Faroe Island's Grindadráp

I am Faroese, I was brought up in Greenland but have lived a big part of my life on the Faroe Islands.

It saddens me that there is no text anywhere to explain this phenomenon. It might look brutal, but is, nevertheless, as humain as it possibly can get. These whales die within one or two seconds - and every aspect of the killing is highly controlled.

Only certified men with experience are allowed to kill the whales. There is absolutely no waste of any kind, 100% of the whale is being used. No part of the whale is being sold, it is all free for whomever would like it...i.e. this is not commercial whaling - none of it is being exported or sold in any way.

This kind of hunting is extremely well coordinated and regulated, a lot of the time, whales are being driven back out to sea (so as not to get stranded on the beaches). The Faroese people put a lot of effort into conserving the population of these whales.

Whales are just fish with lungs. I´ve killed so many fish in my life. We tend to humanise certain animals and still we kill flies just because they fly around in our bedroom !
Let the islanders kill whales - its only thier buissness !
Love to humans
Svenning Svenningsen

Yuo can read about how to kill whales here on this site
http:/liderkarle.blogspot.com
Love to humans
Svenningsen

Here it is:
http://liderkarle.blogspot.com

I don´t think you understand the difference between a flie and a whale, Mr. Svenningsen.
I could understand You if you had whales flying in your bedroom !
Oskar Kovacs of Budapest

Well, mr. Kovac if you don´t know the difference then perhaps you should try swollowing a fly and then afterwards try swollowing some excellent pilotwhale meat!

Huge differance!

Why on earth do you write “usually an idyllic and very scenic place. Except when…”?! Do you have any idea how rhetorical and malicious that sounds! Shame on you!

hi....
first I want to request excuses for my poor english because i'm just learning. I my english class we are discussing about the haunting of whales in faroe island and i really don't what believe because some text say that is a cruel haunting and other that is neccesary for faroese........ i want know the true.

jenni

I am a Japanese man. I have never eaten whale's meat for more than 20 years. Japanese also didn't wasted 100% of the whale. I think people who wants to sell beef to Faroese or Japanese take objection to killng whales.

son of a BiTCh!!!!!
that`s a worst habbit..
if you wanna killed just kill your self!!!
(indonesian)
biadab manusia hanya bisa membunuh dan membunuh... tidak bisa menjaga alamnya!!! maka pantas saja bencana alam terus terjadi!!

I'm indonesian.whaling should b respect to whale life.It's horribele and barbaric men. Men prefer destructing to reserving. The bussiness mind had carried on the destructing instincts.Stop whaling! Give them life more!

Hi, I'm also from Indonesia. I'm not trying to blame anybody. IMHO, what make human difference than animal is that animal kills for living, while some human kills for the fun of it and the taste . What's the difference with we kill cows, chicken, fish, etc? Aside of the way we kill animal, the more important thing is to keep balance of the nature.This what oftenly forgotten, causing nature disaster, climate change or whatsoever.

I'm Indonesian, Yes it is true Romanos say that some tribe in Indonesia also have tradition of whale hunting because they do it for eat and for special ceremony once a year, but i never seen like the picture before.
Indonesia have a lot of tribe and culture and there still far away from technology and education, some tribe just know that they have to hunting for living. So it's different from Faroese cases.

But once again if Martin said is true "This kind of hunting is extremely well coordinated and regulated, a lot of the time, whales are being driven back out to sea (so as not to get stranded on the beaches). The Faroese people put a lot of effort into conserving the population of these whales", i hope the Faroese people decrease the number of whale.

Wow, comment from Pak Bagus Suasono is not a reflection of a gentle Indonesian.
Anyway, I think that we have to respect the opinion from Martin, who admits that he is a Faroese. He is supposed to know better about his homeland than any of us.
FYI, some tribe in Indonesia also have tradition of whale hunting.
It is still fine as far as you don't start using modern fleet and make is as industry.

