The whale trappers are back with their cruel experiment
Anyone walking past my window might have heard my groan of disbelief at the news that, against all logic – rather like a bad Netflix series that has somehow been commissioned for a second season – the ‘minke whale trappers’ are back with their nets to have another go this summer! Starting tomorrow and despite…
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Is this the beginning of the end for whaling off Iceland?
I’m feeling cautiously optimistic after Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir wrote that there is little justification for authorising any further whaling when the current permits expire in 2023. Stating unequivocally that ‘it must be shown that it is economically justifiable to renew fishing rights’, Svandís reminds readers that whaling has damaged Iceland’s reputation and negatively…
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Understanding whale and dolphin hunts in the Faroe Islands – why change is not easy
Most people in my home country of the Faroe Islands would like to see an end to the kind of dolphin hunt that sparked an outcry in September last year. Yet a poll has shown that a staggering 83% are in favour of continuing the traditional grindadráp, the slaughter of pilot whales. This is not…
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The Faroes dolphin slaughter that sparked an outcry now brings hope
Since the slaughter of at least 1,423 Atlantic white-sided dolphins at Skálafjørður in my home country of the Faroe Islands, many people have raised their voices in outrage and concern – internationally, but also from within the Faroese community. I am Faroese and I feel the same way. That’s why I have joined WDC as…
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Grace the sei whale is dead – it’s time to stop killing whales
Imagine … a whale. A sei whale, her body something between blue and steely grey. Along her head, a single ridge runs from the tip of her nose to two blowholes and set high on her back is a sickle-shaped dorsal fin. At 15 metres and 29 tons, she eclipses her male counterparts in size.…
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Faroe Islands – out of sight but not out of mind
We have been working to end the pilot whale slaughter in the Faroe Islands for many years, but the killing of at least 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins on the 12thSeptember marked a new low and many Faroese people were appalled too. As media attention has faded, I wanted to assure you that we haven’t forgotten…
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