&A today at 6pm (UTC+2) where he shares his experiences and answers your questions! https://t.co/sXWfkGh5Te pic.twitter.com/gsqcBdifSX
— Sea Shepherd (@seashepherd) September 9, 2021
The mea culpa of the organizers
In an interview with the BBC, the president of the Faroese Whalers Association, Olavur Sjurdarberg, acknowledged that the killings were excessive.
Why were so many dolphins killed then?
People are in shock. It was a big mistake - said Sjurdarberg. When the pod was found, they estimated there were only 200 dolphins. Only when the killing process began did they discover the true number of animals.
Even so, however, according to Sjurdarberg, the capture was approved by local authorities and no laws were violated.
A survey carried out by public TV Kringvarp Foroya revealed that while 50% of people are against dolphin hunting, 80% are in favor of whale hunting. Such hunts are regulated in the Faroe Islands. They are not commercial and are organized at a community level, often spontaneously when someone spots a herd of mammals.
To participate, hunters must have an official training certificate enabling them to kill animals.
On Sunday night a super-pod of 1428 Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins was driven for many hours and for around 45 km by speed boats and jet-skis into the shallow water at Skálabotnur beach in the Danish Faroe Islands, where every single one of them was killed. https://t.co/uo2fAPhCDq
— Sea Shepherd (@seashepherd) September 14, 2021
A custom that we still do not like in the most absolute way.
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Font: BBC / Sea Shepherd UK
Read also:
- The slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands has started again. A drone that filmed the massacre was also hit with a weapon
- Hundreds of dolphins and pilot whales slaughtered in the Faroe Islands
