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Whilst springtime across much of Europe brings signs of new life, in the Faroe Islands, Denmark in the first grinder it has just brought the sad news of the first whale hunt of the season. On May 4th, a pod of pilot whales was spotted from Trøllanes, one of the most northerly villages in the archipelago, and they were then driven south by a line of motor vessels and killed at Klaksvik, the island’s second largest town. The body count is reported as 40.
Our presence on the beaches, year after year, is a testament to our determination. With 40 years behind us in advocating against this atrocity, we remind ourselves and you that the work to end the grinder is long and requires a strong collective effort to reach those with power to stop it. We need you on board with us because succeeding in saving the pilot whales and dolphins migrating through these waters will require the support and action of the entire marine conservation and animal rights community.
The whales were reported as sighted at 8.30am and all killed by 3.30pm. It is not clear how long the whales were chased before they were finally herded into the shallows to be secured by placing a round-ended gaff in their blowholes and then killed using a ‘spinal lance’ which was driven deep behind their heads to sever their spinal cords and associated blood vessels.
At the same time as the news of this first hunt breaks, a report from the islands tells that the Whalers Organisation there means to promote whaling to young people and children via a planned educational film. The aim is that this will be an educational resource used in schools and it will include sections on driving, killing and butchering the whales.
This year, witnesses from marine wildlife charity the Captain Paul Watson Foundation said the drive was particularly shocking for the length of time the animals suffered.
Valentina Crast, campaign lead at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told The Express: ‘The brutality of this hunt exceeded anything we have ever documented before, as a pod of more than 200 pilot whales were hunted and driven for hours and later divided.’
On Saturday at around 11.30am local time, a Faroese fisheries patrol vessel spotted a pod that was initially estimated at 50 to 100 long-finned pilot whales off of Viðoy.
At 12.45 the decision was taken to drive them in and over the coming hours the pod was slowly forced towards land.
Witnesses said the number of boats involved was smaller than usual, likely due to an ongoing strike in the Faroes that has led to major fuel shortages.
At just after 3pm it was confirmed that the animals would be driven in for the kill at 4pm, however this time came and went with the animals still being held within a fjord by boats.
Next an announcement was made that the killing would be delayed to allow the rowing competition in Klaksvik to finish in order that more people would be present on the beach to see the animals die.
Two-and-a-half hours later the boats finally drove in the dolphins, who had now been in a stressful situation for over five and a half hours.
Upsetting video footage shows the animals bobbing their heads above the red water to see what was happening.
A spokesman for the foundation said: ‘Our livestream footage shows animals struggling on shore for over 25 minutes whilst the killing of other pod members took place, after which the remaining live animals were held in place for a further 90 minutes by vessels whilst they struggled on the rocky shore and showed increasing signs of stress.
‘Eventually the decision was made to drive the remaining animals back out to sea.
‘These efforts appeared to be less enthusiastic than when driving them in, with one individual throwing stones at the pod whilst a single boat manoeuvred around them.
‘The designated killing area was different from that usually used in Hvannasund – possibly due to the falling tide.
‘This meant that the animals were being driven ashore on large rocks whilst the other part of the killing area was a concrete wall, making it difficult to insert the hook into the blow hole to then pull them in to be paralysed and killed.’
Initial counts indicate at least 40 long-finned pilot whales were killed in the first batch – with the charity saying there is no humane way to perform such a task.
Later, it appears many of the remaining animals live stranded and were killed, with the death toll standing at 138 by Sunday evening.
Rob Read, Chief Operating Officer of the Paul Watson Foundation UK, said: ‘The Faroese use the tight knit bonds of kinship between pilot whales against them and so whilst it is a relief that some animals were saved today, today’s event will take a massive toll on this family group.
TAKE ACTION TODAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Recently, a significant stride was made by MEP Francisco Guerreiro, an ally in the Stop the Grinder Coalition, who filed a motion for a resolution in the European Parliament to suspend EU funding to the Faroe Islands as long as these killings continue. If you’re a resident of the EU, we urge you to support this initiative by contacting your national MEPs. With the upcoming election on June 9th, now is the time to act and make your voice heard for the pilot whales!