Controversial event that killed 156 dolphins sparks uproar: 'Tradition used as an excuse'
The Faroe Islands is quite unlike what most travellers imagine when they think of a European island.
During the cold weather, when most Aussies think about travelling to a European island, they dream of Santorini, Ibiza and Capri. But out of the public eye on a little-known Danish island locals have engaged in a local practice that would send most tourists packing.
New details have emerged following a bloody incident on Friday when an estimated 156 dolphins, including five calves, were driven into the shore and slaughtered on the Faroe Islands. It’s the first major event of its kind since locals killed 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in front of children in 2021, resulting in calls to boycott the islands to pressure government to end the practice.
While cruise ships continued to travel to the autonomous archipelago, which sits between Scotland, Iceland and Norway, in 2023 they were confronted with scenes that left some British tourists in shock. Many complained after witnessing the slaughter of pilot whales as they tried to enjoy a relaxing holiday.
Related: Faroe Islanders defend butchering 78 dolphins in front of cruise ship tourists
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What’s different about Friday’s incident is that it has left many Faroese responding by questioning aspects of the slaughter, known in the local language as the Grindadráp. Some have expressed concerns that unlike the regular slaughter of pilot whales, which are themselves a large oceanic dolphin, killing more traditional-looking dolphins is not part of their “tradition”.
“We don’t have a tradition of killing Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and I don’t understand why we should do it now,” one Faroese person wrote on social media. “I believe the overall joy from them would be much greater if we, who live by the fjord, could watch them,” another wrote.
Pictures taken after the slaughter are hard to look at. Dolphins can be seen with their heads almost hacked off, lined up along the shore, and the ordinarily crystal clear waters have been turned bright red with blood.
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Many Faroese maintain they have a right to kill whales and dolphins as a traditional food source, comparing it to land-based hunting in other western countries. But critics say the large numbers killed are unsustainable and argue the slaughter methods prolong suffering and are cruel.
The Grindadráp is regularly monitored by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK, which has called on the Danish government to outlaw the practice. However it has so far resisted calls to do so, and when the group’s founder Captain Paul Watson set foot on its territory last month, it arrested him on an international arrest warrant issued by Japan, another whaling nation.
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The group’s COO Rob Read has called for the Danish government to release Watson, warning he will most likely die in jail if he’s extradited to Japan. Responding to the most recent dolphin slaughter on the Faroe Islands he said locals have access to supermarkets and modern conveniences, and should move away from hunting.
“Tradition is simply being used as an excuse, much the same as in other nations who have used tradition as an excuse for things such as fox hunting and bull fighting,” he said.
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