OMG...
That's really a massive blood. Will it disturb the ocean ecosystem?
Well, i am dont agree with killing so many whales like that. If is it for tradition, then 3-5 should be enough..
Are they really for tradition? not for industry? cuz i know whales are expensive...
If you (Faroese) really want to conserve the population of the whales, why don't you donate it to some country for "Sea World Zoo" or something? Well we, Indonesian, only have small variety of whales, so its better to have more in our zoo. Don't you think?
I hope Free Willy doesn't get killed... hiks..hiks..

not kill them? be vegetarian then !! as long as we lived, we will be animal killer..period!!

A whale is a mammal! Grindadrap is hunting, it is just like hunting a dear, a moose or whatever. I don't care if you think hunting is horrible, 'cause I love it. I love the experience, and the meat! By the way, Grindadráp is a way of living for some people, so dont condem them!

hello, im from the philippines... faroe islands is a fantastic place to visit, wish i could visit there someday... im very interested about the culture and the places of the islands... wanted to learn more... looking at the scenic pictures makes my heart melts :)

It is so cruel to kill the whales...you people who do this or support this are an embarrasement to EU citizens..

@ Evicka

The citizens of the Faroe Islands do not have EU citizenship. Faroe Islands declined to join the EU when Denmark joined.

...

Martin, come one.. You are sad that there is no text who explain "this phenomenon"??? PHENOMENON? Your mother is Freddy Krüger or what? What of kind of childhood you had?? You said, it MIGHT look brutal????? ARE YOU KIDDING US?

Sad its that you support this.. You try to justified this saying that the whales die within one or two seconds? DONT LIE!!! You know perfectly that the whales DONT DIE WITHIN SECONDS!!! The suffer much more than seconds and minutes.. How you would feel if they do the same with you? And before you die, you see how your family are brutal killed? How Martin, how you would feel...

Only certified mens with experience are allowed to kill the whales.. WHERE THEY TAKE THE EXPIERIENCE?? And certified mens??? In Faroe Islands exist a University to learn how to kill.. They will become a diplom? Pff.. Certified men.. They just want to know who have the bigger eggs.. Really, this people make me so sick!!

Dont try to justified this telling that this is not commercial whaling.. What instead?? Sport??

I know very much about this, dont try to lie to the people who havent idea..

PEOPLE: DONT SUPPORT THIS!!! DONT VISIT FAROE ISLANDS!!!

I also encourage you to contact the Danish ambassador to your country to urge him or her to speak out against killing whales. You can find contact information at http://www.embassyworld.com.

Another great way to alert people to cases of cruelty to animals is to send letters to the editors of local newspapers and magazines. One letter from you can educate thousands of readers at once!

For letter-writing tips, visit http://www.PETA.org/actioncenter/letter-writing-guide.asp, and for information to include in your letter, please see http://www.FishingHurts.com.

Regards,
Diana

I encourage you to contact the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization that fights to protect marine mammals everywhere. Please see http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_080610_1.html for more information.

Please urge the prime ministers of the Faroe Islands and Denmark and the High Commissioner of the Faroe Islands to take strong positions against this cruel whale slaughter.

Please send polite comments to:

His Excellency Jóannes Eidesgaard
Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
Prime Minister's Office
Løgmansskrivstovan
Tinganes
FO-110 Tórshavn
P.O. Box 64
Faroe Islands
+298 351010
+298 351015 (fax)
info@tinganes.fo

His Excellency Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Prime Minister of Denmark
The Prime Minister's Office
Christiansborg
Prins Jørgens Gård 11
1218 Copenhagen K
Denmark
+45 33 92 33 00
+45 33 11 16 65 (fax)
stm@stm.dk

The Honorable Dan M. Knudsen
High Commissioner of the Faroe Islands
Amtmansbrekkan 6
FO-110 Tórshavn
P.O. Box 12
Faroe Islands
+298 351300
riomfr@fo.stm.dk

It's not commercial, just believe it. Nothing is sold or exported. It is illegal to sell whale meat in the faroe islands. It is a tradition, back in the day it was even a neccessity.. granted the necessity is no longer there. But it is good meat, and it's nobody's business but the faroe islanders'. The blood does seem a bit excessive in that picture IMHO, i wouldn't rule out a touch of photoshopping. I have seen this 'phenomenon' before and, i won't lie, it does get pretty bloody. After all we are talking numerous tonnes of meat, and where there is meat there is blood. A (cattle) slaugther house would be a prime example.

