Pictured: Seas turn red as whales are brutally slaughtered by Faroe Islanders

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 1:04 PM on 28th May 2009

The coastline scarlet with blood, Faroe Island locals take part in a brutal annual whaling event.

A tradition that dates as far back as the 10th century, locals in the autonomous province of Denmark slaughter and eat indigenous pilot whales every year.

More than 180 of the animals were slaughtered in the town of Hvalvik's annual event this year, called 'grindadráp', which translates literally as 'grind', locally as 'pilot whale kill'.

Bloodbath: Faroe Island locals kill a pilot whale in the annual 'grindadráp' whaling event

Mass slaughter: Faroe islanders drag the killed whales to shore after trapping and killing them in a bay

While the Faroese, who are descended from Vikings, are not involved in commercial whaling, pilot whales have long been part of the local diet.

The whaling process involves crowding the animals into a bay or fjord with a wide semicircle of boats before killing them.

The meat from the mass slaughter is not sold, rather divided among the community where it has been part of their diet for over 1,000 years.

The tradition, which also exists in Iceland, has long been criticised by animal rights campaigners, who have called it cruel and unnecessary.

But local whalers claim that outsiders are ignorant of the catch methods and economic significance of the tradition.

Criticism: Animal rights campaigners have called the ancient tradition cruel and unnecessary

Traditional diet: The whale blubber has been valued for centuries both as food and fule, while the skin is converted into rope. The meat has come under criticism in recent years due to its high levelsof toxins

In 1932 regulations were enforced over whaling in the Faroe islands for the first time.

The current rules both institutionalise old customs as well as replace old customs deemed inappropriate.

But it is the pilot whale meat that has caused almost as much controversy in recent years, due to the level of toxins in the animals.

many of the 5,000 islanders have suffered and even died from the effects of the high mercury levels in the meat, and reports allege alarmingly high numbers of mentally retarded children.

In November last year Faroe Island medical chiefs recommended that the animals were not considered fit for human consumption.

Brutal: The coastline is scarlet as islanders take part in the whaling event which dates back to the 10th century

The pilot whale blubber has been highly valued throughout history, both as food and for processing into fuel, while the skin is turned into rope, and the animals' stomachs used as floats.

Pilot whales (Globicephala melaena), which can reach up to 20ft in length, are not endagered. Despite their name, they are part of the dolphin family, though their behaviour is closer to that of whales.

They feed predominantly on squid and live in groups of around 10-30 - though some are as big as 100. Adult females can reach up to 1.5tons and live for up to 60 years.

Print this article

Read later

Email to a friend

Share this article: