Every year in The Faroe Islands they continue to slaughter hundred of pilot whales in a tradition they call a Grindadrap. They have killed hundreds already this year, claiming its for food. They kill entire pods, and many are just thrown back in the ocean, Dead!. It is a sick tradition that needs to stop, and now the Danish Navy are helping drive the whales in to the beaches to be slaghtered. Whaling is illegal in the EU and this needs to stop! We are asking for Cruise liners to stop visiting the Faroes and Denmark if they continue to assist the Slaughter.
I am sure you have heard about the continued whaling in the Faroe Islands as pictures hit the media recently when around 250 whales were slaughtered in July. This was part of a whale hunt known as the grindadrap (literal translation “murder of whales”) or grind. The killing does not just include pilot whales, it also includes anything that gets in the way, Including White sided Whales and Bottle nose dolphin.
The Faroese claim every part of the whale is used and is shared amongst their community as a valuable source of meat for a region that has very little in terms of natural resources. They also insist that this meat is not sold. This is all lies. And below are 4 different points for you to consider
1. Whale meat from the grinds is sold in supermarkets and restaurants in the Faroe Islands, so it is bringing in money for some of the people involved which makes it a commercial enterprise.
2. Every part of the whale killed is not used, not even every whale killed is used. The hunters have been documented discarding whole whale carcasses into the sea that they did not have time to process before dusk.
3. It is not a valuable source of meat, and Pilot Whales are actually a member of the dolphin family, which is very dangerous due to the amount of toxins (high levels of mercury and PCBs). Faroese doctors have even confirmed it contains poisonous levels that would not be legal in any other food approved for human consumption. And the fact that children are being given this meat to eat by parents who should know better means that they are being poisoned.
4. The Faroe Islands have a thriving fishing industry including farmed salmon. They also have a large amount of sheep. They trade these commodities for all the benefits of a materialistic society and with this and their subsidies they enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.
Denmark remained separate from the hunt before 2014. But have this year sent in navel vessals support the Grind and prevent protesters getting close to the whales. This shows their support for this slaughter. Which is a cost to Danish and European taxpayers. With the help of the Danish Navy and police, protesters have been arrested and not able to help reduce the amount of whales being slaughtered. In 1 day alone in July around 250 were slaughtered. Back in 2013 when the Danish gave no support only 33 were killed in 3 months because protesters could intervene.
A pod will be surrounded by motorized watercraft and will herd them onto a beach where they are killed. It is claimed this is humane and they do not suffer. Videos from these events show the whales die an agonising death that can take up to an hour.
The Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation, but they are still within the Kingdom of Denmark. The Faroe Islands are not part of the EU, but Denmark is. The European Union bans commercial whale hunting and whale imports by its members. By supporting the whale hunting in the Faroe Islands by sending their navy, Denmark has participated in this commercial whale hunting, and so broken the laws of the European Union.
For this reason we are asking that Cruise Companies not only drop the Faroe Islands from their routes but also Denmark, until they understand that the world will not stand for them to be allowed to break EU laws and support this Slaughter.
