The red sea of blood after the slaughter of 175 pilot whales
July 1, 2021
Elys Marina | ANDA writing
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Hunters in the Faroe Islands, Denmark, stained the sea red with the blood of 175 pilot whales killed during the annual hunting season. The animals were surrounded and cornered in a shallow area as they were attacked with knives, spears and other piercing objects.
A man even fired a shotgun at a drone sent by Sea Shepherd conservationists to document the carnage, known as Grindadrap or Grind in Faroese.
The Faroes are divided on the Grind, but many urge foreign media and NGOs to respect the island's traditional culture, in which fishing remains central and all whale meat is kept for food.
Sea Shepherd says the practice, which has killed more than 6,500 whales and dolphins over the past decade, is unsustainable and "barbaric". In the early hours of Sunday, a group was seen on the coast near the town of Vestmanna, staying light overnight in the Danish archipelago.
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Hunters grabbed tools such as harpoons, spears and knives as they rushed aboard around 20 boats that trapped the dolphin family near Leynar Beach. 52 individuals were massacred.
But this frenzy would be eased a few hours later, when another whale was sighted off the south coast and the crews sailed towards the town of Hvannasund. At this location, another 123 other whales will be killed by hunters who were waiting for them on the beach.
Drone footage taken by Sea Shepherd shows a boat sailing towards a pod of pilot whales in an apparent effort to push them ashore. The drone approached the ship, showing exhausted whales wading through the water as the boat's engine roared beside them, but it was suddenly clear of its path.
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
As the flying camera shakes violently backwards, a man armed with a shotgun is seen aiming his barrel at the drone. Sea Shepherd said it was the hunting foreman.
“The killing in Hvannasund was poorly organized and more brutal, as we have often filmed there before,” they reported.
A small drone piloted by one of our crew over the bay was filming a Faroese boat Nordsjø 640 WA which deliberately ran into a group of whales. They resisted as much as possible so as not to be impaled on the hooks and knives of the killers.
The presence of the drone in the sky over the water clearly increased the wrath of the Faroese foreman, who pointed a shotgun at the drone and fired at it at least once.
The drone was hit and damaged in several places in its fuselage, in one of the engine blades, and a head projectile passed directly through its center. Despite this, and with a piece of lead built into the drone, the pilot skillfully managed to fly over the bay to retrieve the footage.
Sea Shepherd said the incident was under police investigation. Animal rights activists have been operating in the Faroe Islands since the early 1980s, taking direct action against the Grinds with their own boats.
However, in 2015, legislative changes prevented any Sea Shepherd boat from disrupting the hunt and then launched a ground crew to deal with the Grind by documenting it with photographers stationed ashore and drones in the air.
Robert Read, Chief Operating Officer of Sea Shepherd, said: “ The grindadráp is a barbaric relic from a bygone era. A useless hunt of hundreds of pilot whales and dolphins which should have ended a century ago and which is not necessary to feed anyone on the islands, ”he reports.
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Once a whale is located, the Faroes often drag the animals for hours with pleasure boats, fishing boats and sometimes even jet skis together, creating a "sound wall" with their boat motors to force them. animals to steer. towards the bay and thus lead them to certain death.
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Men waiting in shallow water drag live whales with ropes attached to harpoon hooks, which they thread into whales' mouths.
Disclosure | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Assassins who stand closer to shore attempt to cut the whale's spinal cord with a spear, then tie knots with a knife to cut the animal's neck. It can take a long time before the dying whales and dolphins are killed, fighting in bloody waters as boats block any escape.
The Faroe Islands Veterinary Service has calculated the average kill time during grindadráp hunts at 12.7 minutes, although Sea Shepherd staff often record the kill taking well over 20 minutes.
Geo Point
Faroe Islands
Capital: Torshavn
Area: 1,399 km² (archipelagos forming part of the Kingdom of Denmark)
Population: 48,678 inhabitants
Currency: Euros
Posted on 2021-07-03 10:18
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