The European Commission Ignores the European Parliament and 250,000+ Members of the Public, Leaving Pilot Whales to be Slaughtered

📁 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.

Learn more at paulwatsonfoundation.uk/new-name

On May 8, 2017, with the formal support of 27 Members of the European Parliament and over 250,000 members of the public, Sea Shepherd Netherlands officially submitted a request to the European Commission to launch infringement proceedings against Denmark for facilitating the slaughter of pilot whales and other cetaceans in the Faroe Islands.

The aim was to end direct Danish support for the brutal grindadráp, or grind, in which hundreds of pilot whales are driven onto the beaches of the Faroe Islands using speed boats, then mercilessly slaughtered in the name of "tradition".

Dolphins slaughtered this summer in Funningsfjordur, Faroe Islands. Photo submitted to Paul Watson Foundation UK

The infringement claim presented evidence proving that Danish officials from the police, navy, and customs have been facilitating and even actively participating in the grind, causing the death of cetaceans in contravention of the EU Habitats Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora.

On September 6th 2017, the European Commission gave its answer: there will be no infringement proceedings brought against Denmark — the slaughter can continue unabated. The Commission took this extraordinary step without apparently considering any of the legal arguments or the comprehensive evidentiary submissions.

The response came in a one-page letter blindly parroting the Commission's long-standing position that "the Faroe Islands are outside the European Union" and "not subject to international treaties prohibiting whaling". However, these were not the arguments that had been put forward. The submission provided incontrovertible scientific evidence proving that the same pilot whales travelling through European Union waters are the victims of the Danish-supported grindadráps. Yet the Commission — without explanation — ignored this evidence, finding that there is no connection between the slaughter and the European Union, thus invalidating any application of the Habitats Directive.

The Paul Watson Foundation UK is not done with this fight. Another attempt will be made to convince the Commission to see reason. If the Commission again fails to properly consider the well-supported position, the next step will be to file a maladministration claim against the Commission with the European Ombudsman.