Status: 14.09.2021 8:50 p.m.
The sea is blood red, slashed animals lie on the beach: at the weekend, more than 1,400 dolphins were killed on the Faroe Islands. Not only environmentalists are outraged – hunters are also critical.
The mass killing of white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands has sparked an animal welfare debate. Hundreds of animals were driven into the Skálafjord on Sunday. According to the Faroese broadcaster KVF, more than 1,400 dolphins were killed.
The traditional hunt for marine mammals is regulated by law in the Faroe Islands and not commercial. The inhabitants drive around 1000 animals to the coast every year and slaughter them in shallow water. Most of them are pilot whales, however, white-sided dolphins are only a few. The residents share meat and bacon.
A dead dolphin lies in the shallow water off the main island of Eysturoy.
Image: AP
Worry about negative headlines
Heri Petersen heads a group of hunters who drive pilot whales into shallow waters off the main island of Eysturoy. He told the online news service in.fo that too many white-sided dolphins were simply directed towards the coast during the hunt on Sunday. He himself had not been informed and distanced himself from the action.
The chairman of the Faroese Pilot Whale Hunting Association, Olavur Sjurdarberg, was also dissatisfied with the action – mainly because it caused negative headlines. “We have to keep in mind that we are not alone in the world,” he told KVF. “The world has gotten a lot smaller these days. Everyone walks around with a camera in their pockets.” Fisheries Minister Jacob Vestergaard had assured on the radio that the hunt had been strictly according to regulations this year as well. But Sjurdarberg warned: “This is a treat for anyone who resents us when it comes to pilot whale fishing.”
“A limit has been crossed here”
Animal rights activists criticize the whale hunt, which has been practiced since the 16th century, as cruel. The environmental organization Sea Shepherd posted a long video on Facebook showing men pulling animals from blood-red water onto a beach. The organization spoke of the largest herd of marine mammals ever killed in a single action in the Faroe Islands.
“The hunt is pointless and, according to eyewitness reports, caused great animal suffering. Here a limit has been crossed and a new dimension of hunting has been reached,” criticized the marine protection organization OceanCare.