“Grinds” can be brutal affairs. Photo: Sea Shepherd
Police in the Faroe Islands have filed formal criminal charges against whalers for the first time ever. The development comes as a result of the efforts of the conservation group Sea Shepherd, which reported a violation of whale hunting regulations to the authorities.
The charges concern a traditional Faroese whale hunt called a grindadráp, or “grind” for short. The practice is a centuries-old tradition in which hunters use boats to herd a pod of whales or dolphins to shore, where they are killed in the surf with hooks and knives. Afterwards, the meat is distributed amongst the hunters and local community.
Though grinds are inevitably bloody affairs, Faroese officials have regulated the practice. In addition to rules on who and how many people can perform a hunt, whalers are required to complete a pilot whaling course and certification proving knowledge of the applicable whaling legislation, including how to use the whaling equipment, current killing methods, and how to determine the death of the animal. Finally, the animals must be killed using a spinal lance in shallow waters and the hunters must ensure that the animal is dead.
According to a press release from Sea Shepherd, it was that last regulation that was violated. A year and a half ago, they captured a video of a grind that left 90 surviving pilot whales abandoned in shallow water. “After killing 138 pilot whales, the whalers walked away to attend a festival, leaving approximately 90 exhausted survivors stranded in shallow water,” wrote the organization. “For the next 27 hours, Sea Shepherd filmed the whales in agony: repeated beaching attempts, struggling to breathe, mothers trying to keep calves afloat. Faroese law explicitly states that no whale may be left alive in shallow water after a grind. The violation was undeniable.”
Until the case is resolved, whalers in the northern islands have suspended all hunts. However, while this would seem to be a victory for Sea Shepherd, the organization claims that this is merely a tactic to pressure local authorities. “The suspension is a calculated pressure tactic designed to intimidate police, prosecutors, and politicians by withholding whale meat — a powerful cultural and political symbol.”
