Grindadrap

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Savchak Nataliia
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Grindadrap – is…

Grindadrap – is the local name

for a yearly event that sees the
people of the Faroe Islands, a
self-governing archipelago under
Denmark, hunt long-finned pilot
whales as well as other species
of cetaceans such as bottlenose
dolphins, white-sided dolphins
and Risso’s dolphins.
“The Sun”
“Sea red with blood”

«The Sun», a news UK company, became a witness, when the water of

the coast of Hvalvik was soaked as whalers took part in a massacre. This
bloody tradition comes from the 13th Century.
Around 800 long-finned pilot whales and white-sided dolphins are
killed during the hunt, known locally as «Grindadrap», every year.
“The animals were seen with gaping wounds in their heads where a
huge wedge was removed while they were still alive” - says Jay Akbar,
journalist of «The Sun».
 The whole ordeal, which turned the bay in Sandavagur red with
blood, lasted around an hour-and-a-half.
Children as young as five were snapped lending a hand, using hooked
ropes to pull in the highly intelligent marine mammals.
The practice has caused widespread disgust, with many campaigners
claiming it should no longer be necessary in the 21st century.
But the Faroese government has since defended the ancient custom,
saying it is a natural custom of Faroese life.
CNN
A whale hunt in the Faroe Islands
on July 30 has attracted global
attention!
CNN reported: “The hunt took place in the bay of Sandavágur on the
western island of Vágar on July 30 and involved pilot whales, according
to the government of the Faroe Islands. It was one of several legal
hunts that take place every summer in the archipelago.
It was documented by Alastair Ward, who said he was visiting to
celebrate his graduation from the University of Cambridge in the UK.”
 Reacting to the images on Twitter, the Blue Planet Society, a UK-
based pressure group, condemned the killings, describing the Faroe
Islands as an "archaic country" that needs to "join the 21st century."
"These people have no respect, no empathy, and no need," they
wrote. "This is entertainment for them."
In a statement to CNN on Friday, the Faroese government
described whaling as a "natural part of Faroese life" and rejected
accusations that the killings were ritualistic or frivolous.
BBC
 Locals have been carrying out the hunts for centuries, but the gruesome images
will likely shock many outsiders.
According to BBC, Cambridge University student Alastair Ward, photographed
the traditional "whale driving" carried out by the community in the bay in
Sandavágu.
Mr Ward said, that he had been stunned by the sheer number of whales in the
bay.
"They were driving them into the bay, prodding them with their oars.
"Once they got close enough, the whole town sprinted in and started hacking
through them.”
"Even the children were getting involved, pulling on the ropes and jumping on
the carcasses.”
 "We were just sitting there speechless and a bit upset but you couldn't really
pull yourself away."
The inhabitants consider whaling a common activity open to everyone, which
they say is regulated by national laws and is conducted in a way to cause as
little suffering to the whales as possible.
The Faroese say the whaling they carry out is sustainable, catching around
800 pilot whales a year, with around 100,000 whales around the Faroe Islands.
But Mr Ward said he had been concerned over the methods of the whale
killing.
"The squealing from the whales was horrible. They were putting hooks on
ropes in their blowholes to pull them in and then hacking through them with
knives.
"They didn't die in a very humane way."
Katie Curried
Katie Curried, an American photographer
who managed to take rare photos of the
Faroe massacre, wrote on her blog:
“The argument around the “Grindadrap” is mainly caused by that fact,
that the hunting looks very bloody and cruel. However, any slaughter of
animals looks just like this. I saw the slaughtering of chickens, pigs and
cows. And there is nothing pleasant in this process. The animals we eat,
die behind closed doors, but the massacre that takes place there, is as
bloody as the Faroese whale hunt. But in cases of chickens, pigs and cows
someone then bleaches-bombs and allows us to remain in happy
ignorance. We do not want to know what takes a piece of meat on our
plate, but as soon as we see with our own eyes how the ocean waters
turn red and intestines being everywhere, we immediately begin to be
indignant.
 Whatever the accuses against the “Grindadrap”, it must be admitted
that this is an honest hunt. Faroese do not pretend that animal meat
comes out of nowhere. They hunt whales in their natural habitat, kill
them quickly and without unnecessary torment for the pilot-whale, and
then share the prey. This is the most respectable way to eat an animal.”
“Metro”
 In an interview for the «Metro» newspaper Páll Nolsøe, a
spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs and trade, said:
"Whaling is a natural part of Faroese life. Traditional means of food
production from local resources are an important supplement to the
livelihoods of Faroe Islanders.
The meat and blubber of pilot whales has for centuries been – and
continue to be – a valued part of the national diet in the Faroe Islands".
Each whale provides the communities with several hundred kilos of
meat and blubber – meat that otherwise had to be imported from
abroad".
 It has long since been internationally recognised that pilot whale
catches in the Faroe Islands are fully sustainable.
He added: ‘All meat, including whale meat, involves the slaughter of
animals. There is no doubt that the Faroese whale hunts are a dramatic
sight to people unfamiliar to the hunts and slaughter of mammals.
‘The hunts are, nevertheless, well organised and fully regulated.
Faroese animal welfare legislation, which also applies to whaling,
stipulates that animals shall be killed as quickly and with as little
suffering as possible.’
Links:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7233536/horrifying-moment-dolphins-are-slaug
htered-by-laughing-fishermen-in-the-faroe-islands/
- „The Sun“
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45209587 - BBC
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/17/europe/faroe-islands-whale-hunt-intl/index
.html
- CNN
https://birdinflight.com/ru/vdohnovenie/fotoproect/20190514-the-land-of-mayb
e.html
- Katie Curried
https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/30/faroe-islands-defend-slaughter-whales-sea-turn
s-red-blood-9743755/
- Metro
Thank you for
attention!