Hello. I'm Portuguese. We also used to hunt whales, but only in the Azores (a small group of islands that belongs to our country). That is not done anymore. Nowadays, instead of killing whales, hunters take people on boats to watch them, which is far better!
I do not agree with commercial hunting and I think it should be banned by all contries because there is no need to slaughter these animals. In Faroe it's a tradition and I can only understand this killing if you tell me it's a way not forgetting how it is done (because in the future who knows how things will be?), so, killing 1 or 2 whales is more than enough, don't you think?

I think killing whales is disgusting also. there is no reason to kill them for food, or to sell them. It is not nessary to eat any animal.
I also agree it is hyprocritical to say killing whales is wrong when cows, chickens, deer, pigs, ducks, sheep, goats etc etc are killed by the billions every day and poeple eat them and get upset if you say it wrong or unethiical. It is wrong to kill and eat ANY ANIMAL.

i think is not good...so please stop and dont try again...Gbu

Vegetarians are the biggest hypocrits of all. Million of animals have their habitats destroyed, are poisoned, or are killed outright growing grain, beans, and vegetables.

Hi all i seem to got to this site while looking for cute animals xD and got to this site looking into the killed whale. I think they should be killed but it should be limited like 2-3 whales a year. i am NOT A VEGETARIAN so don t think thats why i m against the killing of the animals. Some countries have traditions but these traditions don t have to get too far away.I like meat and sometimes i think about the killed chickens or other animals but i say its OK becose i know that almost every day there s a killed animal or human and i continue with the eating :P
BB i going to sleep

BB i m going to sleep*

Marco's images seems to have been moved:

http://www.marcopaoluzzo.com/PRESENTATIONS/PresentationEU.html

Hey, I've just had a great idea. Just for fun, me and a whole bunch of friends from England are going to go up to the Faroe islands and hunt a load of Faroese people.

It's ok, we'll eat them afterwards and make trophies out of their bones.
We won't make them extinct, we'll leave enough there to enable us to come back and hunt them again next year.

I'm being ironic of course, but I hope the point comes across. Pilot whales are a type of dolphin. Dolphins are the second most intelligent life form on this planet, even more intelligent that previously thought. We wouldn't slaughter chimpanzees or apes in this way, just because they look more like us.

Well japanese kill/eat dolphins, australians kangaroos, canadians seals, koreans and chinese eat fuckin dogs.

But more or less i dont think anyone would give a fuck if a someone would drop a bomb on Faroe Islands.

mir wird schlecht wenn ich diese bilder aus "Dänemark sehe.. mann kann gesichter und leute erkennen...
warum geht niemand hin um diese leute für immer hinter gitter zu bringen... wenn die meinen sie könnten männer werden weil sie delphine killen.. dann sollten sie mal an einem platz gebracht werden wo man mann sein muss um zu existieren... sperrt sie ein ... an dem richtigen platz.

You guys can talk and argue what you want, but you KNOW it's tasteless.

I'm going to organise a bunny beating. With hundreds of people looking, with a couple of guys I'm going to bat the living daylight out of 643 bunnies. In a humane way, of course.

Is it different than killing a fly or a germ on your teeth while brushing your teeth? Probably not.

But when I bat 643 bunnies to death YOU KNOW I'M A DICK!

Hi to all of you, I am martian. We have been watching you humans for centuries. This mass killing of dolphins is just another pathetic trait of your ignorant race. Instead of annihilating you humans with our deadly laser ray, we watch you destroy every earth creature including yourselves. It is a popular sitcom here on mars. Cheerio.