Horrifying news for animal lovers is emerging from the Faroe Islands. The tradition, which is over a 1000 years old, sees hundreds of whales slaughtered, which has caused uproar worldwide.
Content warning: This article includes mentions of animal cruelty
Shocking images have emerged from the Faroe Islands showing the sea turned deep blood red after more than 700 whales were reportedly slaughtered in a traditional hunt known locally as the grindadráp, or “grind.”
The mass killing of pilot whales and several species of dolphins, including 406 animals reportedly killed in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroes, is said to account for more than two-thirds of all marine animals killed in the islands during 2025, according to environmental group Sea Shepherd. A total of 706 dolphins were killed.
The practice, which has drawn widespread international criticism, involves driving pods of Atlantic dolphins and pilot whales into shallow waters using boats. Once trapped near the shore, the animals are killed in what activists describe as a highly controversial and brutal method.
“The scale of the killings is without precedent, surpassing two-thirds of all marine mammals killed on the islands in the entire previous year,” the environmental group Sea Shepard wrote.
Hundreds of whales slaughtered in the Faroe Islands
Activist Palli Ásbjørnsson Justesen posted a video from this year’s whale slaughter on Facebook, and people in the comment section were furious,
“The hunts descended into chaos as whalers admitted there was a shortage of spinal lances, which are mandatory for killing dolphins. Multiple marine mammals were instead killed using knives, only leaving the animals stressed for an extended period before bleeding to death.”
Valentina Crast, campaign director for the Faroe Islands at Sea Shepherd, said “nobody can ever justify” the level of intense suffering inflicted on the animals. She further urges governments across Europe to ban the annual massacre.
“Dolphins were killed without the mandatory equipment. Animals were crushed against rocks and struck by boat propellers. And when a third, secret grind began, one deliberately hidden from public channels, marine conservationists were arrested for documenting it,” Crast explained.
While animal rights groups and campaigners have strongly criticized the mass killings of whales, saying they have no place in modern society, others disagree.
Some argue that the tradition in the autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark is more important, with its cultural heritage deeply rooted. Moreover, the argument that it also plays a part in providing food is in play.
Heavy criticism
Per marine conservation group OceanCare, the Faroe Islands Parliament was claimed to have voted to “redefine the Animal Welfare Act so that its provisions no longer apply to whale and dolphin hunting. “
“Removing an activity from the protection of the law does not make it humane,” Mark Simmonds, Director of Science at OceanCare, said.
He added that the decision “is not a defence of tradition, it is a deliberate choice to place these animals outside the reach of legal protection, hours before a very large hunt takes place in the capital of the islands.”
What do you think about this? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
READ MORE
- Robert Irwin ‘death-rolled’ by 14-foot crocodile named after Jimmy Fallon
- Update after tourist who hurled rock at beloved seal in Hawaii was beaten up
