More Grinds in the Faroe Islands

WDC is saddened to report that two recent pilot whale ‘grinds’ have occurred on August 8 in Sandavagur on the western island of Vagar and August 11 in Leynar on the island of Streymor. The last hunt that took place in Sandavagur occurred in mid-September 2012 where 21 pilot whales were killed. Reports indicate that at least 120 pilot whales were dispatched in these most recent hunts.  The last grind occurred on July 30th in Fuglafjordur, Esturoy where an exceptionally large group of 267 pilot whales were killed. The first grind of the 2013 season occurred just a few weeks ago on July 21st, where 125 whales were killed in Vidvik on the northern island of Vidoy.  This grind brings the total number of pilot whales killed for the 2013 season to 512.  Considering the tally for all of 2012 was 713 pilot whales, this grind season has already proven to be a deadly one.

With this most recent hunt, over 3,000 pilot whales have been killed since the beginning of 2010, raising serious human health, animal welfare and conservation concerns. The magnitude of these numbers is staggering when considering the individual whales and their families lost to these cruel hunts. WDC, along with the other organizations, are urging the Faroe Islanders to bring a permanent end to the hunting of pilot whales and other species of whales and dolphins, and have recently written to the Faroese authorities in coalition with other groups concerned about the humaneness of these horrible hunts.