Faroe Islands government to review hunt rules after dolphin slaughter

16 September 2021, 17:34

The carcasses of dead white-sided dolphins lay on a beach on the island of Eysturoy
Faeroe Islands Dolphins. Picture: PA

The sea mammals are killed for their meat and blubber.

The Faroe Islands government has said it will review the way hunts of Atlantic white-sided dolphins are carried out following the release of video footage showing the mass killing of nearly 1,500 sea mammals.

The extent of the slaughter on Sunday was so large – much higher than in previous years – that it appears participants may not have been able to follow regulations to minimise the animals’ suffering.

Faroese premier Bardur a Steig Nielsen said in a statement: “We take this matter very seriously. Although these hunts are considered sustainable, we will be looking closely at the dolphin hunts, and what part they should play in Faroese society.”

1,428
The number of white-sided dolphins killed on the Faroese island of Eysturoy on Sunday

The decision by the government of the 18 rocky islands, located halfway between Scotland and Iceland, came after Sunday’s catch.

That day, islanders slaughtered 1,428 white-sided dolphins on the central Faroese island of Eysturoy in the North Atlantic archipelago.

The sea mammals are killed for their meat and blubber.

White-sided dolphins and pilot whales – which are also killed on this islands – are not endangered species.

Environmental activists have long claimed the practice is cruel. But this year, people on the Faroes who defend the four-century-old practice have spoken out amid fears it will draw unwanted attention.

A local activist from the international animal rights group Sea Shepherd filmed the hunt on Sunday, and on Wednesday the international animal rights group said it hoped that pressure would build from within the Faroe Islands to end its traditional drive of sea mammals.

Whale drives are a dramatic sight to people unfamiliar with the slaughter of mammals. The hunts are, nevertheless, well-organised and fully regulated

Faroe Islands government

Each year, islanders drive herds of the mammals – chiefly pilot whales – into shallow waters, where they are stabbed to death.

A blow-hole hook is used to secure the beached whales and their spine and main artery leading to the brain are severed with knives, turning water in the bay red with blood.

The drives are regulated by law and the meat and blubber are shared on a community basis.

The Faroe Islands government said the “whale drives are a dramatic sight to people unfamiliar with the slaughter of mammals. The hunts are, nevertheless, well-organised and fully regulated. Faroese animal welfare legislation, which also applies to whaling, stipulates that animals shall be killed as quickly and with as little suffering as possible”.

The former chairman of the Faroese association behind the drives, Hans Jacob Hermansen, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it was no different “from killing cattle or anything else. It’s just that we have an open abattoir”.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’

The vehicle was later extinguished after the driver, covered in flames, emerged from the vehicle.

Amsterdam Dam Square car explosion sees driver engulfed in flames - just days after mass stabbing

d

Pictured: US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for world's most isolated tribe

The Sentinelese are a pre-Neolithic tribe that rejects contact with the modern world

US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for the world's most isolated tribe to try

The Trump administration has been ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

'No one is safe, not even the penguins': Trump administration ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

World leaders react to US tariffs

'This is not the act of a friend': World leaders react to Trump's 'unwarranted' tariffs

British couple

British couple found dead in New Zealand named - as police probe possible murder-suicide

Virginia Giuffre said she had been left with 'four days to life' after the crash

Bus driver breaks silence on Virginia Giuffre crash that left her 'with four days to live'