Between Scotland and Iceland, within the Kingdom of Denmark, there is a strip of self- governing islands known as the Faroe Islands. As defined by the Home-Rule Act, the Faroese Parliament legislates independently of Denmark on all areas of self- government including the management of fish and whale stocks. The Faroe Islands have a rich history and dating back to as early as 1586, developed a method of whaling that involves the local community. Whaling or "Grindadrap" is a regulated, annual event where a community slaughters up to 1,000 pilot whales with stones, hooks, ropes, and knives.
This slaughter is during the months of July-August. It begins by approaching the pod with boats that form a half- circle behind the pod. Then, they throw small rocks attached to rope into the water to create a wall of bubbles which reflects the sonar of the pilot whale this works to harass and frighten the whales towards a low- lying shore until they wash up to shore.
Once the whales are beached, the hunters cut through the veins and arteries that supply blood to the whales head. They suffer from between 30 seconds to about 4 minutes until they die. Whales that fail to wash ashore have a gaff beaten into their blowholes, blocking their airway, and are then pulled ashore by rope.
During the slaughter the sea quickly turns red with blood and the whale meat is divided amongst the locals, but many times the whale meat is usually left to rot on the beach.
According to Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the long- finned pilot whale is not, yet threatened with extinction, however, unless we begin to carefully, control these killings our long- finned pilot whales are headed towards endangerment and soon extinction.
The legality of Whaling by the Faroese is questionable. The Faroe Islands are a Danish Protectorate; meaning the Denmark controls the police, defense, foreign policy, currency, and all trade. The Faroes still abstain from joining the European Union (EU) to prevent the EU from meddling in their fishing policies since whaling is illegal within the EU. Denmark is a co-signer of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, yet fails to abide by their obligations. The Faroe Islanders, who are also Danish nationals, deliberately slaughter protected species. Although the Islands claim that the whaling is not a commercial hunt, the meat is sold in supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and are marketed to tourists. The pilot whales pass through the Faroes water on an annual migration route to feed in arctic waters; a single slaughter has the potential to eradicate an entire pod completely.
As if we needed another reason to end the Faroe whale slaughter, the North Atlantic pilot whales are poisoned by large amounts of environmental pollutants. Meat from the grind contains high amounts of arsenic, cadmium, zinc, lead, copper mercury, and selenium. In 2008, Pal Weihe and Hogni Joensen, the chief medical officer of the Islands, declared that pilot whale meat contains too much mercury and other contaminants to be safe for human consumption. There have been cases of mercury poisoning among Islanders and have set up safety “recommendations” in regards to the whale meat and blubber.
The Faroese Islanders are adamant in their belief that the whale slaughter is a pertinent piece of their culture and that these slaughters are sustainable, historical, solidarity among the community, and uniquely contributing to their food culture. However, so much of this is no longer true: the slaughter is no longer sustainable, they don't facilitate a sense of community, and is no longer a substantial source of nutrients.
