78 whales slaughtered in front of cruise passengers in Faroe Islands

cruise ship pilot whales

Our luxury cruise ships are filled with entertainment for all ages and preferences. Watch riveting shows at the cutting-edge theater, which feature popular music, stunning dance sequences, and gravity-defying acrobatics. Sign up for a wine tasting with one of our expert sommeliers, or take a hot glass class and learn how to make your own piece of art. Arrange a romantic picnic at the rooftop Lawn Club, where you can lounge on a half-acre of real grass while gazing at the ocean. As the Faroese tradition of grindadráp took place Sunday, passengers aboard a docked Ambassador Cruise Line ship were horrified to watch how locals have harvested their food for centuries. The cruise docked in the Faroese port of Torshavn last Sunday as locals carried out their sixth hunt of the year.

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Once they reach the shallow waters, whales are driven onto the beach where waiting hunters kill them using knives and hooks. But a record single-day killing of more than 1,400 white-sided dolphins in 2021 brought the practice into intensified scrutiny. The chairman of the Faroese Whalers Association told the BBC that the size of that killing was purely accidental.

pilot whales were slaughtered near a cruise ship carrying marine conservationists

78 pilot whales were killed in front of cruise ship docked in the Faroe Islands - NPR

78 pilot whales were killed in front of cruise ship docked in the Faroe Islands.

Posted: Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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cruise ship pilot whales

“We strongly object to this outdated practice,” the cruise operator added, referencing the mass hunting tradition, which has long sparked outrage among conservationists. Whaling in the Faroe Islands – known as “grind” for short – is a longstanding tradition that has taken place for over 800 years, with multiple hunts occurring each year. The arrival of the Ambassador’s Ambition cruise ship in Torshavn coincided with the sixth hunt of 2023, ORCA said.

Cruise ship witnesses slaughter of dozens of pilot whales - The Jerusalem Post

Cruise ship witnesses slaughter of dozens of pilot whales.

Posted: Fri, 28 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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But the people in the Faroes are not satisfied with killing just whales; they view most anything swimming in their waters as fair game to slaughter. The Washington Post wrote that in addition to pilot whales, the Faroes’ hunters “target other small whales and dolphins, such as orcas, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and Northern bottlenose whales . Seventy eight long-finned pilot whales, a species of dolphin, were killed near Torshavn on Sunday, Yahoo News Australia reported. The controversial practice, called Grindadráp, saw Faroese locals herding the pilot whales to shore with over 40 small boats and jet-skis. ORCA confirmed that a group of 150 people then hauled the animals ashore with hooks and slaughtered them with lances.

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cruise ship pilot whales

Nine calves no older than a month were among the 78 whales slaughtered, conservation and campaign group ORCA said. In 2021, the Faroese government was forced to launch a review after it was found that 1,423 dolphins were killed in just one hunt. This is exactly what hundreds of clueless Ambassador cruise passengers witnessed earlier this week where numerous media outlets reported that seventy-eight pilot whale were butchered. Grindadráp, or grind for short, occurs each summer and involves the mass killing of sea mammals like the long-finned pilot whale — which is a dolphin, despite its name. The hunt lasted a total of 20 minutes, while some of the pilot whales, including a calf, took over 30 seconds to die.

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Ambassador needs to commit to pulling its ships from visiting the Faroe Islands in the future, like a few cruise companies have responsibly done. The core values and moral compass of any reputable business should keep any cruise line from having anything to do with a country which carries out such cruelty to animals in such a routine and widespread manner. But taking paying customers to the bloody Faroes is business as usual for most cruise lines. Islanders say the practice has been deemed sustainable due to the whale population in the area. According to Visit Faroe Islands, about 800 whales are killed annually and meat is distributed among those who participate. In a press release, ORCA said some of its conservationists were on the ship with tourists when the killings took place.

These are well attended sporting events where the whales are chased into a harbor and killed by the locals with knives while their family members cheer them on. The locals call it the “Grindadráp Grind.” I call it the killing of defenseless mammals for fun by sick sociopaths. There is nothing “traditional” about using helicopters and power boats to herd and kill whales. The North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Faroe Islands was red with the blood of 78 long-finned pilot whales that were hunted by men in the island’s capital of Torshavn, Yahoo News Australia reported. ORCA said its conservationists witnessed more than 40 small boats and jet skis herd the whales into shallow waters before 150 hunters slaughtered the 78 whales with hooks and "killing lances" in 20 minutes. Marine conservationists were among the horrified cruise ship passengers who witnessed the slaughtering of 78 whales last week.

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Before the July sailing, the ORCA and Ambassador had tried to raise the issue with the Faroese government and Visit Faroe Islands, the tourism office. The cruise line also urges its guests and crew members to spurn the industry by not buying or eating whale or dolphin meat. The government says the average catch is around 800 animals, an insignificant impact on the overall pilot whale population, which it says is around 778,000 animals. The Post explained that although “the carnage caught the cruise line by surprise when it pulled into Torshavn, the company had been aware of the annual event.” The cruise line’s CEO had even “expressed his dismay over a dolphin hunt” that had occurred in 2021. Ironically, Ambassador teamed up with a marine conservation group called ORCA based in the United Kingdom, on an anti-whaling and dolphin hunt campaign.

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