Uploaded January 2009 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In an idyllic and beautiful town on the Faroe Islands, the residents gather and slaughter hundreds of whales every year in the name of tradition. (I have been made aware that the Faroe Islands are a sepearate entity to Denmark, but we hope that Denmark will help put a stop to this practise in their neighbouring realm) The whale meat is highly contaminated with mercury and heavy metals which leads to illness and death. The violent slaughter is inhumane and unnecessary. THe little mermaid (by local writer Hans Christian Anderson) is one of the national icons of the capital- Denmark. Her statue sits and looks out to sea day in and day out.. while across the waters her kin are killed.
•The Faroese drive hunt method of whaling is exceptionally cruel. Using methods similar to the infamous Japanese drive hunts for dolphins, pods of whales passing the islands are driven (herded) into the shore by boats, the hunters using noises and their vessels to scare the whales - against their natural instincts - towards the land. Hunters then drag the terrified animals to the shallows where they are killed a sharp knife is driven into the neck of the whale in an attempt to sever major blood vessels and the spinal cord. The last whales to be dragged to the shore for slaughter are hauled through bloody waters in amongst dead and dying members of their pod.
•Despite years of opposition to the hunts, particularly because they are so cruel, it is clear that little has been done to reduce the suffering inflicted on the whales. In this hunt whales were slaughtered in the shallows where it is difficult to restrain the animals sufficiently to achieve a quick slaughter.
•The Faroe Islands is an independent kingdom governed in part by Denmark.
•The heavy metals and organochlorines polluting the whales may threaten the survival of these populations as well as those that consume them.
In an idyllic and beautiful town on the Faroe Islands, the residents gather and slaughter hundreds of whales every year in the name of tradition. (I have been made aware that the Faroe Islands are a sepearate entity to Denmark, but we hope that Denmark will help put a stop to this practise in their neighbouring realm) The whale meat is highly contaminated with mercury and heavy metals which leads to illness and death. The violent slaughter is inhumane and unnecessary. THe little mermaid (by local writer Hans Christian Anderson) is one of the national icons of the capital- Denmark. Her statue sits and looks out to sea day in and day out.. while across the waters her kin are killed.
•The Faroese drive hunt method of whaling is exceptionally cruel. Using methods similar to the infamous Japanese drive hunts for dolphins, pods of whales passing the islands are driven (herded) into the shore by boats, the hunters using noises and their vessels to scare the whales - against their natural instincts - towards the land. Hunters then drag the terrified animals to the shallows where they are killed a sharp knife is driven into the neck of the whale in an attempt to sever major blood vessels and the spinal cord. The last whales to be dragged to the shore for slaughter are hauled through bloody waters in amongst dead and dying members of their pod.
•Despite years of opposition to the hunts, particularly because they are so cruel, it is clear that little has been done to reduce the suffering inflicted on the whales. In this hunt whales were slaughtered in the shallows where it is difficult to restrain the animals sufficiently to achieve a quick slaughter.
•The Faroe Islands is an independent kingdom governed in part by Denmark.
•The heavy metals and organochlorines polluting the whales may threaten the survival of these populations as well as those that consume them.
