Imagine more than 1,000 whales hunted and turning a sea blood red.
That is the case every year during the summer months, surrounding the Faroe Islands in Denmark. The slaughter is an annual tradition, which has raised flags with animal rights activists, that have described it as an act of cruelty against the animals.
The slaughter takes place as pods of whales migrate to the islands and are surrounded by fishermen boats, where they are killed at the beach, as they get stranded in the shallow waters or the sand.
Many people watch the slaughter and even help the fishermen by dragging the whales out of the water. The annual slaughter is known as the grindadrap.
While many animal rights activists are setting up campaigns to put a stop to this horrific slaughter, the Faroe Islanders are legally allowed to do so, which makes it difficult to run a campaign against the practice thereof.
Does culture justify the reason for the annual slaughter?
Most definitely not. Since this practice has been around for centuries, it is viewed more like a slaughter ritual that invokes cruelty, than anything else.
Although culture and history are important in a country, the mere idea of civilised individuals piercing metal hooks into the mammals’ blowholes and then cutting their spines while they are alive, is sickening.
These incredibly large creatures, residing in the ocean, get drawn onto the sand and experience much pain and fear before they die.
Studies have also found that these mammals feel the same level of emotional and physical pain as humans, which furthermore adds to the cruelty they endure.
The Sea Shepard campaign
The anti-hunting and whaling campaign, Sea Shepard, has sent some of their crew members to stop the whales from herding near the shores of the Faroe Islands’ beaches back in 2017, but were arrested, which makes it clear that the Danes will not forfeit this terrible act.
Join the Sea Shepard campaign to put a stop to animal cruelty associated with whaling in Denmark and across the world.
Visit seashepard.org to save these gentle giants.
Get water dispensers and water machines from Living-Water in London.