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

 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”.