Campaigners have condemned the latest hunt in the Faroe Islands after 285 pilot whales, the largest species of oceanic dolphins, were killed in a single day at Fuglafjørður.
Volunteers from the conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, who documented the killing, said the hunt lasted for several hours and was one of the largest hunts recorded this year.
The pod included pregnant females and young calves, making the true toll far higher than the official count.
Pod
Valentina Crast, campaign director at Sea Shepherd, said: “The grind at Fuglafjørður exposes the cruelty and greed driving these hunts. More than 285 marine mammals were slaughtered in a chaotic killing that dragged on for over 90 minutes, and that number doesn’t include pregnant females and calves.
“Entire families were wiped out, not to put food on people’s tables, but to leave meat piled up across the islands, with surplus even rejected by Faroese themselves. Despite this, the killings continue.”
Initial assessments had claimed the pod numbered just 60 to 70 animals. In reality, it was a super pod of around 400, raising serious questions about repeated failures to monitor or report hunts accurately.
Cruel
Despite warnings from Faroese health authorities against consuming harmful whale meat, the hunts continue.
Local municipalities have already rejected further meat supplies. Meat and blubber are still being distributed and even sold online and in restaurants, exposing the commercial motives behind the grind.
Campaigners are calling for an immediate end to the practice, which they say is cruel, unnecessary, and driven by greed rather than tradition.
This Author
Brendan Montague is a member of the editorial team at The Ecologist online. This article is based on a press release from Sea Shepherd.