Over 700 dolphins were killed on Wednesday alone in a cruel practice that’s touted as “tradition.” Photo: Sea Shepherd
The Faroe Islands dolphin hunts are problematic, to say the least. And this year, on Wednesday alone, more than 700 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were pushed to shore in panicked droves before being slaughtered.
The dolphin hunts, which are known to locals in the Faroes as “the grindadráp” or simply “the Grind,” are a tradition hundreds of years old. Thousands of cetaceans are herded into shallow bays by boats before they’re killed with knives and lances thrown into the spines. It’s a terrible thing that’s not made better by any form of “tradition,” but despite global outcry, the Grind continues.
“The events unfolding this week are not a cultural tradition on display,” said Valentina Crast, Campaign Director for the Faroe Islands at Sea Shepherd. “They are chaotic scenes of extreme animal cruelty, producing a death toll exceeding two thirds of last year’s entire annual figure. Dolphins were killed without the mandatory equipment. Animals were crushed against rocks and struck by boat propellers. And when a third, secret grind began, one deliberately hidden from public channels, marine conservationists were arrested for documenting it.”
By law, spinal lances must be used to kill the animals. But this year they ran out, so they decided to use knives instead. Heartbreaking witness accounts tell of the dolphins’ prolonged suffering.
“The hunts descended into chaos as whalers admitted there was a shortage of spinal lances, which are mandatory for killing dolphins,” Sea Shepherd wrote. “Multiple marine mammals were instead killed using knives only leaving the animals stressed for an extended period before bleeding to death. In scenes of prolonged animal cruelty, reports also suggest the lack of equipment and shortage of participants led to dolphins being crushed against rocks, driven over and cut by boat propellers.”
In the face of the public outcry, authorities in the Faroe Islands are still defending the practice, saying it is an important cultural tradition that is legally regulated.
“Nobody can ever justify this level of intense suffering inflicted on innocent animals,” Crast continued. “We call on governments across Europe to stand up to see these hunts banned once and for all.”
