Gruesome Pictures Show 300 Whales Slaughtered In Faroe Islands Despite Coronavirus Restrictions
Nearly 300 animals were killed in the Faroe Islands this week after whaling season was opened despite coronavirus restrictions. Sickening pictures show the sea turning red with blood as dozens of whales were slaughtered.
The controversial annual hunt on the Faroe Islands is back again despite COVID-19 restrictions.
The Faroe Islands are located in the North Atlantic between Norway and Iceland and are made up of 18 tiny islands.
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The traditional practice known as Grindadr¨¤p, or 'the Grind', involves fishermen surrounding the whales with boats and trapping them in a bay, before getting into the water and killing them with knives.
Locals have been carrying out the hunts for centuries and the gruesome killings amid the ongoing pandemic has shocked people yet again.
According to Euro News. nearly 300 animals were killed in the Faroe Islands this week after whaling season resumed despite coronavirus restrictions.
Animal activists have long condemned the practice, and environmental NGO Sea Shepherd did so again after long-finned pilot whales and some Atlantic white-sided dolphins were killed off Hvalba.
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Fisherman proximity had been an issue of concern for local authorities owing to the coronavirus - the Faroes, population barely 50,000 has logged 188 cases to date, but just one since April, reports AFP.
Fisheries Minister Jacob Vestergaard gave the go-ahead for the hunt on July 7, with the proviso that everyone avoid large gatherings.
The hunt sees vessels herd the whales and dolphins in a bay whereupon fishermen wade in up to their midriffs and slaughter them with knives, leaving the sea red with blood, to the horror of animal rights campaigners.
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The Faroese government defends the whaling practice in the country, claiming it's "sustainable" and "regulated."
"The Faroese hunt on average 800 pilot whales annually," on a local population "of approximately 100,000," according to authorities, who also stress pilot whales are not an endangered species, and their hunt is not "a festival," but a way to provide food to the local community.