In this world, there are things that have always happened that rip the rug out right from underneath your feet. Sometimes because they are unjust and heartless. Or needless and pointless. Or simply inhumane and shameful. This gruesome, yearly tradition of the whale slaughter in the fjords of the Faroe Islands meets all these conditions. Nevertheless, it is business as usual as summer arrives this year.
Since the 16th century, the inhabitants of the Faroe Islands have hunted whales. Concrete records can be traced as far back as 1709. Most of them used to be pilot whales slain by the whalers themselves. The following pictures were published by wildlife conservation group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in order to paint a picture of this insanity. But be careful, some of these photos are almost too much to bear.
Earlier the fishers still ventured out in wooden boats to hunt for whale meat. The catch, at this point, was still reasonable and did not represent a threat to the whale population.
The floor of the fjords are covered with whale bones, especially skulls. The sad truth can be measured by this watery grave, the suffering and death inflicted on the marine animals by this ghastly tradition.
Who would suspect, with pictures like these, that this is the setting for a gruesome slaughter every summer?
Nowadays, when the date approaches for the yearly whale hunt (or in Faroese: the Grindadráp) the whalers utilize modern technology to their advantage. The chance for the whales to escape is increasingly slim.
Large groups (schools) of whales are driven into the fjords and awaited by a cruel destiny: an unstoppable massacre, allowed to take its course!
Pictures like these play out incessantly. Every time, it is a fight for survival that each whale is destined to lose.
Aerial photographs show the true extent of the terrible spectacle: the bay’s water is dyed a deep red by the slain whales.
The (by now) lifeless and adrift whale carcasses are towed ashore by ropes and stacked next to each other by the dozens.
This is the tragic end result of one single day of whale hunting: about 40 dead whales, all clean and orderly lined up. This is systematic horror.
One can only surmise what torture these animals endured. And all of this for the sake of tradition, as whale meat rarely appears on dinner menus in the Faroe Islands.
This is the clear climax of the gruesome slaughter spectacle: a slit open female whale, whose entrails are spilled over the asphalt. Next to her lies her unborn calf that had no chance of survival.
And the purpose of all the torture? At the end of the day, the whale baby is tossed away with the waste, finding its ignominious grave in a trash container.
But, as you can see, it’s all for the children. What kind of a world do we live in?
Unbelievable! So much suffering, blood, and death is unbearable for any normal human being. This insanity has to be stopped, right now! We can all make a difference, for example, by signing this petition launched by PETA – Stop the Bloody Whale Slaughter on the Faroe Islands.
Only few know about this massacre on the edge of the civilized world. This is why we should act now and share this article with everyone we know. So that this can finally be put to an end.
H/T Hefty
