NewsFaroe Islands “License to Kill” Dolphins and Whales Exposed as a Sham

📁 Archive Document — Historical Record

This article was first published when our charity's original name/branding as 'Sea Shepherd UK' prior to our name change on 18th May 2023 following the removal of Captain Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd entities worldwide (with the exception of the UK, France and Brazil).

Captain Paul Watson remains a member of our Board, and our charity continues to uphold its founding principles of non-violent direct action marine conservation.

This article and its contents are the property of the 'Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK' and forms part of our 21 year history.

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One of the arguments that has been used for decades to justify the killing of pilot whales and other dolphins in the Faroe Islands drive hunts — known as the grindadráp, or grind for short — is that the animals don't suffer because they are killed quickly by locals who have been trained and certified to use special tools. Both claims have now been proven false.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins killed 12th September 2021.

In September 2021, a super-pod of 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins was driven by speed boats and jet skis for 45 km over five hours into the bay at Skálabotnur, where every single one of them — including juveniles and pregnant females — was killed, making it the single largest cetacean hunt in documented human history. That alone would be shocking, but what our local volunteer captured on video was shocking even to those who were used to seeing the grinds: it showed the long, drawn-out suffering of these dolphins as they were clumsily hacked at by the supposedly "trained" locals, many left for dead while still moving, and other bodies on the shore clearly maimed by speedboat propellers. The footage went viral, bringing condemnation from around the world, as well as from within the Faroe Islands.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/6f5979_f70c0f0d9cd24b2c9ac1ce0ce93f1d6b/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Less than a year later, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK has now exposed the second falsehood: that those participating in the grinds are carefully trained and certified to kill the dolphins and pilot whales quickly with specialised tools.

One of our Danish crew members attended the official Faroese Ministry of Fisheries and Pilot Whaling Association's grindadráp course — a one-hour presentation open to anyone 16 years and up. And even though he could not speak or understand a word of Faroese, and never had the opportunity to touch a single killing tool (spinal lance or knife), he received the formal certification to kill pilot whales and dolphins. He did not have to show any identification, take any test, or otherwise demonstrate that he was even awake during the presentation.

Watch the video below of our Danish crew member Frederik explaining how easily he managed to get his certification.

These courses have been required by Faroese authorities since May 2015, in response to years of international criticism about the inhumane and slow deaths of pilot whales and dolphins at the hands of untrained Faroese citizens. They claim that the training ensures the cetaceans are killed "professionally" using special spinal lances — which, even if used correctly, sever the spine of the animals, paralysing them while they slowly bleed to death.

"This course, introduced in 2015, has been and continues to be nothing more than a deliberately deceptive attempt by the Faroese Ministry of Fisheries to silence critics both around the world and within their own country." — Robert Read, Director, Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK