Sea turns red with blood in Faroe Islands as dozens of whales and dolphins are slaughtered
THE annual butchering of whales and dolphins is well underway in the Faroe Islands, as disgusted animal lovers slam the bloodbath as “sad and barbaric”.
Sea Shepherd Global said that it was a “Return of the Bloody Fjords" as 252 long-finned pilot whales and 35 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were slaughtered on just one day, sending crimson-tinted waves onto the shore of Sandvik.
The activists explained on Facebook that the mammals "were killed in the Danish Faroe Islands after the huge pod was found off Sandvik [a shallow fjord].
"This is the first organised "grindadrap" slaughter of 2020, after a halt in hunting to avoid large gatherings due to Covid-19.
"Sea Shepherd ships may be banned from entering Faroese waters, but each year our volunteers are there to document the ongoing slaughter of dolphins and pilot whales.”
Gruesome photos of the trapped and executed animals prompted one outraged animal lover, Sue Owens, to comment: "Why are they still slaughtering these magnificent creatures. It sickens me through and through."
Susanna Blythe Saidi added: "Why would people do this? Humans are the virus."
Nel Klop agreed saying it was "so very sad and barbaric", while Carol Balmer posted: "The world is dying of [coronavirus] and still they slaughter defenceless animals."
But Rich Bergman pointed out: "They gotta eat. They have no livestock or much vegetation."
Campaigner Kenul Rza got nearly 140,000 people to sign on online petition calling upon the Prime Minister of Faroe Islands, Bárður á Steig Nielsen, to "stop the Denmark dolphin and whale killing festival".
Kenul wrote on Change.org: "For too many years Denmark has been allowed to carry on a barbaric and meaningless tradition that involves the brutal slaughter of over 800 dolphins and whales annually.
"The hunters first surround the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. Then they drive the whales and dolphins slowly into a bay or to the shallows of a fjord.
"When a whale is in shallow water a hook is placed in its blowhole so that it may be dragged ashore.
"Once on land or immobilised in knee-deep water, a cut is made across its top near the blowhole to partially sever its head.
"The dead animals are then dragged further to shore after the remaining whales have been likewise killed.
"This happens every year in Faroe Island in Denmark. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.
"These intelligent mammals don't die instantly and suffer a long death in the red stained waters.
"Please help to end this unnecessary and horrible slaughter!"
CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION
Tourist officials in the Faroes point out that, “as has been the case for centuries, whaling still occurs today.
“The Faroese have eaten pilot whale meat and blubber since they first settled the islands over a century ago.
“Today, as in times past, the whale drive is a community activity open to all, while also well organised on a community level and regulated by national laws.
“Records of all pilot whale hunts have been kept since 1584 and the practice is deemed sustainable, as there an estimated 778,000 whale in the eastern North Atlantic region.
“Approximately 100,000 swim close to the Faroe Islands, and the Faroese hunt an average 800 pilot whales annually.
“The meat and blubber from the hunt is distributed equally among those who have participated.”
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