End this horror - sea in Faroe Islands turns red as 138 pilot whales slaughtered (2024)

FAQs

Why are pilot whales killed in Faroe Islands? ›

The tradition of eating pilot whale meat and blubber dates back many centuries. Today, it is consumed as a Faroese delicacy.

Islanders largely support the 'grindadráp' (as it is called in Faroese), calling it a cultural tradition. They say they have hunted the whales for centuries, with their meat and blubber an integral part of the local diet. The Faroe Islands are an independent territory of Denmark, some 300km north of the United Kingdom.

The inhabitants had no other choice than to hunt cetaceans for food. Today the Grindadrap has kept its traditional rather than its vital aspect. Indeed, the Faroe Islands are one of the richest archipelagos in the world and have one of the highest standards of living in Europe.

As has been the case for centuries, whaling still occurs in the Faroe Islands today. The Faroese have eaten pilot whale meat and blubber since they first settled the islands over a millenia ago.

The only well-documented case of aggressive behaviour by wild pilot whales towards humans was in 1992 in Kealakakua Bay in Hawaii, when photographer Lee Tepley and his friend Lisa Costello swam very close to a group of pilot whales on a high-speed motorboat.

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation under the external sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The grassy roof of the architecture in the Faroe Islands is traditional, like black. Initially, the walls were painted with tar to keep the heat better. Now they paint with paint, but many preserve the color as a tribute to tradition.

To ensure tourism remains as sustainable as possible, the Faroe Islands is once again closing some of its most popular sites from May 2 to 4, 2024, to all but 80 voluntourists. In exchange for their work on various maintenance projects, they will receive free local accommodation and food.

Fishing has been the main source of income for the Faroe Islands since the late 19th century, but dependence on fishing makes the economy vulnerable to price fluctuations.

There are an estimated 1 million long-finned pilot whales and approximately 200,000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide.

What is the grind in Faroe Islands? ›

"Grind,” which rhymes with wind, is Faroese for pilot whale, and can refer to the event of the whale slaughter, the whale meat, or the whales themselves. Hunting whales for food is a tradition as old as the islands have been inhabited.

United States

- California, Maui, Hawaii, and North Carolina have local laws banning cetaceans in captivity.

For thousands of years, Native Alaskans of the Arctic have depended on whale meat. The meat is harvested from legal, non-commercial hunts that occur twice a year in the spring and autumn. The meat is stored and eaten throughout the winter.

Dried whale meat and blubber are often served in little hors d'oeuvres pieces and is considered a treat amongst these hearty Viking descendants. Whale harvesting isn't regulated, per se, in the Faroe Islands, but 500-year-old traditions and the local police keep things in check. For example, it's never sold in stores.

The national language of the Faroe Islands is Faroese. The Faroese language is a Germanic language which is descended from Old Norse. Danish is the official second language. Faroese is similar in grammar to Icelandic and Old Norse, but closer in pronunciation to Norwegian.

Pilot whales – which can grow to more than 6 metres (20 feet) long – are highly sociable, so they may follow podmates who stray into danger. Some stranding incidents have been linked to underwater noise pollution caused by humans, which could affect the animals' sensitive hearing.

Whaling is illegal in most countries, however Iceland, Norway, and Japan still actively engage in whaling . Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold for commercial gain. Their oil, blubber, and cartilage are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements.

It's also possible they are competing for prey, even though it's believed they generally don't feed on the same thing. Some have speculated pilot whales perceive the killer whales as a threat and chase them instead of running away. There were no other pilot whales around at the time of the sighting.

Groups of killer whales and pilot whales are known to chase and antagonise each other. Researchers believe they do this because they are competing over resources – in Iceland, probably Atlantic herring or mackerel.