Current Events > 1,400 dolphins were killed in the Faroe Islands in one day.

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/europe/faroe-dolphin-killing-record-scli-intl-scn/index.html

"More than 1,400 white-sided dolphins were killed Sunday night in the Faroe Islands, in what local authorities said was a traditional whaling hunt.

The killing has been denounced by marine conservation group Sea Shepherd as a "brutal and badly mishandled" massacre, and the largest single hunt in the Danish territory's history.

The organization said a super-pod of 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins was corralled by speed boats and jet skis onto Sklabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy, where they were then killed.

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, lying about halfway between Scotland and Iceland in the Atlantic Ocean.

The annual whale hunt, or grindadrp in Faroese, has been a part of local culture for centuries -- but it usually involves the hunting of pilot whales. Although it has long been criticized by animal rights groups, locals have defended the practice.

41-year-old Kristian Petersen, who is originally from the Faroese town of Fuglafjrur but now lives in Denmark, said he began participating in whaling at the age of seven -- but in his village, dolphins were never targeted.

"I have experienced that firsthand and also participated a bit," Petersen told CNN. "As long as it has been for food only, I have supported it. But this recent catch that was this weekend, I'm against how it went on.

Petersen is one of several whaling supporters who have condemned Sunday's killing, saying there were "so many errors," including pursuing a large flock and prolonging the dolphins' suffering by not having enough people on the beaches to kill them.

In recent decades, the practice has come under strict regulation from the Faroese government, with guidelines for the authorization of hunts and how they should be conducted.

Many, including Petersen, have questioned the legality of Sunday's killing, with allegations that the local foreman, who is involved in regulating whaling in the area alongside the district administrator, was not informed in line with regulations. Sea Shepherd also claimed that several of those involved did not have the required licenses to participate.

One foreman, Heri Petersen, has been quoted by local media outlet In.fo calling for accountability and confirming there were too few killers involved, meaning the dolphins struggled for breath on the beach until they were killed.

The Faroese Executive Order on Hunting Pilot Whales and Other Small Whales, issued in January 2017, states either the district administrator or foreman must approve any hunts and gives them the responsibility to "ensure that enough people are available on shore to kill the whales."

Bjorg Jacobsen from the Faroe Islands Police told CNN the hunt had been legal, but he declined to comment further.

In a written statement, Faroese government spokesperson Pll Nolse told CNN the "notification about the sighting of the whales was given to the district administrator, and the district administrator, in consultation with the whaling foremen, designated the authorised whaling bay the whales should be driven into."

He said it "was organised and carried out in accordance with Faroese legislation" and "there were no breaches of law and regulations," adding that this had been confirmed by the Faroese Ministry of Fisheries.

Nolse added that everyone involved in killing must complete a pilot whaling course, and said hunting white-sided dolphins was a sustainable practice, with a yearly number of around 250, although it "fluctuates greatly" -- making Sunday's catch almost six times as large.

"The meat from each whale drive provides a large amount of valuable food, which is distributed free in the local communities where the whale drives take place... the meat of the 1,400 dolphins caught on Sunday has likewise been distributed among the participants in the catch and the local community," he added.

However, Sea Shepherd alleged locals had said there was too much meat from Sunday's hunt and there were fears it would have to be discarded, pointing to interviews published in Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet.

This claim was contradicted by Steintr, a 61-year-old lobster fisherman from the village of Oyri, who did not wish to give his last name for fear of being targeted by anti-whaling activists. He said the meat from the dolphins would equal roughly 200 whales, and so was "not too much."

"I think it's very necessary to kill whales," he said, arguing it was a sustainable practice favorable to the importing of beef. "And we do it in a very humane way, using veterinarian-certified tools ... The problem in the Faroe Islands is that we have a public slaughterhouse. So everyone can see what is going on."

Although he said some locals were frustrated by the "not so well organized" hunt, and he was "surprised by the sheer number of the dolphins," the killing itself was a "normal thing" and did not come as a shock, he said.

Sea Shepherd further alleged that several dolphins had been run over by motor boats and "hacked by propellers," resulting in reports to local police. The Faroe Islands Police did not respond to a CNN request for comment on the allegations.

"Considering the times we are in, with a global pandemic and the world coming to a halt, it's absolutely appalling to see an attack on nature of this scale in the Faroe Islands," Sea Shepherd Global's CEO, Alex Cornelissen, said in a statement.
The Faroe Islands Whales and Whaling body has continued to stand by the practice in recent years, stating on its website, "the average catch of around 800 whales a year is not considered to have a significant impact on the abundance of pilot whales, which are estimated at around 778,000.""

The source for this is Sea Shepherd so some parts of the story are prob fabricated.

Like the method of using boat props to kill the dolphins. I just find that hard to believe.

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Well, they have the picture of a lot of dead dolphins.

It just says that several were hit by the propellers, not that they were using the propellers to kill the dolphins.

