Cetacean Slaughter: Faroese Kill Over 250 Whales in Annual Event

Villagers from the Faroe Islands, an archipelago north of the United Kingdom, partook in one of the world's least-beloved traditional events, the 'grindadráp', on Thursday, brutally killing more than 250 pilot whales within a 24-hour period.

Activists from Sea Shepherd, an Amsterdam-based marine conservation organization, captured this year's whale harvest on video.

As seen in the footage, Faroese villagers on boats led the whales towards a sandbank where a crowd of armed hunters was waiting for their victims. As the whales swam closer to beach, people ran into the water and attacked them with harpoons. The water near the beach turned red with their blood. Then the people dragged the animals out of water, cutting their necks.

Hundreds of whales and dolphins become easy prey for whalers on the islands every year during the marine mammals’ migration. The meat of the slaughtered whales and dolphins is used by the Faroese people, who number less than 50,000, for food. The meat is shared between all of the residents. The bloody tradition originated in the 16th century.

Whaling isn't prohibited on the Faroe Islands, which are a self-governing territory of Denmark. Moreover, there is legislation protecting hunters.  

“How Denmark – an anti-whaling member nation of the European Union, subject to laws prohibiting the slaughter of cetaceans – can attempt to justify its collaboration in this slaughter is incomprehensible,” Wyanda Lublink, a Sea Shepard activist, told reporters.

Seven of Sea Shepherd's members, who were set to monitor the hunt, were arrested this week, allegedly for attempts to meddle in the hunt.

According to activists, 111 pilot whales were slain on one of Nólsoy Island's beaches and 142 more were killed on Streymoy Island, not far from capital city of Tórshavn, in less than 24 hours. Faroese whalers have slaughtered 429 marine mammals so far in 2015 and the number continues to rise, according to media reports.

The Faroese kill an estimated 800 pilot whales and some dolphins every year. Denmark has also faced criticism from animal rights groups for killing zoo animals and putting down dogs from breeds that are considered to be illegal. In April, a man took his own life when Danish authorities euthanized his beloved Pitt Bull Terrier. The country, which often shines in human rights reports, has a far more dubious relationship to animals: Denmark only banned bestiality earlier this year.