Faroe Islands: Killing Of 1,400 Dolphins As Part Of Tradition Triggers Backlash; What We Know

The practice of dolphin hunting in the self-governed Faroe Islands triggered a backlash after roughly 1,426 of the mammals were killed in what is believed to be a record catch.

Slaughtered with knives

According to BBC News, the pod of white-sided dolphins was first herded by boatmen into shallow waters in Eysturoy and then slaughtered with knives. The carcasses were then pulled ashore and distributed to locals for consumption.

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"There is no doubt that the Faroese whale hunts are a dramatic sight to people unfamiliar to the hunts and slaughter of mammals," a government spokesman told AFP. "The hunts are, nevertheless, well organised and fully regulated," he said.

Traditional practice 'grind'

On Denmark¡¯s Faroe Islands, hunting of sea mammals-known as the grind - is a tradition practised for centuries. According to the Faroese government, more than 600 pilot whales are killed annually as a part of the hunt, and not dolphins.

Notably, the number of white-sided dolphins is comparatively less with only 35 of them being hunted last year in the North Atlantic islands -- which have a population of around 50,000 people.

"There are usually a few of them in the 'grind', but we normally don't kill such a large number," said a local television journalist, Hallur av Rana.

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The "grindadrap" is a practice whereby the hunters first surround the whales with a wide semi-circle of fishing boats and then drive them into a bay to be beached and slaughtered.

"It looks quite extreme and it took some time to kill them all, while it's usually pretty quick," av Rana said.

Outrage on Twitter

Photos showing the bloodied corpses of more than 1,000 Atlantic white-sided dolphins on the beach sparked outrage on social media. Other gruesome photographs showed dolphins cut by boat propellers.

"Drawn though I am to things northerly, I will never set foot on the #FaroeIslands as long as they continue to murder our most intelligent fellow beings for kicks. #BoycottFaroeIslands,¡± British novelist Gregory Norminton tweeted.

"The population of the Faroes is almost 50,000. The average weight of an Atlantic White-sided Dolphin is 200 kg. Assume 50% muscle = 100kg meat/dolphin. 1400 dolphins means 140,000 kg ie almost 3kg of dolphin muscle for each inhabitant. I hope they enjoy it," naturalist Alick Simmons wrote on Twitter.

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"There is nothing in recent grindadr¨¢p records that match this. The closest we could find is 430 white-sided dolphins butchered on 13-08-2013 in Hvalba. Denmark and the EU need to take action NOW to save protected dolphins from these utterly irresponsible Faroe Islanders, Blue Planet society wrote on Facebook calling for immediate action.

Authorities insist it is a sustainable way of hunting

According to av Rana, although some 53 per cent of the islands' population are opposed to the "grind", there no plans to abolish the practice. The authorities insist it is a sustainable way of hunting.

Sea Shepherd, a charity that campaigns against the hunting of whales and dolphins, described it as a "barbaric practice". According to local estimates, there are around 1,00,000 pilot whales in the waters around the Faroe Islands and around 600 were killed last year.