A Bloody Summer in the Fjords: Let Your Politicians Know!

As of September 1st, 1,108 pilot whales and 269 white-sided dolphins have been killed in 21 grindadráp hunts in the Faroe Islands this year, making it the second highest slaughter in the past decade, and the fifth highest in the past 17 years. And the year isn't over. There is no "season" for the slaughter of these defenceless pilot whales and white-sided dolphins, who can be killed throughout the year if spotted migrating through the Faroe Islands. Help the Paul Watson Foundation UK put an end to this by asking your national European Parliament representative to begin infringement proceedings against Denmark for supporting and facilitating the grind.

The Ongoing Campaign in the Faroe Islands

First, the Faroese changed their local laws regarding the grind to make it easier to arrest and prosecute anyone trying to prevent the slaughters. One captain, after herding a pod of dolphins away from the killing beaches and out to safety, was even convicted of "harassing dolphins". Second, and most significantly, the Danish government stepped in with naval ships, police and customs agents to protect the grind from any activists. These Danish authorities intercepted, boarded and impounded campaign ships and small boats, and arrested crew and land volunteers.

As long as the Danish authorities are involved in this way to protect and facilitate the grind, any on-water presence is a danger to the freedom of volunteers and a useless waste of limited resources. That is why Operation Bloody Fjords, started in 2016, is an ongoing campaign to challenge the legality of this through the European Commission. As Denmark is part of the EU and therefore obliged to uphold EU laws forbidding the capture of or harm to any cetaceans, its assistance to the Faroe Islands clearly goes against this. Your petition of over 250,000 signatures was submitted to the European Commission in May. Since then, there have been hundreds more pilot whales and white-sided dolphins slaughtered in the Faroe Islands. What else can you do?

Pilot whales slaughtered in July in Hvannasund.

Let your national MEP (Member of the European Parliament) know how you feel about Denmark's continued facilitation of the grind, and ask them to support the request to start infringement proceedings in the European Commission: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html

These MEPs have already shown their support for infringement proceedings:

Richard CORBETT, UK · Jacqueline FOSTER, UK · David MARTIN, UK · Molly SCOTT CATO, UK · Keith TAYLOR, UK · Pascal DURAND, France · Yannick JADOT, France · Younous OMARJEE, France · Michèle RIVASI, France · Stefan ECK, Germany · Martin HÄUSLING, Germany · Bas EICKHOUT, The Netherlands · Anja HAZEKAMP, The Netherlands · Linnéa ENGSTRÖM, Denmark · Heidi HAUTALA, Denmark · Eleonora EVI, Italy · Benedek JÁVOR, Hungary · Tamás MESZERICS, Hungary · Miltiadis KYRKOS, Greece · Florent MARCELLESI, Spain · Carolina PUNSET, Spain · Pavel POC, Czech Republic · Emil RADEV, Bulgaria · Frédérique RIES, Belgium · Bart STAES, Belgium · Igor SOLTES, Slovenia · Claude TURMES, Luxembourg

A baby pilot whale cut from its mother's womb after the Hvannasund grind on July 5th.

We Condemn the Actions, Not the People

The fight is to stop the slaughter of pilot whales and other dolphins, not to demonise the Faroese people. There are Faroese who are against the grindadráp. There are Faroese supporters of the campaign. There are Faroese who are compassionate towards cetaceans. John Johannesen is one of them. We interviewed him about his views on the grindadráp and Faroese culture: The Grind and Faroese Culture.

They Slaughter Dolphins, Don't They?

In addition to wiping out entire families of long-finned pilot whales, the Faroese who participate in the grind are also driving smaller dolphins to their death, killing 269 white-sided dolphins so far this year. This makes a lot of people on the island uneasy — it isn't part of the "tradition", since it would have been almost impossible to chase these faster dolphins before power boats were used — and so images of their slaughter are often hidden from public view.

There have been 269 white-sided dolphins killed in the grindadráp so far this year.

For Survival or Commercial Gain?

The Faroese press erupted in debate this August when the local Dimmalætting newspaper ran a front-page article titled "25,000 KRONER FOR ONE WHALE" about the commercialisation of the Faroese grindadráp. It reported the recent sale of Atlantic white-sided dolphin meat from a hunt this year for 675 kroner per kilo, a general value of around 10,000 kroner being typical for one pilot whale (US$1,600 / €1,345), with offers as high as 100,000 kroner being made for just four pilot whales. Pilot whale and dolphin meat is sold in Faroese restaurants, in local stores and openly at market stands, so there can be no doubt that many Faroese are profiting from the grindadráp, despite the claim that the meat is only distributed to locals for personal consumption and survival.

Pilot whale and white-sided dolphin meat is easily found in Faroese markets for sale.

Sister City or Blood Brothers?

Perhaps feeling the pressure of the Australian campaign to end Broome's shameful "Sister City" relationship with the Japanese town of Taiji — also known for its whale and dolphin hunts — the Mayor of Taiji announced this summer that Taiji is courting Klaksvík in the Faroe Islands to be its new Sister City. To date, the "relationship" appears to be one-sided. But it shows the Faroe Islands have found themselves in company similarly condemned by the international community for the slaughter of cetaceans.

On August 5th, two grinds in the Faroes killed 134 white-sided dolphins and 39 pilot whales.

2017 Grind Statistics

1. May 21st at Bøur — 83 long-finned pilot whales killed after a 4-hour chase

2. June 16th at Tórshavn — 164 long-finned pilot whales

3. June 16th at Skálabotnur — 8 white-sided dolphins

4. June 26th at Hvalvík — 157 long-finned pilot whales, 51 white-sided dolphins

5. June 29th at Tjørnuvík — 43 long-finned pilot whales after being chased for 16 nautical miles

6. July 5th at Hvannasund — 70 long-finned pilot whales, including 4 pregnant females

7. July 8th at Hvannasund — 71 long-finned pilot whales

8. July 9th at Tórshavn — 26 long-finned pilot whales

9. July 10th at Skálabotnur — 2 long-finned pilot whales

10. July 16th at Vágur — 30 long-finned pilot whales & 12 white-sided dolphins

11. July 17th at Hvannasund — 191 long-finned pilot whales

12. July 25th at Syðrugøta — 16 white-sided dolphins

13. August 5th at Funningsfjørður — 133 white-sided dolphins

14. August 5th at Hvannasund — 39 long-finned pilot whales & 1 white-sided dolphin

15. August 15th at Fámjin — 50 long-finned pilot whales

16. August 18th at Tórshavn — 61 long-finned pilot whales

17. August 20th at Borðoyarvík — 27 long-finned pilot whales

18. August 21st at Skálabotnur — 48 white-sided dolphins after being chased for two hours

19. August 22nd at Húsavík — 19 long-finned pilot whales

20. August 29th at Hvannasund — 46 long-finned pilot whales

21. September 1st at Bøur — 29 long-finned pilot whales