Sea turns blood red as more than 250 whales slaughtered in ‘barbaric’ hunt in Faroe Islands

Parts of the sea around the Faroe Islands have become blood-red after more than 250 whales were massacred by hunters last week, an environmental group has said.

According to the Independent, The NGO Sea Shepherd announced 252 whales and 35 white-sided dolphins were killed last Wednesday near the village of Hvalba as part of the archipelago’s annual whaling season.

 The group added that meat from the whales would be scattered to participants in the hunt and then given to villages on the southern island of Suðuroy, with recipients free to sell their share of the meat.

“On average, 1500 dolphins are massacred every year in the Faroe Islands, which invoke an ancestral tradition to justify this barbaric practice,” Sea Shepherd said.

Although the practice of hunting whales and dolphins has been called an annual ritual in the archipelago, the Faroese government has argued the killings take place to provide food for local communities and are fully regulated by law.

The average catch of around 800 whales a year is not considered to have a significant impact on the abundance of pilot whales, which are estimated at around 778,000,” the government said.

However, some environmental groups have strongly criticised the hunts, with the group ORCA referring to the practice as an “insane blood sport”.

 Captain Paul Watson, an environmental activist and Sea Shepherd’s founder, has called for a boycott of Faroese products and tourism over the hunts, which are known as the Grindadràp, the news outlet adds.

What's happening in Tunisia?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for updates.

Top 48h

Copyright © 2019 Tunisie Numerique

To Top