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God I hate humanity

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Sea sheperd society is a pretty vile organization. I remember in one of their discovery show episodes they closed in on a japanese whaling ship in motion on a speedboat, put a man on the ship without permission, and then when the whaling ship didn't immediately stop, they tried to have the Australian coast guard arrest them for kidnapping.

That said, 1,400 sounds like a lot.

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Fuck whale hunters

DeadBankerDream posted...

Sea sheperd society is a pretty vile organization. I remember in one of their discovery show episodes they closed in on a japanese whaling ship

Fair, next

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Cocytus posted...

foreman must approve any hunts and gives them the responsibility to "ensure that enough people are available on shore to kill the whales."

I have an alternative idea.

Stop that.

If you're going to hunt a sea creature do it with a spear and an oxygen tank, you fucking cowards.

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This is fucking awful.

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Theyre gonna eat the meat? Whats the problem?

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DespondentDeity posted...

Theyre gonna eat the meat? Whats the problem?

They're not going to eat that dolphin meat.

They're probably gonna eat it.

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Hopefully they dont try to get revenge and take over the world like that Simpsons episode.

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MelbuFrahma4 posted...

Hopefully they dont try to get revenge and take over the world like that Simpsons episode.

I, for one, welcome our new dolphin overlords.

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Dolphins are shitty animals though. Serves em right for sexually abusing sharks tbqh.

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Golly gee, that's a LOT of dolphins!
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Won't be long now they'll be thanking us for all the fish.

We know what comes next.

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https://youtu.be/1Q86iSO2dkA

So they can kill many dolphin because traditions but when Japan and china do it they will condemn it.
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DeadBankerDream posted...

Sea sheperd society is a pretty vile organization. I remember in one of their discovery show episodes they closed in on a japanese whaling ship in motion on a speedboat, put a man on the ship without permission, and then when the whaling ship didn't immediately stop, they tried to have the Australian coast guard arrest them for kidnapping.

Holy shit I love these guys.

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The only thing that could justify this is knowing theyve exhausted every effort and method to try and get food to that community - but I really doubt it and so I consider it absolute sin to kill animals in this manner for this reason

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I watched a documentary on this island and their whale hunts. Many of the people have mercury poisoning and basically say fake news when their doctors tell them their kids will have brain development issues from mercury poisoning and to back off the whale meat.

Barbaric

it's a replay of dolphin and whale.
whale is next :(.

also to note: i wouldn't eat something that causes me to become sicker. dolphin/whale meat shouldn't be eaten.
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Chadawah posted...

I watched a documentary on this island and their whale hunts. Many of the people have mercury poisoning and basically say fake news when their doctors tell them their kids will have brain development issues from mercury poisoning and to back off the whale meat.

Oh, so these violent savages will almost certainly have kids who are also violent savages. Great, just great

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So they ate the meat?

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DespondentDeity posted...

So they ate the meat?

yeah they did
they also killed 1400 of them

the only parts that may be fabricated are the parts about the whalers being incompetent. this info is from Sea Shepherd after all so they always try to make them look as bad as possible it is part of their memo. even other conservation orgs don't like them for their misinformation

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You know its a problem when even whale hunters are upset at whale hunting

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Ratchetrockon posted...

the only parts that may be fabricated are the parts about the whalers being incompetent.

It's pretty universal even on the Faroes that some "incompetence" was going on here. From what I remember reading, not from Sea Shepherds, the people who discovered the dolphin group thought there were a couple of hundred, so when they were herded to shore there were not anywhere near enough people to handle 1,400 and there was a lot of slow deaths rather than making sure the whales were finished off as quickly as possible and processed properly.

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DeadBankerDream posted...

It's pretty universal even on the Faroes that some "incompetence" was going on here. From what I remember reading, not from Sea Shepherds, the people who discovered the dolphin group thought there were a couple of hundred, so when they were herded to shore there were not anywhere near enough people to handle 1,400 and there was a lot of slow deaths rather than making sure the whales were finished off as quickly as possible and processed properly.

Ok that makes sense. Im just wary of sea shepherd so if it is from a different source it is all good


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fuck these human trash

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Coming into this from the OP. It sounds like if the practice is usually okay - the meat is given away for free, they don't kill too much, everything is used - there isn't a problem. The issue lies in the target, the creature itself to a degree but mostly the amount slaughtered. If there is too much meat to go around, if this was a cull so large and bloody that there will be a significant amount of waste - that is an issue.

With that being said, if the sea shepherd society are known bullshit artists like PETA and Greenpeace and this story is exaggerated - fuck them. But with this now being a public story, what matters the most is getting the truth of the matter.

The source is apparently very biased, but until we get the whole story, I can't really write it off. If this cull was excessive and objectionable, even to the locals who support the practice? That's fucked up. But if the credibility of the source is in question, what matters the most here is getting to the truth.

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Ecco shears a tear.

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