More than 500 specimens of pilot whales or pilot whales (a species of dolphin with the scientific name Globicephala melas) have died in the first 15 days of June in the Faroe Islands in a new season of the famous cetacean hunting tradition known as Grindadráp. Only between the 8th and 14th of this month, five massive captures have been recorded in Faroese ports, with half a thousand animals sacrificed. On Wednesday the 14th, specifically, there were 269 deaths in an action in the port of Vestmanna (see images below) and 178 deaths in Leynar, according to data from Sea Shepherd.
As the images released by the United Kingdom delegation of this international conservation organization show, the technique used for these captures in the Faroe Islands consists of scaring the cetaceans in the open sea with the help of all kinds of boats, cornering them in a port or beach and, once surrounded between the sand and the boats, they beat them to death, in most cases with axes.
A good part of the population of this nation attached to the Kingdom of Denmark (which has a total of 50,000 inhabitants) defends the celebration of the Grindadráp for reasons of tradition. These captures had formerly been a source of food but currently the use of the meat and fat of the dead cetaceans is of little importance, as even the local authorities have recognized, which have even gone so far as to propose its prohibition due to the criticism received from international scale.
The campaigns of conservation entities and the criticism of institutions and governments have not yet succeeded in suppressing this tradition, as demonstrated by the documented actions of this month of June.
Sea Shepherd has been working for years to denounce this hunting in the Faroe Islands, in many cases due to the harassment of the hunters and the authorities, who have tried to prevent the filming and dissemination of the images. Members of Sea Shepherd UK have been in the Faroe Islands since May and keep the unofficial catch data updated on their Facebook page.
Also on this website they offer data on hunting activities:
“Our crew has been on the islands since May 1st documenting all of these hunts. The statistics are already staggering with 570 long-finned pilot whales (actually a species of dolphin) already killed – and without even a quota/limit for pilot whales, this year it will get much worse!Grindadrap hunts are unique in the Faroe Islands, but in Iceland company Kristjan Loftsson Hvalur hf has a whaling station and two harpoon boats which have a quota of 209 fin whales (the second largest whale after the blue whale) this summer,” explains Sea Shepherd UK.
