UK Parliamentary Debate on Faroe Islands Trade Agreement

📁 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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On 11th July, the UK Parliament debated whether to suspend the UK's Free Trade Agreement with the Faroe Islands until they ended the slaughter of whales and dolphins in the grindadráp drive hunts, also known as the grind. The debate was scheduled after a formal petition — registered by Dominic Dyer and promoted by the Stop the Grind coalition — received over 100,000 signatures from UK residents and British citizens.

In addition to the 104,000 signatures on the UK parliamentary petition, a survey commissioned by Stop the Grind and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK revealed that more than 75% of the UK population supports economic sanctions on countries that practice dolphin and whale hunting, and nearly 70% would consider joining a general boycott of products and services from these nations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gd9QBpBwwA

The debate — attended by the new Minister for Trade, Andrew Griffiths, as well as a number of MPs representing constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales — similarly highlighted the unanimous position of MPs against the slaughter of cetaceans, in any number.

John Nicholson MP passionately led the discussion, laying out the numerous economic, social and political arguments in favour of suspending the free trade agreement. He highlighted the inequitable trade balance between the Faroe Islands and the UK — which has resulted in a 157% increase in Faroe Islands' exports to the UK since the free trade agreement was signed — stating, "we have the power to make the Faroe Islands focus and resist." Ben Lake MP argued that the last assessment on pilot whale populations was conducted in 1997, and that any suggestion a quota of this number is sustainable is therefore utterly indefensible.

Kerry McCarthy MP also spoke ardently about the need for the UK government to "[use] trade negotiations to set a very clear marker as to what our standards are and what standards we are willing to accept from other nations." She highlighted the fact that the renewal of the Faroe Islands trade agreement in 2019 would have presented a relevant opportunity to introduce animal welfare standards into trade policy, and questioned Minister of Trade Andrew Griffiths as to why this had not taken place. Minister Griffiths responded that "we all aim to achieve the same end — which is the end of this barbaric practice," and that the UK would use its diplomatic relationship with the Faroe Islands to continue to condemn the grindadráp and advocate for policy change.

"The British government cannot turn a blind eye to the brutal slaughter of whales and dolphins on the Faroe Islands when it enriches this small island nation of less than 50,000 people at an unprecedented rate, as a result of this unbalanced and unethical Free Trade Agreement. No whales or dolphins should be brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands to put cod and farmed salmon on our supermarket shelves. If the UK is to remain a world leader in the protection of marine mammals, the government must be willing to use trade sanctions to end this barbarism for good." — Dominic Dyer, policy advisor at the Born Free Foundation and initiator of the UK parliamentary petition

Members from Stop the Grind, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK, and the Born Free Foundation attended the debate as observers.

MPs also shared Stop the Grind's concern with the recent announcement of a proposed quota by the Faroe Islands, arguing that "even one dolphin is too much for this government". The quota — released the day before the debate in an apparent attempt to placate policymakers — is above the current average annual catch of dolphins, and does not apply to pilot whales (which are killed in far greater numbers).

"It appears that international and domestic opposition to the barbaric grindadráp hunts have been rejected in favour of killing of even dolphins by setting not a restrictive quota, but what some Faroese dolphin hunters will see as a de facto target to be reached. We will continue our campaign together with the Stop the Grind coalition, and our crew and friends across Scandinavia and in the Faroe Islands, until we together bring about an end to these cruel grindadráp hunts of dolphins and pilot whales." — Robert Read, Chief Operations Officer, Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK

Although disappointed that the debate did not result in the suspension of the Free Trade Agreement, Stop the Grind was strongly encouraged by the large turnout of MPs for this discussion and the compelling arguments made by government ministers and MPs from all sides. After years of intensive campaigning, the Stop the Grind coalition considers it a huge win for this issue to be discussed with such rigour at the highest political level in the UK.

The Stop the Grind campaign will now turn its focus to the upcoming discussions taking place at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Slovenia in October 2022. This meeting represents another important opportunity to demonstrate the extent of international opposition to the grindadráp, and to apply scrutiny to the arbitrary quota that has been put forward by the Faroese government.

In addition, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK will continue to document the hunts through its substantial team of photographers, videographers and media experts currently on the island for the summer of 2022. "We are pleased with the recent developments in our campaign, which demonstrate the power of the public to affect change, and will continue to use every avenue available to us to assert pressure on the Faroe Islands government until the grind comes to an end," concludes Robert Read.