Massive dolphin culling in the Faroe Islands

 

The custom of whale and dolphin hunting, known as grindadrap, is a centuries-old practice in the Faroe Islands and a key part of many locals’ diet. And many Faroese point to regulations — including rules around the killing of mammals — aimed at making the practice sustainable as a reason to keep the tradition alive.

The archipelago is formed by 18 larger islands and other smaller uninhabited ones, which shelter, in all, 47 thousand people in an area of 1,399 km². On the larger island (Streymoy) is the capital, Tórshavn, with 16 thousand inhabitants (1999). The closest lands are the northernmost islands of Scotland (United Kingdom), to the south-southeast, and Iceland, located to the northwest. They have been autonomous since 1948, having decided not to join the European Union. Gradually they have achieved greater autonomy and for the future the possibility of becoming independent from Denmark has been opened up. As an autonomous territory of Denmark, the Islands have a High Commissioner - representative of the Queen of Denmark, with a 32-member unicameral parliament (Løgtingið) and a prime minister head of government (løgmann).

The Faroe Islands have killed so many dolphins that some of them have to be cremated...

After the massacre of nearly 1,500 dolphins last Sunday, the Faroe Islands are wondering what to do with their meat.

To be precise, 1,428 white-sided dolphins were killed during an ancestral annual whale hunt called "grindadráp", or "grind". It consists of “encircling the cetaceans in the bay with fishing boats. The dolphins are then killed with a knife by fishermen who remain ashore. The sea then takes on a blood red hue and the corpses of dolphins are piled up on the beach

And this year, the massacre has grown to an all-time high: never before have had so many dolphins been killed in one day. By comparison, 600 were slaughtered in 2020. And the second largest recorded hunt in the Faroe Islands dates back to 1940 with 1,200 dolphins killed. Too much meat to eat

But this sordid hunting scene now poses a problem: what to do with so much meat? The hunt was originally intended to feed the local population. But according to the Metro site, there will be more than enough, if not too much this year. As for the fat of dolphins, it is not used by fishermen.

The Faroe Islands have therefore contacted a waste company to incinerate this "surplus". Residents have also said that meat has been sent to other parts of the country but there will likely be some wastage. A very beautiful tradition… even some supporters of the hunts were upset.

SAISI