A Faroese tradition, especially pilot whales, is always doomed.
Hundreds of dolphins were killed at the weekend, which appalled animal welfare organizations in particular.
Tórshavn - The annual hunt for marine mammals has a long tradition in the Faroe Islands.
But at the weekend the traditional event escalated and triggered an animal welfare debate: Hundreds of dolphins were driven into the Skálafjord on Sunday and more than 1,400 of them were killed, as the Faroese radio station
KVF
reports.
The animals are white-sided dolphins, which actually rarely fall victim to the hunting tradition.
Typically, the residents drive around 1,000 animals - mostly pilot whales - towards the coast each year before killing them in the shallow waters.
The tradition is regulated by law and not commercial, the meat and bacon is shared among the residents.
Hundreds of dead dolphins: The hunting associations are also criticizing
The controversial whale hunt has existed since the 16th century, but rarely on such a blatant scale: Even Heri Petersen, the representative of a group of such pilot whale hunters, criticized the action in an interview with the online news service
in.fo
: It was the Hunt on Sunday simply too many white-sided dolphin finds headed towards the coast. He had not been informed and distanced himself from the action.
The board of the Faeroese Pilot Whale Hunting Association, Olavur Sjudarberg, was concerned about the negative headlines caused by the action: "We have to keep in mind that we are not alone in the world," he told
KVF
.
“The world has gotten a lot smaller today.
Everyone walks around with a camera in their pockets. ”The coverage of the event over the weekend is a treat for anyone who would resent the hunting association with regard to the pilot whale catch.
Animal rights groups condemn the Faroe Islands' whale hunting tradition
Fisheries Minister Jacob Vestergaard assured on the radio that the hunt was strictly according to regulations, as every year, but the criticism is particularly great from the animal welfare organizations.
They call the centuries-old whale hunt cruel.
The environmental protection organization Sea Shepherd speaks of the largest herd of marine mammals that has ever been killed in an action.
The marine protection organization OceanCare also harshly criticizes the traditional hunt for pilot whales: “The hunt is pointless and, according to eyewitness reports, caused great animal suffering.
Here a limit has been crossed and a new dimension of hunting has been reached ”.
In fact, a larger "Grindadráp", as the locals call the tradition, was prevented in 2014: Pilot whales could be kept away by interference signals through transmitters that were installed off the coast by animal rights activists from the German Whale and Dolphin Protection Forum (WDSF).
Because: As soon as residents see pilot whales alone or in herds, this must be reported to the authorities immediately, as the news magazine
Newsweek
explains.
Faroe Islands: Controversial whale hunting with a long tradition
Then many islanders go to the sea to drive the animals to the coast together, where they are then killed.
It is not possible to predict when the animals can be spotted near land.
Often, however, the hunt for squids - squids, which are mammals' main source of food - is a reason for staying in coastal regions.
The procedure has been legitimized for years by tradition and on the grounds that the marine mammals are not used for commercial purposes.
And yet the meat of the whales is also served in restaurants and thus also made available to visitors to the island.
However, the consumption of whale and dolphin meat is not entirely harmless: As a study by the species protection organization
Pro Wildlife
found, consumption can lead to speech disorders, Parkinson's and diabetes, among other things. The Faroese health department also warns against the ingestion of high amounts of mercury and other pollutants during consumption.
(klb)